Your Personal Revolution
November 2009
Lorraine attended our introductory workshop last spring. A month ago she settled into her seat on an airplane and pulled out her copy of Mastering Effectiveness. It was a great chance to review our toolbox. It immediately brought a smile to her face.
Before long the man on her left said, "I couldn't help but notice some of those chapter titles. What are you reading?" She'd been pouring through "Telling the Truth" and "Growing through Failure" and "Transformational Problem Solving."
"It's a self-study guide I received at a workshop," she replied. And the next hour flew by in deep conversation uncharacteristic of airplane banter. So much so, that the woman to Lorraine's right said she'd been planning to knit during this trip, but couldn't help but join in the conversation. The woman shared with some sadness that she'd been raised not to tell the truth because it wasn't polite. About this time a man in front of them turned around and said, "Would you three speak a little louder? I can't hear everything your saying and it's all very interesting."
It is very interesting when people go through a personal revolution. The unsatisfying status quo gets overturned and liberty reigns. People break free from their self-imposed constraints and discover, for example, that, "Even though most people have given up telling the truth in some arenas, I don't have to." It's a giddy moment that gets people talking and listening on airplanes.
When Lorraine shared this story with us, she said, "I'm not exactly an expert on your workbook." But she is. You see, her personal revolution occurred a few years ago when she had a stroke that she fully recovered from. Now that she's back to work she won't allow herself to get too far off track before she tells herself the truth. She's unwilling to compromise what matters. She's seen the consequences of unchecked stress and ineffectiveness. So, of course, she took to our work like a duck to water. She's an expert because she lived through her own personal revolution and remembers her lessons.
What about you?
Do you really think you can resolve your most important problems without open, honest, respectful dialogue? Are you willing to take stock of the smaller pieces of feedback in life that something's awry, before you get hammered by a larger breakdown? The path of our own demise is clear - if effectiveness is missing, you'll have difficulty with your credibility. If you lose credibility, you'll lose influence and power. Perhaps it will keep deteriorating until you damage your career or your health. At some point the hammer will come down. You'll wake up and begin searching for a better way or another chance.
Your personal revolution is waiting for you and it is inevitable. Take your chance before the stakes go up and the hammer comes down. When you find a higher road to success, you'll attract others who are searching for the most benign exit on their road to mediocrity. Personal revolutions of the heart could actually become commonplace in your workplace. You can lead the way by threading the needle of truth telling carefully - not glossing over what matters and not punching someone in the gut with your point of view. Telling the truth is more than a science, it's an art; and it's done with heart!
Isn't this what's trying to happen in our society and world of work? Ask Lorraine; she'll tell you all about it with a smile on her face. She's an expert people want to talk to or listen in on