Episode 36 - No, Thank You
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
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Episode 35 – Allow Me
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
When it comes to building a healthy culture, there is no greater or more impactful example of culture than that of leadership. Research continues to show that many of the world’s most profitable companies attribute a great deal of their success to their organizational culture. At the forefront of these organizations are leaders who actively, regularly, and genuinely display the type of behavior desired for all of its members. Some leaders equate their high visibility to constantly being put under the microscope. They describe the...
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Episode 34 - I'm Sorry I Asked
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
Employee surveys can be a great source of information. They can provide an intimate perspective of certain facets of the organization which may go unseen or unexperienced by leadership. However, sometimes organizations are not prepared for the insight they receive. They may feel that certain initiatives or decisions should be met with affirmation and positive accolades, only to find out that part of the employee population feels differently. What do we do now? Some organizations view the insight as a humbling experience and use it...
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Episode 33 - Crawl Before You Walk
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
John Maxwell said “A leader is great, not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others.” All too often, organizations are held hostage by their own people. What does that mean? We’re so glad you asked. Being held hostage by your people is a dynamic that explains leaders who do more to withhold knowledge and experience than to share it with others. When these leaders leave for new opportunities, the organization is left scrambling to recreate that knowledge or...
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Episode 32 - The Bold and The Atypical
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
We often hear that effective leadership requires bold decisions and behavior. However, servant leadership principles tend to illustrate a very different type of leader from what most people are accustomed to. While we don’t disagree with the premise that leaders need to be bold, we want to look at the term through a different lens in this episode. One definition illustrates the word “bold” as showing the ability to take risks; to be confident and courageous. Here, again, we wouldn’t disagree with that interpretation. However, it’s...
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Episode 31 - Getting Around to Dealing with Conflict
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
Why are we still so afraid of conflict? Why do we assume the mere presence of conflict is always negative? When it comes to addressing conflict, there is an immediate assumption that the conversation/interaction will go poorly and possibly lead to something much worse. Years ago, we used to rate a successful marriage by how little a couple fought. It wasn’t uncommon to hear a story about a husband and wife who had been married for forty years and how they “never had a fight.” ...
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Episode 30 - The Air You Can Wear
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
Nothing describes a late summer day in Central Pennsylvania better than the three H’s…hazy, hot and humid. But what do the three H’s have to do with leadership? While you can’t necessarily see the humidity outside simply by looking through your office window, you most certainly feel its presence the second you venture outdoors. When we think of those of who have influenced us over time, most likely it’s not their physical appearance or blatant actions we recall. As Maya Angelou once opined “I've learned that people will forget what you said,...
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Episode 29 - Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
Today’s workforce is one of the most diverse in history. Workers fall into one of five (yes five) different generations. While diversity and inclusion continue to garner a great deal of attention, organizations and leaders are struggling to address tension and conflict when it comes to many different people working together and interacting with one another. Perception is not always reality. We like to say that our perceptions may be our reality, but are they truly reality? One of the greatest...
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Episode 28 - Finding the Big Impact in the Little Things
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
When is the last time you paused and gave thanks for the things in your life that you know to be true and good? There is growing research on the multitude of benefits associated with gratitude. From physical benefits such as the ability to lower stress and create better sleep habits, to psychological benefits like increased satisfaction and resilience; implementing a regular practice of gratitude can have a significant impact on our lives. Taking time each day to be grateful can actually play a role in how our brains are wired. A concept...
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Episode 27 - High Expectations or High Adherence
Leadership Insight with Rising Sun
“We have found that by reaching for what appears to be the impossible, we often actually do the impossible; and even when we don’t quite make it, we inevitably wind up doing much better than we would have done.” -Jack Welch Oftentimes, leaders set high expectations for their organizations and their employees in order to maintain relevance and maximize potential. However, many leaders wind up expressing disappointment and frustration when those expectations aren’t met. Why do so many well-intentioned leaders have employees who consistently fall short of or fail to...
info_outlineAuthor and professor, Adam Grant, recently wrote an article in the New York Times. In the article, Grant discusses a concept which centers on the “stagnation and emptiness” that many are feeling as a result of the pandemic and other current stressors. He refers to this aimless feeling as languishing. (You can find a link to the article below.)
As many people wait for normalcy to return or a new normal to play out, they find themselves mired in this state of languishing. This has bred feelings of hopelessness, despair, and other strong emotions derived from a prolonged state of anticipation and negativity.
Some may experience escalated levels of languishing which border on or may even indicate an early sign of depression. They’ve lost jobs, loved ones, or simply struggle to find sources of happiness and satisfaction. Others may experience more tempered levels of languishing to where a certain level of confidence remains and, with enough positive experiences in which to build on, they could emerge from their joyless state.
We urge those of you who are waiting to fight the feelings of languishing until some semblance of normalcy returns to stop waiting. Make the choice to start fighting those feelings today.
Focus on what is certain, as opposed to waiting for the uncertainty to take shape. Embrace the positives, even if they come lately in small doses. Go back and listen to our series on resilience and start developing the tools you need to be successful and joyous in less-than-ideal situations. Lastly, have the courage to ask for help. Seek out the wisdom and counsel of those who can help you to generate the confidence to not only live a life without languishing, but to genuinely thrive.
And if you’ve managed to fend off the effects of languishing, be a source of comfort and support to someone who may not be as fortunate. Look for signs of languishing in others. Are they not their usual selves? Are they absent of emotion; good or bad? Are they struggling to see the positives in the midst of uncertainty? Be a light when all that others see is darkness.
If you’d like to check out Adam Grant’s article, click the link below.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/well/mind/covid-mental-health-languishing.html
Grant also recently published his latest book, Think Again. The book offers fresh perspectives on how we formulate our opinions, interact with others, and make decisions. Click the link below for more information.