Breaking Bread

We’ve all heard the term “breaking bread,” as in sharing a meal with someone. We just did that last week for Thanksgiving! But this is a widely  used term, and used in all sorts of environments, even professional ones. Have you ever wondered how it has endured and remained so popular? Also, why do we care about sharing a meal with people?

Sharing a meal, the act of eating with people is one that fosters bonding. This is why we all have refreshments together after Rainbow meetings. It’s why family dinners mean so much to our parents and our grandparents. They know the importance. They know this is where memories are made, and where foundations are laid. This is where people talk, laugh, and share personal information that helps you connect with one another. This is where people become friends! We all know this from our time in Rainbow.

For those of us who have been in the working world, we know the value of this in the workplace. A job among coworkers with whom you have bonded is so much more satisfying. Those bonds are often formed during outings at lunch, sharing coffee in the morning, or snacking on birthday cake in the breakroom. If you are in any sort of group and are feeling a lack of camaraderie or some difficulty working together, consider taking this lesson as an opportunity to make a small leadership step. Bring some snacks the next time everyone gets together. Something as small as a bag of chips or crackers. You can find some great stuff at the dollar store. My local doughnut shop sells doughnut holes for $1.50 a dozen. If you cook or bake, even better. This will be a small step and it won’t immediately make everything easy, but it’s a step in the right direction and it’s an opportunity for you to show some leadership even when you might not formally be the leader of your group/club/work.

We Are Family

Family. They are our very first introduction to the world. We see and learn everything with them. They not only teach the very basics of what we need to know as children, they also show us, by example, how to live life as adults. They are our first examples of leadership.

As we gather with family this Thanksgiving, take a look at those around you. What have each of them taught you about leadership? Who is the best listener? The best speaker? Who taught you the most about patience? About generosity, respect, focus, diligence, or how to be analytical?

You might have even learned something about who you don’t want to be from your family. Maybe you come from a very loud, rambunctious family who taught you the value of serenity and harmony. Maybe you have a very small family and that made you want to be a part of very large groups, organizations, and teams.

No matter what, your family played an important part of who you are today and will continue to as you change and grow in life. Knowing who and where you come from is an important part of knowing who you are. This is a great time of year to reflect on that.

Strength of the Week – Activator

Let’s discuss another new Strength this week from the Strengthsfinder assessment. Activator! This is another one that is easy to understand. Activators like to act on things. They hate to wait. They like to get started on something NOW – go go go!

Have you ever been in a Rainbow meeting to share ideas and create goals for the term? Or maybe a group project for school talking about how you’ll do a presentation? Sometimes you leave these meetings with great ideas but no one acts on them right away, or even the ideas fizzle out to never become reality. But sometimes there’s one or two people who really start getting things going. It’s the Activators in the group who say “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” and start working immediately. They can’t help it. They just cannot sit and wait.

If you’re an Activator you might get frustrated that others aren’t able to follow you into action quickly enough, or that you’re always waiting for people to catch up. You meet your deadlines early. If you’re working on a group project of any sort you’re usually waiting for others to start their parts when you’re already done with yours.

It can be challenging to work together when people are working at different paces. That’s the beauty of Strengths. It teaches us to understand and appreciate our differences. It isn’t always good to begin work right away. Sometimes you have to plan and strategize. Sometimes you have to wait for the right moment to act. The “thinking” and planning strengths will guide the way. Sometimes you have to stop discussing and just act. Strike while the iron is hot! Activators are like the rockets that launch our great ideas into the atmosphere. And they aren’t only good at this, they get great satisfaction from it.

Honoring Our Veterans

Thank you, Veterans! Thank you for your commitment to this country. You showed tremendous leadership when you chose this path to personal excellence. Whether you’re in your retirement or just beginning  your time in the military, no matter your rank, just the choice to do this says so much about you. We respect and appreciate you for it!

 

Historic Women Leaders We Benefit From Today

Sometimes I think about women leaders from years past, whose leadership vision we are enjoying the benefits of today. On this, the day after the election, I can think of no better example than the women who fought for our right to vote. Can you imagine living in a world where women cannot vote? Singing about the ‘Land of the Free’ would feel a little different, I think!

Thank you to the women who, beginning as early as 1840’s, fought for this right that was finally secured by the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920. We thank them for their brave leadership and vision for the future. It was a long, difficult battle and we should remember this history, honor them, be inspired by them, and celebrate them every time we vote.

Strength of the Week – Ideation

We’re talking about some more Strengths from the Strengthsfinder assessment today. This is a fun one and easy to identify in others. I love seeing this in action and shouting “That’s your Ideation at work!”

Ideation literally means you are great at coming up with ideas. Some things an Ideation might be caught saying throughout the day:

Ideations love all ideas. They like trying new things, or coming up with new ways to accomplish the same old thing. They never get bored because their minds are always working coming up with things they want to do, see, or learn, or thinking about the problems they’ve encountered during the week and ideas for how to solve them!

You might be an Ideation if you:

• Get a jolt of energy from discussing new ideas
• Find coming up with ideas really easy while everyone around you struggles with it
• Like complex tasks, problems, or puzzles
• Have trouble sleeping because you can’t shut your mind off
• Love it when you’re given very little instructions on how to do something so that you can come up with your own ideas
• Don’t like saying or hearing other people say “I don’t know” or “I can’t”

The thing about Ideation is, ideas are great but they’re nothing if you can’t put them into action. As someone with Ideation grows, matures, and gains more experience, she will learn how to do this. That will probably come from her experience working with people who are great at putting things into action. She’ll learn a lot from them and will partner with them to make her ideas a reality.

 

While an Ideation is great at coming up with ideas, those might not always actually be great ideas. But that’s okay! You’re so good at coming up with them, you’ll be able to recover from a bad idea with 4 great ones! You’ll also get better at figuring out which ideas are really good over time.