{"id":679,"date":"2011-11-30T17:16:46","date_gmt":"2011-11-30T22:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ohe.5c7.myftpupload.com\/?p=679"},"modified":"2011-11-30T17:21:03","modified_gmt":"2011-11-30T22:21:03","slug":"679","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/?p=679","title":{"rendered":"Look for the Leonardos"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>One of a leader\u2019s primary jobs is to translate potential into performance. And while most leaders understand the concept, many have trouble translating it into action, not because they lack the skill but because they lack the mental mindset.<\/p>\n

In my experience, the potential at the front lines is tremendous. Until leaders operate from a deep belief in the inherent greatness of their people, that potential stays latent. I\u2019m not talking about encouraging people to work harder, faster, better. I\u2019m talking about discovering and inviting into the workplace what brings meaning and fulfillment to their lives.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, Cameron Camp, a research psychologist working in an assisted living facility, made this point poignantly. He gave a 70-year-old Alzheimer\u2019s patient a book on the dancer Gene Kelly.\u00a0 She took the book and read it aloud. The staff were shocked; they had no idea the woman could even speak<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Through his research, Camp discovered that when Alzheimer\u2019s patients are given meaningful activities–when they\u2019re given something that’s important to them–they often respond with remarkable clarity and skill. For instance, he asked an opera lover to sort titles according to Verdi and Puccini, and a baseball lover to sort pictures of players into National and American leagues. Activities like these not only help patients with motor skills; they trigger memories that lead to conversations that reconnect patients with the world.<\/p>\n

So even when people have organic impairments, their potential for meaningful activity and engagement can be activated. Everybody wins. Patients are less agitated and depressed, and caregivers have new opportunities to make a difference.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an important leadership lesson here. People can be remarkably resilient and creative when they’re given a chance to make a contribution.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, I was coaching a group of managers. Their required annual safety in-service program was looming–a task they hated.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if you turned over the program to your staff?\u201d I asked. Several were stunned by the idea, but after some conversation, they decided to give it a try.<\/p>\n

As the in-service day approached, the cynics got increasingly anxious about whether their staff could carry this off. When the day arrived, the staff, wired with excitement, delivered a theatrical program of safety skits that won a standing ovation. The staff were thrilled by the opportunity, the managers were equally thrilled by the shift in responsibility, and word of the program\u2019s success spread so quickly that an encore was scheduled so that people in other parts of the system could enjoy the \u201csafety theater,\u201d too.<\/p>\n

What defines the limits on people\u2019s performance isn\u2019t their ability. It\u2019s what we [and they] think<\/em> they\u2019re capable of.<\/p>\n

What do you know and believe about the potential of people in your organization?\u00a0 When was the last time you invited a customer service rep who\u2019s an avid writer to contribute to the monthly newsletter? Or tapped the creative talents of your custodial staff? Or discovered that an administrative assistant was itching to create an on-boarding program for new executives?<\/p>\n

If demented 80-somethings can hold lively conversations about the creative inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, what untapped potential lies within the walls of your own organization?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of a leader\u2019s primary jobs is to translate potential into performance. And while most leaders understand the concept, many have trouble translating it into action, not because they lack the skill but because they lack the mental mindset. In my experience, the potential at the front lines is tremendous. Until leaders operate from a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leading"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=679"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":686,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679\/revisions\/686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}