The Thoughtful Leaders™ Blog
Posted by Robyn McLeod on May 23, 2013
 This weekend I attended a beautiful family wedding. The bride and groom brought into the ceremony traditions from their respective cultures and sentiments that expressed their unique personalities. They truly made their day an expression of their individual pasts and united future. During the ceremony, the two families promised to support this new union and come together as their network of support. At the reception, family members mingled and danced together and enjoyed a happy and memorable time together. The day set the stage for a strong, loving marriage.
When companies, divisions, or teams come together, the success of such mergers often depend on the same things that make a successful marriage – recognizing and acknowledging the past, bringing the two groups together effectively, and painting a strong vision for a future together. These steps can lay the right groundwork for any type of restructuring or merger and set you up for success:
- Recognize and acknowledge the individual pasts – What I love about weddings is the chance to hear stories about the bride and groom and see pictures of them growing up. While I had never met the bride before, through the emotional speeches given by her sister, dad, and friends and conversations with her family and friends, I learned quite a bit about her and really appreciated what she brings to our family. Taking the time to share stories of the individual groups that are coming together helps build awareness and understanding.
- Build trust – By focusing on developing effective relationships, communicating information about the merger in a timely and consistent manner, and creating space for team members to get to know each other, you will build a great environment built on trust.
- Create a compelling vision of the future – Like the vows spoken at a wedding, sharing a common vision for the future, declaring it, and promoting it sets a clear direction for all and moves once-disparate parts toward common goals.
- Celebrate – Take the opportunity to celebrate successes, milestones, and actions that support the working environment and future you are trying to create. Acknowledge behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to working together effectively and building a stronger organization.
A wedding brings two lives together with all of the hope, joy, and excitement for a bright future. By taking the time to focus on the people and practice Thoughtful Leadership™ in leading your organizational restructuring, you can experience the benefits of a happy marriage of sorts. Cheers!
How can you create more harmony and connection during change? What are the secrets to a happy merger? Click here to leave a comment.
For expertise in successfully leading change, contact Robyn at rmcleod@chatsworthconsulting.com.
Click here to receive The Thoughtful Leaders™ Blog posts via e-mail and receive a copy of “Ending Leadership Frenzy: 5 Steps to Becoming a More Thoughtful and Effective Leader.”
Click here to purchase The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on May 20, 2013
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” George Bernard Shaw
I have clients (and colleagues, and friends, and family members…and myself at times) who are so afraid of messing up that they don’t do anything. Who are interested in learning a new skill or stepping up at work or going after their dream, but stop themselves before they move forward because they hate the thought of making a blunder or seeming like they don’t know what they’re doing.
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Posted by Lisa Kohn on May 16, 2013
 It is true that many of us sit for hours each day. According to Nilofer Merchant, in this short and powerful TED video, most of us sit for over nine hours in a day, more than we sleep. And it is true that sitting that much can cause a health crisis – sitting has been linked to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, to name a few.
To address our sitting epidemic, Nilofer offers us her revolutionary idea – schedule meetings over walks. Nilofer shares her personal experience that walking for her meetings helped her to think differently, brainstorm more effectively, and find better answers and better results.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on May 14, 2013
We often find that we, and our clients, take ourselves so seriously – way too seriously. And this seriousness often causes us problems and snags along our path.
With this in mind, we invite you to read Rule #6 – a short excerpt from The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander. It cautions us not to take ourselves too seriously – in a way that we can most likely all remember. A great reminder for the slower days of summer.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on May 13, 2013
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Vincent Van Gogh
Often it is the voices within us that stop us from trying and achieving what we really want. Somehow we’ve learned to censor our actions and even our desires. Perhaps it is a safety mechanism that we needed at one time, but that no longer serves us.
Many times my clients share their dreams and goals with me, and then in the same breath, they share why those things that they truly want for themselves are unattainable. With this surety of failure, they rationalize that they shouldn’t even try for their goals, or waste their time on useless endeavors. I have been privileged to witness the opposite. I’ve watched many clients break through their preconceived notions of what they “can’t” or “shouldn’t” do…break through to success. Sometimes it’s just the success of challenging their self-inflicted limitations, and often it’s the success of achieving (or allowing) that which they’ve always wanted.
When Van Gogh was alive, there were many people who said he could not paint. My guess is that there were also internal voices that echoed those sentiments. Imagine our loss if he had listened to those voices – if he had not challenged himself and others and created his masterpieces.
When my clients tell me of something they can’t do, I challenge them to challenge themselves, and I dare them to do it anyway. “Just do it,” I share (to quote Nike). “What’s the worst that can happen if you do it?” I ask. “What’s the worst that can happen if you don’t?” With these questions in mind they often simply laugh at their voices of limitation, and jump in.
What’s the worst thing that can happen if you try to do that thing you don’t think you can do? What’s the worst thing that can happen if you don’t? Click here to share.
Listen for the voices in your head that tell you you can’t do something that you long to do – and then do that thing and see what happens.
For support in challenging yourself to break through, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
Click here to receive The Thoughtful Leaders™ Blog posts via e-mail and receive a copy of “Ending Leadership Frenzy: 5 Steps to Becoming a More Thoughtful and Effective Leader.”
Click here to purchase The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be.
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Posted by Robyn McLeod on May 9, 2013
 You work hard and get good results from your team, yet the vibe of the office is not very positive and upbeat. You wish you had the kind of team that your colleague, Stacey, has. Her team seems to genuinely enjoy working together, raves about her style of managing, and is consistently recognized for their stellar work. “She really lucked out with the folks she inherited and hired,” you think to yourself. But in reality, it may not be luck at all. Stacey may understand the importance of likability in leadership.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on May 6, 2013
“Speak when you are angry, and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” Ambrose Bierce
My passion and intensity is part of what defines me. It makes me me. And it makes me proud. Yet it sometimes gets in my way.
Because some of my most passionate moments are when I’m most emotional. And when I’m most emotional I’m often not thinking clearly, especially when I’m angry. I try to live, at least as often as possible, by the adage, “Would you rather be right, or happy?” I try to pick happy. When I’m angry, it’s as if I can only pick right.
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Posted by Lisa Kohn on May 2, 2013
 From the moment we wake up, we can be – and often are – in conflict with others. With our family members over how the day will go, with team members about the best next step on a project, with our manager over how to implement a new process, with colleagues about budget issues, with the person on line in front of you who is taking too long to order…the list goes on. Conflict is unavoidable and generally unenjoyable. And if mishandled it can negatively impact the results we’re trying to achieve and ruin our day…or our week.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on April 29, 2013
“Genuine listening means suspending memory, desire and judgment – and, for a moment at least, existing for the other person.” Michael P. Nichols
The other day I was ‘listening‘ to my colleague. We were in the midst of a heated discussion, and it was her turn to share. I knew how to listen – I teach listening skills after all. I kept my mouth shut and allowed her to speak her piece…biding my time until I could jump in with my retort or, in my mind at least, my incredibly stronger argument.
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Posted by Robyn McLeod on April 25, 2013
 Recently on the way home from school my daughter recounted an incident where a classmate hit another student, and then said that it was a reflex to having her hair touched. My daughter shared that this “reflex” was out of her classmate’s control and an unfortunate consequence for the hair-touching culprit. “That is a reaction,” I said. “Not a reflex. A reflex is an automatic impulse that we do not have control over, like kicking your leg when your knee is tapped in just the right way. Hitting someone because they touched your hair is a reaction. A reaction that you in fact have complete control over.”
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Yuki Yang 
Dwight McLeod 
Thank you for this post! A great reminder to get out of my comfort zone and “thoughtfully prepare” as I live on the edges. I didn’t prepare as well as I could’ve yesterday but now I know.
Thanks for your thoughts Yuki. I like “thoughtfully prepare” – and also looking at mistakes as opportunities to learn and do it differently next time. I’m practicing that now!