#586 bright

We had a mid (academic) year division-wide gathering yesterday to help us refocus before starting a new semester.  One of the concepts that I shared was from Chip and Dan Heath's book Switch.  

The Heath's advocate for a practice of cloning "bright spots" in your work.  Just as Tom Rath's Strengths Finder encourages people (and managers) to focus on the positives of performance, Switch follows the same principle for accomplishing goals and tasks.

They relate a stories about people who wanted to change their behaviors and instead of focusing on what was wrong, they tried to do more of what was right.  A dissertation student who wrote a lot on some days tried to figure out what made those days better and replicate it.  A relief worker saw that some babies were healthy instead of malnourished and tried to learn what the mothers of those children were doing differently.  A hospital administrator inspired his staff to do the small things that kept patients healthy.

We tried to develop examples of bright spots in our own work.  One person is an Excel expert -- how can her knowledge be tapped to help others?  We have made great strides in infusing our school colors throughout campus -- how can we replicate this in future design projects?  We have great communication throughout the division -- how can that story be told and promoted as an advantage for families?  We have a front line employee that develops great rapport with students -- how can she aid in retention and rumor control efforts?

Think about your own work and the goals that you are trying to achieve.  What are some bright spots that you can replicate to help advance your aim vs. struggling to try and overcome the negatives.  Let your sun shine more brightly instead!

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
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