Are Connections Overshadowing Collaboration?
We are hyper-connected today, and there are real metrics to showcase. Just look at the counts. Whether it is connections in LinkedIn, people in Google+ circles, followers in Twitter, or likes in Facebook, there are numbers to track. Dig below the surface though. Do we find collaboration in those connections? It is a question I…
Building a Culture to Embrace Millennials
Are you ready? More than 80 million Millennials will be entering the workplace, and it is happening soon. Next year, 36% of the workplace will consist of Millennials. The question is really: Is your organizational culture ready? Embracing a Millennial Personality Organizational cultures will need to adapt. It isn’t about changing principles. It is about…
What Essence of Leadership Should Be Shared?
How the tracking of generations began, I am not completely sure. It isn’t an exact science but generations are based roughly on a 20 year cycle. The thought is a group of people go through life phases somewhat at the same time – childhood, young adult, mid-life, and elder. They share experiences. In sharing, our essence of…
4 Key Engagement Levels for Gen Y
Engagement is important for any generation. Gen Y has a real opportunity to make engagement sing a new song of purpose. It is more than just civic, charitable, or political engagement though. While each is important, there may be an added view or, at least, multiple layers to engage. Consider these four engagement levels: Self Engagement:…
Democracy: 5 Ways You Can Make It More Meaningful
An equal chance. It was what Abraham Lincoln firmly believed about the Declaration of Independence. It “gave promise that in due time the weights should be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance.” The Declaration of Independence delivered the purpose and, eventually, the constitution. Equal chance through…
Millennial Leaders: Welcome to the Arena
Headlines seem to be afire with Generation Y or Millennial information and taunts of questionable characteristics. Time magazine dedicated a cover to the topic with the title of “The Me Me Me Generation.” While ODesk released a report entitled “Millennials and the Future of Work,” the Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) issued Part 1 entitled…
The New Thin Difference: Millennial Leaders
Just a few months past three years ago, Thin Difference began. It has been an evolution since as well as a place to explore thoughts, highlight experiences, and discover better ways to lead. Thin Difference began as a way to explore the choices we make in leading and living. Through the practice of thinking and…
In Collaboration We Trust
The core of collaboration is trust. Trust needs to be evident in the relationships and the results. Trust embrace accountability and transparency.
Endurance
When we think of marathons, the first word that pops into our minds is likely this one: endurance. Endurance is in the preparation and in the finishing, and now it also may be in the recovery. The images from the Boston Marathon show the shock and horror. Even with such images more prevalent into today’s…
Do You Need to Aspire to Inspire?
To aspire is to rise up to a great plan, an abundant hope of fulfilling a worthwhile mission. To inspire is to convey a feeling of joining a higher cause, influencing soulful action. Simply defined, aspire is an individual effort while inspire brings others into the mix. How do they impact the way we lead?…
Follow / Unfollow – Making Relationships Work
Since the beginning of time, individuals have been in relationships. From good to bad, and everything in between, relationships have lifted people up as well as held them down. Relationships are a tricky thing. We want them badly. We discard them quickly. We pursue them with all our heart. We run away from them with…
A Mindful Difference: Respond vs React
Being mindful in our responses ensures integrity in our interactions. Absence of mindfulness will raise the likelihood of emotional reactions.