Leadership: Talk Less, Smile More

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talk less smile more leadership

 

 

As a devoted Hamilton (the Broadway show) fan, one of my favorite quotes is “Talk less, smile more.”  In the play, Aaron Burr is sharing his leadership philosophy with Alexander Hamilton.  It refers to a national leader’s philosophy, but the leadership concept of “talk less, smile more” can apply to all of us as leaders.

 

Talk less

Listening is an essential part of leadership. It’s how we gather information, build trust and create a team effort. When we are listening, we are showing how we appreciate the knowledge of the speaker.  Listening and leaning in indicates that you are building rapport and trust with the speaker.  Your listening empowers the speaker to share more information.  In talking less, we are open to more.  It requires that we hold back our own agenda and our own words to learn from others.

 

Smile more

A smile typically is an invitation to a connection.  As a leader,  your smile is cultivating connections.  Your smile is the bridge.  The warmth and invitation of a smile indicates you are open.  Even in the most stressful of leadership challenges, a smile and humor can lighten the situation and create solutions.  A smile can lead to increased positivity about any situation.

 

How to get started smiling more?  Create a new awareness of smiling. Place something that sparks joy (of course a reference to Konmari) on your desk. Like all new habits, it’s worth linking your smiling to an existing habit too.  Perhaps you already smile and have noticed how powerful this is in your relationships and leadership.

 

 

Link here to listen on YouTube to Talk Less, Smile More

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Project Management Tools for Home and Work

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project management

 

So many projects, so little time! A project is an “individual or collaborative effort that is planned with a specific aim.” Project management is the “discipline of planning and executing the work of a team to complete a goal.”

 

As Walt Disney said, “Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them towards a certain goal.”

 

At home and work projects are everywhere. It all depends on your view of a project.  At home it can be an organizing project like garage organizing, a holiday project like Christmas or Hanukah, or a family event like a family reunion.  At work a project can be starting an email newsletter, marketing your product or service or doing your taxes.  If your end result takes more than 3 steps to accomplish, it’s a project.  While there are many free tools to use, these easy to use tools make it easy for you to work on and track your project.

 

Post it notes

We all love post it notes. It’s a great way to keep track of individual tasks for a project. Write each step on a separate note.  Post the notes in a time line with dates for daily or weekly accomplishments.  It’s fun to crumple them as you complete a task.

 

Trello

Trello is the digital equivalent of index cards. Set up your tasks and your timeline to accomplish your project. Capture ideas, track your progress and assign tasks to maximize your success.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a cloud based document system. You install Dropbox on you and your collaborators devices and you can share.   What’s best about Dropbox is accessibility and portability. Whether it’s a document, spreadsheet or presentation, you can work together or alone and share your work.

 

Google apps

Many of us use gmail for our connections. Google offers a host of products to work together. Use Google calendar to drive dates for your project. Use Google docs for your collaborative documents and spreadsheets.  Work on the same document at the same time and see changes in real-time together.

 

Accessible tools make it easy to track and complete your project.  Take a few minutes to set up your tools to maximize their effectiveness and then get to work.

 

Check out this tech list for other tools for home and work.

 

 

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NAPO2016 Small Changes = Big Difference

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napo 2016

It’s just after our annual National Association of Professional Organizer’s conference, known in social media as #NAPO2016.  It’s always a high point for NAPO members as we gather to learn, share and connect in real life.  I’ve always been a fan of baby steps, and small changes = big difference.  Here’s more of what I learned at NAPO2016.

 

What struck me most this year is that Small Changes = Big Difference.

 

Small ways to connect
A small, a high five and a warm hello are all the ways we connect in small ways. These are big parts of NAPO2016.  Each session welcomed our members into the room.  Even calls of WOOT were parts of the connecting. Attendees contributed to a  star studded bulletin board of gratitude.  Creating coloring books were the sewing bee of the of conference.

 

coloring pages napo2016

Coloring pages connected members in a big way.

 

 

Small ways to change your environment
My favorite sessions at conference always include practical tips to share with clients. I learned that for families with ADHD, shifting to what is do-able is not giving a family member a pass.  It’s leveling the playing field.  Working with peace, order and calm are small ways that change the environment as I work with clients in their spaces.  Learning from statistical research of NAPO, I engaged in discussions on how adding small storage changes can create big differences in space use.

 

 

Small ways to let go of mind clutter
Scott Greenberg shared with us the challenges of mind clutter.  He called is mind set.  It’s about all the ways we talk trash to ourselves.  Our members called out as they shared their own mind clutter.  Scott suggested we remember, “I am a work in progress.”  We thrive when we are in growth mindset.

Scott also reminded us about kaizen, the Japanese concept that small changes big difference.  As we work together this year, we will keep this concept in mind during our sessions together!

 

Resources learned at NAPO2016

Impact ADHD

 

Productivityist

 

ADD Crusher

 

NAPO members shared recognition of our colleagues in a big way.

NAPO members shared recognition of our colleagues in a big way.

 

Let’s connect and start on your small change = big difference together!

Be a Leader

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leadership

 

My National Association of Professional Organizer’s (NAPO) membership has provided me with education, collaboration, service opportunities and the framework for business success. I started my business in 2000 and immediately joined NAPO. In 2002, I became a charter member of NAPO Houston and have served as Chapter President, Membership Vice-President and Golden Circle Liaison.  I am currently serving NAPO at the national level as Committee Chair to the newly reinvented Membership Committee. I have also served as Conference Chair, and on the Education, Leadership Development, Statistics, and Marketing Committees. In 2013 and 2015 I was honored with the esteemed Service to NAPO Award.  Starting in May 2016, I will begin a term as President- Elect. In May 2017, I will serve for 2 years as President.

 

Serving NAPO has contributed to my business success. In surrounding myself with incredible colleagues, my business has thrived.  My colleagues are on “Team Ellen,” creating an ongoing mastermind group focused on personal and professional development.  In serving with others with a common goal, team efforts create an outcome of something more than an individual can imagine or accomplish.

 

Why share this with you?  Are you already a leader? Are you ready to make a difference?  In using our strengths and leading others, we stretch and grow. We learn different perspectives and gain clarity.  We become smarter and better.  In addition to organizing and productivity, I will be blogging about leadership here on Ellen’s blog.    The connection between leadership, organizing and productivity is clear.  The more organized you are, the more other’s look to you to lead. The more productive you are, the more time you have to serve.  Being a leader requires balance and coordination.