Shopping is exhilarating. I go once or twice a decade at least.

Thoughts of buying new jeans feel as delightful as an angry skunk encounter. I’m still recovering from my bi-decade trip to the outlets in the Poconos. It was a stretch, but I bought a bag of ASICS low cut running socks. I don’t run, but running socks make me feel fit.

The Problem:

It took about four weeks for life to feel normal after our shopping safari. Then I noticed an “L” inside one sock. The other sock had an “L” too!

“They got mismatched in the laundry,” I thought. Come to find out, I bought a bag of left-footed socks. Houston, we have a problem!

This made me think of the Yasso Bar incident.

I’m partial to vanilla chocolate crunch Yasso Greek Yogurt Bars. Crunchie goodness combined with frozen creamy delight tantalize the tastebuds. A while back I noticed we were getting gypped on the crunchy count. I decided to complain.

Gypped:

My complaint read…

Dear Yasso,

“We are fans of Yasso bars, especially the dipped vanilla chocolate crunch. The last three boxes have not been up to your previous standard of crunchiness.” I went on, “We plan to continue purchasing Yasso bars but thought you should know of this inconsistency.”

I received a lovely reply within a couple hours. They sent me coupons to replace the disappointing bars (I endured eating the defective bars). and some additional $1.00 off coupons. That’s why I thought I’d complain to ASICS. Who knows, maybe they’ll send me a bag of running booties marked “R” and double my value!

About this time, it hit me. The “L” was for LARGE.

Take away:

Stay positive. Confirm the problem before fixing it.

Have you ever responded to a problem that didn’t exist?

PS – Yasso bars are great. Some have extra crunchies. And I love my ASICS running socks.

Previously Published on leadershipfreak.blog with Creative Commons License

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Leadership is Stewardship

A friend and client asked me what I’ve learned about stewardship. I wish there was more interest in stewardship because leaders are stewards.

I shifted the language from ‘learned’ to ‘learning’ when I texted back. People who think they’ve learned haven’t. We’re always learning and relearning.

Stewardship and the merger:

A leader in the financial sector told me she knew the merger was benefiting a few. The few receiving benefit are jerk-holes, not stewards. Self-interest is secondary to stewards.

5 things I’m learning about stewardship:

#1. Care.

Exploitation, short-term advantage, and abusing people are repulsive to stewards. Sustainable advantage takes priority over short-term personal advantage.

Self-care is the means to caring for others.

#2. Entrusted.

People aren’t tools. Stewards are entrusted with people. Steward-leaders obsess about maximizing talent. You can’t control results but you can control how you treat people.

#3. Trust.

At the least, you keep learning to trust people. When you trust people, they dare to trust you. In a deeper sense, you learn to trust God with yourself and others. When you don’t believe in God, you still learn to trust people.

#4. Behaviors.

Identity determines behavior. Define stewardship and you discover the way ethical leaders act.

#5. Honor.

The success of others is the steward’s honor. The light shines on others.

Stewardship and confidence:

This post is longer than the text I sent my friend, but my text included another item. I told him I’m learning, “My way of seeing is relevant. I have a place.”

Stewards come to believe in their own relevance. A steward’s place in the world is helping others see their place. You don’t need glory. You show up to serve.

What are you learning about stewardship?

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Previously Published on leadershipfreak.blog with Creative Commons License

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