It was over the recent Christmas break that I was hanging out with my parents who had come to visit my family. I began to reflect on a couple of things that came to mind about them. These concepts are simple to define, yet difficult to uphold. And I believe mastering these two things will make us amazing employees.

The first is the ability to say, “Yes.” My mother always says, “Yes,” when we ask her to do something. I like that. I do not take for granted that every time she comes to town, Mandy and I are allowed to leave my mother with the kids and get out of town for a night or two. These overnight dates are invaluable to us — and no small amount of work for her.

It is easy to surround yourself with people who will say, “Yes,” in agreement to everything you say. It is hard to find people who will say, “Yes,” in acceptance to everything you ask. That difference is huge. I strive to be the employee that always says, “Yes,” when I am asked to do something. You can tell that, obviously, there is considerable amounts of trust needed by both parties for this to work.

By the way, so much is made of the ability to say, “No,” that it seems we focus on that too much. The soles of that leadership concept are well-worn. Delegation seems to be the key: when asked to do something, we say, “Yes,” and then delegate, if needed, to accomplish the task.

The second concept is the ability to cease complaining. My father never complains. I like that, too. I have seen my parents go through a variety of weird times and I cannot recall him ever complaining about it. He talks about it. He analyzes the situation and learns from it. But he does not complain.

There are countless issues we deal with on a daily basis. But our mindset is key. There has to be a sort of neutrality when we deal with things. (And do not mistake malaise for neutrality.) The best way to put legs on this is to have a solution. When you find a situation you do not like, carefully consider the impact that situation has on everyone else involved. Then, if it still is a problem, put together a solution.

It is easy to complain about things: one need only open their mouth. It is hard to come up with creative and logical ways to solve those issues. I strive to be an employee that solves problems, not one that just points problems out. I have learned that many, if not most, of my solutions will not be used. But coming to the table with a problem and a potential solution (or several) shows a level of commitment to that problem.

I challenge you to try these two things for a week: say, “Yes,” to everything that is asked of you and do not complain about anything. See what happens…

Tags: dad, employee, Leadership, mom

This entry was posted by zac on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 at 8:20 am and is filed under Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.