Sydney Choe-Klinger’s Post

Dear Graduates... Always thank the person who holds the door open for you. Thank the lunch lady and the checkout clerk too. The person who empties the wastepaper basket, bags your groceries, returns the carts, and cleans the offices and classrooms. Always hold the door open for the person behind you. Even if you can't stand them. Especially then. Ask the crush out face to face. Break up with the partner in person. Conversation is a dying art. Cherish it. Never start a sentence with “No offense, but.” Always start with something kind. Then go in for the kill if you need to. The pimple/extra 10 pounds/insecurity is not as noticeable as you think it is. The hangover is though. A best friend who makes you feel icky inside is not a best friend. Don’t let anyone tell you what you’re feeling isn’t real. It is. But whatever you’re feeling right now does not define who or what you are. There’s a world of difference between being the best and doing your best. Try new things. Embrace not being good at things. You can have more than one group of friends. In twenty years, people will remember the name of the kid who wasn’t afraid to wear two different color socks. If you weren't that kid, be that adult. It’s ok to want to curl up in a ball one minute and dance on tables the next. That's life. The quickest way to enrage someone is to tell them to calm down. It’s ok not to have a passion. It’s ok if your favorite class was PE. It’s ok if the best part of school was seeing your friends. You learned a lot more than multiplication in school. Find a genre you love and read everything you can find in it. Your path in life will eventually become clear. It may take 8 months or 40 years, but you'll get there. You got this. Go forth and take the world by storm. And don't forget to call home every now and then. Photo by Emmanuel Offei

AM I IN TIMEOUT? Have you ever been put in ‘time out’? Maybe you have put a child of yours in ‘time out’. Why would we put anyone in ‘time out’? On the surface it made seem like punishment for doing something bad,but it is really to teach them something, isn’t it? While they are in ‘time out’, hopefully they will learn that there are consequences to their actions. CLICK THIS LINK TO READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/dYsjajGa

Done BECAUSE I AM THE DAD, THAT'S WHY! When we were kids life was so simple. If we wanted something we would just ask for it. If we had a question, we would just ask it. If we didn't know what something was, we just asked what it was. We were so innocent and naive as children. But somehow we figured out if we wanted to know something, all we had to do is ask. How else would we ever learn? We weren't afraid to ask either. Why would we be afraid? Isn't asking questions how you get the answer? How else will you find out something? So we would go ask our parents our question. Being good parents, they answered our questions. If we still didn't understand after hearing the answer, we had no problem asking "why". We kept asking "why" until our parents would finally say "Because I said so, that's why". We knew when we heard that it was time to stop asking why. We took it as far as we could. As we got older, we stopped asking questions. Now If we do ask a question and don't understand after we get our answer, we don't ask "why" like we did as a kid. We just pretend we understand even if we don't. We need to be a kid again when we don't understand something. It's ok to ask questions. It's ok to ask why. It's ok to keep asking why until we understand the answer. It's not ok not to know.

Here's my elevenses thought... Why don't we pitch to our friends? Is it because ; - We're uncomfortable? - We assume they understand what we do? - We're worried it will turn things sour? - We don't think they need us? - We're certain they can't afford us? Or...we simply didn't think to ask? 🤔 Answers below please!

My son went to the first grade this year. A very exciting event, I will tell you, even if we are escorting our second child on this difficult path. But still, it's like the first time. A week has passed. An endless week of nerves, irritation and misunderstanding of my son, why suddenly my mother asks me to do some lessons. "Mommy, what are you talking about? " I had to call the teacher with questions about what's wrong with my child and why he categorically refuses to do homework. "Everything is fine with your son. Actively communicates, already has several friends."- I heard on the phone. Then there was a minute's silence. Obviously, the teacher, understanding the profile of such mothers, continued. "Do you think he goes to school with you? No, he goes to "make friends" and communicate. Believe me, he does it well. And our task is to interest him in tasks so that he imperceptibly wants to learn something new every day." Try to transfer this to your team. Believe me, every employee goes to work to develop their professionalism, communicate with colleagues. And we have to organize the workflow in such a way and give such tasks so that our employees want to perform sometimes even boring tasks. What tools do you use to get your employees interested?

This 👇 We can all relate to this story and remember exactly how it felt, especially early in life – and how thankful we felt in the moment. This upcoming Holiday Season, I propose the following challenge as the best office gift: be the kid that makes a space on the bench for someone else. For 7 days, mindfully ask yourself everyday: “how have I created a space for someone on the bench today”? Examples at work: 👉 Have I championed someone, or sponsored someone that should have more visibility? 👉 Have I let someone who is wishing to learn shadow me in a meeting (so that they can learn by observation and get visibility)? 👉 Have I given someone the opportunity to present their work? 👉 Have I connected someone to someone else that can help them get their next great opportunity? 👉 Have I extended the ladder down after I succeeded, to help the next person up? Or am I coaching my replacement? 👉 Have I helped someone succeed today? What other questions can we ask ourselves. Which ones are easy and natural for us / which do we need to actively remind ourselves. As for myself, the last question 'helping others succeed in their task or job' comes most naturally... but I need to work a harder at actively remembering more of these questions (especially shadowing). Most importantly I want to ensure that I don't miss that kid full of potential looking for a seat. Be the change you want to see. #eq #bethechange #bethechangeyouwanttosee #growthmindset #emotionalintelligence #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #leadershipjourney

The #Bravest Face I was brought up to believe that when (not if!) I fell, I must get up quickly, dust myself off and put ‘a brave face on’. This served me well on many occasions as an ice skater that would take quite a few tumbles - but once it literally masked a fall that resulted in a broken arm. While a positive response can act like a ‘fake it until you make it’ to get through to a better place, sometimes we’re masking something more significant and pushing it down the line to a point in the future where we will have to deal with what’s at the heart. I do think that many of us have had this school of thought, certainly as children. However, the ‘#brave face’ can be challenging as we go into adult-life and particularly for those of us that have #leadership and #parenting responsibilities, for example. We increasingly become aware of people looking to us to gauge how we respond and therefore how they believe they must respond. These brave faces are #masks we wear. I am yet to meet someone - regardless of how senior-a-role they have - that doesn’t wear the mask associated with putting a brave face on. I’ve been honoured over the years to see what truly lies behind many of these masks. I’ve come to realise - and hence it being this week’s learn - that putting a brave face on isn’t really the brave thing to do; being willing to show your true self is the bravest thing. As a leader, to show #humility, to own #mistakes and #failures, be willing to show #care and #compassion, and being able to laugh at yourself - be #vulnerable - are all brave behaviours. Rather than PUT a brave face on, try BEING a brave person and showing your TRUE face. To read this week's LEAPS email and access the recommended book and free download poster, visit: https://lnkd.in/eaM_M5Cw. Even better, sign up to automatically receive this directly each week.

As parents, we can often find ourselves asking our children “why?” Why are they acting this way? Why do they always forget things? Why are they not listening? We think that what our kid is doing is the problem. If they just acted differently, we wouldn’t get so frustrated and dysregulated. In reality, we have to step back in these moments and realize that it’s not our kids that are the problem, but really our thoughts that are triggering us. In these situations, you probably have a go-to thought that sends you down this path. The first step in getting some kind of relief from that thought is to identify what it is whenever you feel triggered by your kids’ actions. I promise that by just doing this, you will start to show up in a neutral way and stop automatically power-struggling with your kids. Here, I talk about why asking your kid “why” is never a good idea. I discuss why choosing different thoughts and answering that “why” on your own can lead to a greater connection with your kid. Listen in: https://lnkd.in/gkjnySHj

Feeling Like the Only Normal Person in an Upside Down World? You’re Not Alone Do you ever feel like you’re the only normal person in an upside-down world? You’re not alone. A lot of us feel that way—millions of people, actually. I don’t need to give you specific examples of what's out there; I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of social media trends and viral videos on the internet that make you question things. We could discuss how to protect ourselves from society’s negative influences, but that’s not my primary concern right now. While adults have the willpower, confidence, and ability to fight back, children haven’t developed that skill set yet. They’re surrounded by influences, and we can only do so much to protect them. It's our job to guide them and teach them how to live a life of Godliness and virtue. If you want your children to listen to you, they need to feel understood. Let's work together to create a positive influence for our kids, helping them navigate this complex world with confidence and grace.

Move from control to curiousity. Here's what I found there: -engaged employees. -approachable teens -discussions that don't esacalate into marital dischord -suppliers and vendors that lean in and solve problems YMMV, but try it for a month and if I'm wrong, you can have your white knuckles and high blood pressure back. Ian Richardson and I talk about simple strategies built from lessons learned in our newsletter. Join us! https://lnkd.in/gwTtG5Q8