Just in time Jill here again! Posting week 34 just before week 35 passes in a flash!
Last week, I had a several chances to practice standing in. You know standing in, right? It means using your voice when you do not feel 100% happy with something someone said. And that someone has authority or, in some way, power.
This summer I (re)read a book by Howard Gardner (called Leading Minds) that suggests strong leaders like Churchill or Eleanor Roosevelt showed an early willingness to stand up to authority.
But you think twice before standing when that authority is a new client helping to pay your bills.
Then I reminded myself that most strong, productive conversations start with someone being willing to say what he or she thinks, really. I said what I thought, trying to stick with the mutual goals and hopefully hiding my impatience or irritation at the waste of energy potentially brought on with (and by now you know this is my favorite) corporate politics.
And today, I'm still standing. We're still working together. I think and feel we are better for it. How can I tell? We smile and joke with each other more as we go forward. A side benefit to standing I had not considered: the whole project is more fun.
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