Four weeks ago, I decided to begin a morning ritual of self-care from 7-8:30am, those that are connected with me on LinkedIn are aware of the catalyst for change moment, after all, leadership begins with leading thyself, doesn’t it? I also made the decision to delegate certain tasks to my youngest daughter, Emma Freda (17) to help me improve my focus with work and avoid trying to juggle so many tasks. This idea for her to help me with miscellaneous errands and grocery shopping revealed some startling discoveries. For the record, she is a multi-sport athlete, funny, kind, energetic, talkative, and smart (she makes much better grades than her mom). The following story should not be held against her.
First, the initial grocery list involved purchasing a head of lettuce. She arrived with a head of cabbage – looks similar, right? Of course, I waited until two of her good friends were sitting in the kitchen to reveal her selection. A good laugh was had by all!
Second, during a bank deposit run, she called and said, “Mom, they won’t take your check because it’s made out to COACH MKay Companies.” I said, “Which bank did you go to?” She said, “I’m at the Credit Union.” My reply, “Sweetie, look at the checkbook I gave you and the note of errands. It says to deposit check – BB&T. Her reply, “Oh, duh!”
Third, she called me minutes after leaving the house for an errand run and said, “Mom, what did you want me to do with the two letters you gave me?” I chuckled because they both had stamps on them and replied, “They just need to be mailed in the big blue box at the post office.” We both LOL.
Fourth, Emma Freda arrived at the house after another grocery run and was so proud of the “deal” she got on detergent. I was sitting on the sofa with a girlfriend who had helped me paint that day and when I glanced out of the corner of my eye, thought “There is no way in hell, that is dishwashing detergent (which was on the list).” She was super excited and said, “Mom, this size was only $5 more and you get twice as much!” My reply, “Sweetie, that’s laundry detergent, I needed dishwashing detergent.” My girlfriend and I burst into laughter, she said, “I just love that child.” I buried my head in the sofa because I was laughing so hard. I was speechless and that doesn’t happen very often.
There’s an old saying, teach a child the way they should go. As a professional in your organization, how do you handle yourself or people when they make a mistake or ask a question? Do you use it as a teachable moment or do you criticize, condemn, or complain? That is one of my favorite human relation principles of Dale Carnegie – Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain. WOW! What a beautiful world we would live in if we could all adopt that principle on a daily basis.
Be a catalyst for change, Don’t CCC and make every day count!
