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How
can something pretty straighforward
become truly profound - and what is the
lesson for organizational
leaders? Based on the deeply impactful
results of the simple "I Love to Read" book club
the answer is, "Let it go and watch it
grow."
I borrowed the
idea of the book club from a Realtor friend of
mine, fully expecting to receive some cute book
reports from family and kids of clients.
And, I was not disappointed. Very precious
reports were received, and it was a joy to read
them and think about everyone enjoying reading
them on our website.
However,
the stories that were arriving began to reveal
something far more important and profound than I
had imagined. Stories arrived of kids
reading aloud to classmates with learning
disabilities so everyone could participate.
Grandmas told of matching gift certificates not
only for their own grandkids but also their
grandkid's friends.
One
day, while checking the mail at my P.O. Box, I
recognized some of the Los Angeles addresses on
the reports. I ran home and checked the
locations and was amazed and delighted that kids
living in the Los Angeles inner city were sending
in book reports! These reports were smart
and insightful with the kids stating their
opinions of the books and offering real critiques
of what they had read - something I barely did as
a kid.
I had
goose bumps because this hit on many levels.
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First,
because these kids were enjoying reading and
sharing that with me.
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Second,
because for each book report I'm donating
$10 to Free
the Children. This is a hugely
successful organization that was founded by
12-year olds to educate children worldwide
and life impoverished communities to free kids
there from child labor. So by reading, our
kids were contributing to the lives of other
children.
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Finally,
the mission of Free the Children is to free kids
here in the U.S. from the notion that they are
powerless to create change. These kids
were creating change. Whew!
This
simple little book club idea exceeded expectations
with the impact it created. Seeing the
community of kids pulling together and reaching
inner city kids went beyond my wildest
dreams.
So
how does this relate to organizational
leaders?
Now
glean this book club story for insights that can
move your leadership toward exceeding
expectations.
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How
are you creating the environment in your
organization for the people to surpass
expectations?
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What
ways can you free up creativity and motivate
ownership?
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How
can you more fully welcome solutions from within
your organization that hold the promise of
exceeding your current perceptions of
organizational potential?
What
ways can you free up creativity and motivate
ownership, so that your people will create
solutions that not only achieve but also exceed
current perceptions of organizational
potential?
That's
at the heart of coaching: giving folks the
tools, feedback and call to break free from
self-imposed limitations to exceed their own
expectations. And
soar!
Copyright 2006 The Juncture
Company
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