Consider Your Calling

On a crisp fall morning, I recently had a rare opportunity for a weekday breakfast at a local restaurant.  As I sat down with my coffee, I noticed a large group encircled around tables pushed together.  I was the only other guest on the patio, so I could not help but overhear their conversation.  It became obvious that they were younger retirees that gather regularly for breakfast at this restaurant.  Finally, one gentleman stood up to leave.  One of the women called out, "you are leaving?  Where do you have to go?  You are retired!"  

As I left that morning, the scene and the words the woman spoke reverberated in my mind.  I think, sometimes, especially those of us who have been in the workplace for a long time, fantasize about such mornings and gatherings -- days when we can sip coffee at our leisure and have no place to go. I don't.  Please understand, I will retire from my job, but I will pursue my calling until I am called Home.  

Christine Caine, founder of A21 Campaign and PropelWomen, recently made the comment, "What are you going to do -- retire and play golf, really?  As long as we are breathing, God has placed us on this earth for a purpose."  

Many years ago, I found my calling to be using my path to help others find theirs.  Maybe, my journey can serve as a roadmap for others trying to find their way.  Perhaps, by studying the path I took, someone else could avoid pitfalls and stumbles along theirs.   Possibly, I made a decision at a fork in the road that is helpful to someone else to discern direction and the right steps to take on their road.

How do you find your calling?

1.  It's the thing that gets you up in the morning.  It resonates not just in your heart and mind, but sizzles in your soul.

2.  It's what others tell you that you do best.  A calling draws upon your greatest gifts and deepest talents.

3.  A calling is the way you use your energy that makes an impact on the world, or at least your part of the world.

4.  It's the moment and the activity in which you feel God's pleasure.

Unlike a job that is for a season, a calling will beckon us for a lifetime.  It creates an inner drive and restlessness when we live outside of it and peace when we are embracing it and living inside of it.  A job is printed on your resume'.  A calling echoes in your epitaph.  

Consider your calling and diligently pursue it.  For one person or maybe many, it may make all the difference.

How Big Is Your Contrail?

While sitting on my back porch right at sunrise yesterday morning, a plane flew across the blue sky and left a bright white line in the sky known as a contrail, or a condensation trail.   As the plane continued its journey and left my sight, the trail behind it began to dissipate.  While most of the contrail disappeared, there was a spot where the contrail had intersected with the cloud and it widened a bit and remained for a long time.   Finally, it too, grew more faint until it was just a tiny mark in the sky. 

Watching the last bit of the contrail extinguishing in the cloud reminded me of my own life.  Like the plane traveling at hundreds of miles per hour, my journey on this earth is speeding past.  I am moving through life doing the things we were put on earth to do:  serving, laboring, learning, growing and sharing.  I thought about my own contrail.  Is it a straight line that never becomes very wide and disappears quickly?  Or perhaps, is it like the contrail I saw that fades and fades, but one part of if remains longer, wider and brighter?  

It was interesting to me that the place where the contrail burned the brightest was where it intersected the cloud.  Scientists believe that the higher the altitude of the plane, the bigger the contrail. This is possible because the air in the higher clouds is wetter and when the water vapor from the engine of the plane, collides with the wet air in the cloud, ice crystals form to create the contrail.   The more ice crystals, the bigger the contrail.

Isn't that true about our life?  Our chance to burn brightest is often in the clouds where it is the darkest and the wettest.  Our struggles and our challenges provide us the greatest opportunity to make an impact for good.  I have found four qualities that I believe enlarge our impact.

1.  Integrity.  Do the right thing even when it is hard.

2. Excellence.  Work hard and give of your best all day, every day.

3.  Loyalty.  Maximize the opportunities in good times and hang tough during challenging times.  Be true 

to yourself and others.

4.  Generosity.  Give of your time, talent and treasure.  Adopt an abundancy mentality instead of a scarcity mentality, believing there is enough opportunity for everyone.

I want to adopt the qualities and practices that help me have a longer, wider and brighter impact on others.  I hope we all do.  

Hire People or Select Talent?

One of the most important decisions to make in any business is choosing who will work in the business.   Hiring enough people is a good beginning.  Selecting Talent is an essential beginning.  When I think of hiring people, I think of quantity.  Do I have enough to get the work done?  Do I have enough people to run this shift?  Do I have enough people to serve the guests?  When I think of selecting Talent, I think of capability.  Do I have the talent to grow the business?  Will my Talent provide the kind of service that will attract more customers?  Will my Talent possess soft skills that encourage our guests to tell others about their great experience in our business?    When I just look for people, I could just be looking for warm bodies and beating hearts.  When I look for Talent, I am wisely matching the skills and abilities needed to grow my business with the competency of individuals committed to helping me.   

When hiring people, the questions asked are about how many hours they are available and which days they can work.  When selecting Talent, the questions asked are about the unique skills and abilities to meet the expectations of the role.  Hiring people drives me to think about how much can this person do for me?  Selecting Talent moves my thinking to how can I steward this valuable resource to grow the business and grow the individual?

People take orders, deliver products and complete transactions.  Talent identifies sales or service opportunities, exceeds guest expectations and creates memorable experiences.  

People and Talent are both trained, but Talent is developed and nurtured.  People will stay with you to make a living, but Talent will stay with you to make a life.  

So what will I invest my time in:  hiring people or selecting Talent?  I will choose Talent every time. What will you choose?

The Mystery of Chemistry

The Periodic Table of Elements was not my friend in high school.  In fact, had it not been for my boyfriend, I might not have ever passed high school Chemistry.  I am still fascinated, however, that the combination of certain elements creates a new compound.  Some elements, when combined, are beneficial.  Some elements, when combined, can be disastrous.

A basic understanding of chemistry is helpful when building a team and selecting its members.  It is important to discern which styles, personalities, strengths, weaknesses, attitudes and desires will combine well to benefit and move the team forward.  The saying, “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch,” can be very true in considering the chemistry of a team.   One team member who does not fit can be such a distraction to a team that the team fails to accomplish its mission.  For the team member who does not fit, it can derail an otherwise successful career.

Out of the 3 C’s of selection:  Character, Competency and Chemistry, Chemistry is always the most difficult to identify.    When selecting a team member from outside of the organization and you have had no opportunity to observe the potential member in a team setting, there are a few options.    Consider the recruiting process for college athletes.  College recruiters have the opportunity to see the player in action, talk to coaches about the performance of the player, watch the player interact with teammates at a practice, visit the athlete at home and invite the athlete to visit with coaches at the college or university.  As employers, we have similar opportunities if we are willing to take the time to invest in the process.

 References of former employers, coaches and volunteer leaders of the candidate can provide excellent insight into the candidate’s likelihood to fit the chemistry of your team.   You can also invite the candidate into a meeting of your current team.  Take in a ballgame or  arrange a team dinner and include the candidate.  Give the candidate the opportunity to select your team, just as you give your team the chance to help you select the candidate.  This will ensure a win-win for the chemistry of your team and the successful addition of a new team member.