How you can radiate energy, innovation and success. How will you stay ahead of the curve? Learn to Glow“Many Managers struggle because they try to do ...
How you can radiate energy,
innovation and success. How will you stay ahead of the curve? Learn to Glow
“Many Managers struggle because they try to do far too much by themselves” writes Professor Lynda Grattan. Lynda Grattan is a professor at London Business School and the author of Hot Spots: Why Some Teams, Workplaces and Organisations Buzz with Energy and Others Don’t. Her new book Glow: How you can radiate Energy, Innovation and Success was published in April 2009.
In times of recession and job uncertainty, it is more important than ever to add value and to prove your worth at work. The problem is that sometimes the actions people take to make themselves indispensable only ensure that they are disposable.
Some people just Glow. They radiate enthusiasm, positive energy and inspiration in their own work, they excite and ignite other people. These are the people who are always in demand, who stay ahead of the curve and create real added value in today’s increasingly competitive world.
Professor Grattan gives the three core principles and nine concrete actions that you need to develop to ensure you have the key skills, habits and choices that you need to Glow. The three key principles which are mentioned in the opening chapter, and explored in depth throughout the rest of the book, include 'Co-operation' which is the first principle.
“It is better to co-operate than compete” states Grattan. Through increasing co-operation you will build an informal network that will provide help when you most need it.
So, it is all about reaching out to others, by networking and finding an inner quest by asking audacious questions.
Her narration of the audacious question asked by the global entrepreneur Ratan Tata, “Why can’t we build a one-lakh car?” which as we know resulted ultimately in the production of a very low budget car and the birth of a Indian Motor Manufacturer.
The second principle that Grattan states is what she calls 'jumping across worlds'. Opening yourself up to new ideas will dramatically increase your capacity to innovate. You can do this by joining groups of people who are different from yourself, setting aside time to meet new people and celebrating the diversity of others. This is evidenced by her story of the Lynx chocolate fragranced deodorant coming about by a serendipitous meeting between people with very different working backgrounds.
The third principle is called 'Igniting Latent Energy' this means getting people going by seeing the big positive ideas in their products and markets, the things that give more meaning to work than grim calculations like Shareholder Value.
To access your inner spark you need to re-define your tasks in a way that ignites others to become a part of them. We live through the skills we develop, the habits we create and the choices we weave into our day-to-day experiences.
Research shows that the majority of people, particularly at this point on the economic curve, spend a very small proportion of their working lives feeling energised, engaged and innovative. However it is vital to stay ahead of the curve. You have to work with more energy, more enthusiasm and most important of all innovation. It is this combination that will bring you long-term success in this increasingly technology-enabled and socially networked world.
In summary, the nine actions falling out of the three great principles are:
Action 1-Develop the daily habits of Cooperation
Action 2 - Mastering the art of great Conversation
Action 3 - Acting on the 'Smell of the Place' The Second Principle: Jumping across Worlds
Action 4 - Increasing the Value of your Networks
Action 5 - Jumping out of the Boundaries that Constrain You
Action 6 - Finding and Moving to Boundaryless Places The Third Principle: Igniting Latent Energy
Action 7- Asking Questions that Spark Energy
Action 8 - Creating Visions that Compel
Action 9 - Crafting Meaningful and Exciting Work
Having now developed the Glow. Perhaps most important is the challenge of continuing to Glow. Professor Grattan states that by watching people who Glow over long periods, they stay on the path by focussing on the journey forward, by removing the obstacles on the path and by keeping track of progress.
Keep defining what is important to you. If you have young children you will be very aware of how energy sapping they are, in this case use other people's Hot Spots. Grattans earlier book 'Hot Spots' is well worth reading and flourish in them. Focusing on what is important is essential to staying on the path.
We all have many distracting and time wasting pulls in different directions, leading us down time consuming alleys. Keep focused and vigilant for these Distractions/Negative Distractors and obstacles and you will 'Keep Glowing.'
“I encourage everyone to read Glow who wants a more meaningful life, or to help others to achieve one.” Hallstern Moerk, Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Nokia
“Churchill once said that we are all worms but some of us are glow worms. This readable and invaluable book teaches us how we can all glow, which means to me success at work and success at work and success at life” Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California and author of ‘On Becoming a Leader’
