What Your Silence Tells Others

Some leaders are outspoken while others prefer to be low key. In a recent NBC interview with Brian Williams, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed a leaning towards introversion and silence. When asked what it was like shifting from a senior executive position to that of CEO, he said, "I'm a very private person, I like my being anonymous." (for the full transcript, click here)

For extroverts, finding silence during a week is very important even though silence is not their natural leaning. For introverts, finding silence is easy since they prefer less stimulation on any given day.

For both groups, silence speaks volumes. It tells others any number of things about them and how they approach work. It also is subjectively interpreted by those around the leader.

As an example, I like to spend the first 90 minutes of my day without meetings. I prepare my day, meet with my assistant and crank out the tasks that absolutely must get done that day. When I do this, the rest of the day goes better. I'm more focused and can give myself to those around me. When I don't do this, I'm distracted and experience guilt.

I realize that not everyone has a job with full control over each hour of the day. It's also true that some jobs are urgency driven. An ER nurse's job is to respond to anyone who comes through the door. Can you imagine it any other way? Still, when you choose to practice silence during the day, you tell others something about you.

The mom who tells her kids that she needs a 15 minute break so that she can have a devotional prayer time says something profound. She's telling her kids that the home is about noise AND quiet. She's telling her kids that faith needs listening and listening only happens when we are quiet.

The CEO who starts his day by getting quiet and closing his door for 30 minutes tells those around him that he's there for them AND can only be fully engaged if he begins his day with quietude. He's actually deepening his leadership platform by showing those in the organization that he is available most of the time but not all of the time.

The couple that takes a long drive in the country and doesn't feel the need to talk is practicing silence. Their silence says that they've run out of things to say AND that love is totally ok with that. Sometimes love is just being in the presence of the one you love.

What is your silence telling others?

*Photo Courtesy of FDT

Five Things to do on a Friday

Fridays are pretty great. We look forward to them. They mark the end of either drudgery or vocation during the week. I don't know about you but I find the mere existence of Friday makes Monday through Thursday a bit more tolerable.

Thanks be to God for inventing Fridays. Really good stuff there.

From a productivity and spirituality perspective, Fridays are also useful insofar as you can tie a ribbon on your week. When you do that, the weekend and the following week go better. Here are five simple things you can do to end your week on a high note:

1. Do a weekly review. Remember the last time you did a true GTD weekly review? If it's been a while, now is the time to get quiet and review your project list and plan for the next week.

2. Find one spiritual reading for the weekend. Whether it's a New Testament reading or something from Relevant Magazine, find something to save and then get alone with it later in the weekend.

3. Plan an outdoor activity. When was the last time that you actually researched an outdoor activity?

4. Clean up your workspace. There is nothing better than to start your week on Monday having cleaned it up on Friday.

5. Surprise your loved ones. You can pick up flowers for your wife, rent a silly movie for the kids or buy a bunch of legos for your son (or yourself). People like surprises and Fridays are perfect for delighting those you love with something out of the ordinary.

So how will you use your Friday?

A New Year's Resolution Worth Keeping

You could run three times a week.

You could eat more vegetables.

You could call Aunt Helen each Friday night to catch up.

You could donate all of your flannel shirts to the Salvation Army.

You could use Twitter on odd days of the week.

Or, you could do something really radical. You could carve out morning time as truly effective, meaningful d-o-i-n-g time. You could then give this gift to someone else by honoring their morning time. Have a listen to the Manager Tools podcast about taking control of your mornings as they make the case for a more productive (and fewer interruption-filled) morning.

Of all of the new year's resolutions worth keeping, this one might be the best.

Why a New Year is so Exciting

I like new things. New gadgets, new homes, new arrangements of the furniture after Christmas, new ways of arranging an office. A new tie is usually good unless it blinks. Did I mention new programs at church?

New is fun. New is... new.

It's terrific on the internet how everyone is writing about the over/under on New Year's Resolutions. Some people dig them and others are repulsed by them. Wherever you are at in that spectrum, that's pretty much ok. The key is to find your sweet spot and then go with what works.

My kids and I were playing a game over the vacation which involved planning a next move. My 9 year old son said, "I'm just going to plan as I go."

That's pretty good advice for January and beyond.

So Long to 2012, an Amazing Year

As I look back on 2012, I am humbled by the highlights of what was an incredible year on this planet. I grew more in my faith, learned to love my family more fully and expanded my professional platform. I have nothing to complain about if I'm honest with myself.

Can you relate?

This blog and its satellite projects (FaithWorker Study Guide, the podcasts, etc.) have become such an important part of every week. Thank you to all of you who have posted comments, shared posts, and retweeted me on Twitter. I've made new friends, engaged in deep conversations and become a better person. None of that would have been possible without the medium of the blog.

Thanks and here's to a spectacular 2013!