Above the line

Why show us a picture of a filthy mini Jim?

Look at the wheels ... both wheels!

Yesterday evening we were getting ready to head out for dinner to celebrate some good exam results for CostCentre#2 when I get a phone call from his brother, CostCentre#1.

'Dad ... erm ... my tyre has blown up!'

This is never a call you want to receive from your son or daughter but luckily we're able to quickly establish that he's OK, a little shaken, close to home, and struggling to figure out what to do next.

That doesn't explain why both tyres are flat does it. More of that later. This is where this week's newsletter gets, a little, relevant.

I read a book this week, 'The Fifteen Commitments of Conscious Leaders' and it's left an impression on me.

The central premise of the book is that we can lead from below or above the line.

Below the line = closed, defensive, committed to being right

Above the line = open, curious, committed to learning

The book goes on to detail the 15 ways that a leader can choose, in the moment, to be either above or below the line. 'Taking responsibility' is the first, 'Learning through curiosity' is next, and thirteen more follow.

So, in the moment, on the phone, I used this process. My first instinct of course was for safety but this was closely followed by being below the line. My thoughts were:

• What was he doing?
• It's going to be expensive!
• Who's going to sort it out?

So I tried to be above the line instead. What would be the other way to look at this? This didn't come easy, but:

• What can we learn from this?
• How can we fix this together?
• Is there a way that good comes from this?

Could you use this in your work?

When something happens that seems bad, inconvenient or frustrating ask yourself..

• What can I learn from this?
• What growth could come from this?
• How do we all come through this better.

But - you still need to know why BOTH tyres are flat don't you. Well, as it turned out this was less a case of a weak tyre blowing out and more a case of a fairly speedy collision with a very sturdy concrete central kerb.

Boys and cars right?

Have a peaceful weekend folks 🚀

Jim