Marguerite Ham

Leadership & Rituals

I had a very interesting conversation this week about the importance of rituals in our lives. We were raised with rituals! Family rituals, religious rituals, community rituals, school rituals, holiday rituals….the list goes on and on! I started thinking about how important rituals are, and I think one of the reasons is that we are creatures of habit. Rituals can make us feel safe, loved and valued. What rituals do you have with your family? Do you have a specific day the family spends together? Perhaps a game night or movie night. A favorite restaurant you and your significant other like to enjoy a meal at and do so on a regular basis. Rituals can be the glue that continuously bring the family back together in this busy world! And, a way to easily make someone feel valued. What about rituals in leadership? Rituals may not be the word used in the workplace…but they absolutely exist. How about weekly or monthly meetings…that could be considered a ritual! What rituals can we create in the workplace that would have a positive effect? How about the ritual of simply walking around and catching people doing things right and acknowledging them! Taking a …

Communication is Key to a Leaders Success

I was talking with a client today, and he shared with me the great success that is taking place within his company. He stated that the success is due to his constant attention to “Re-training, Re-immersion and Reemphasis” to the core Mission, Vision, Values and Purpose of his company. Not too long ago, he got all of his staff together to create a current Mission, Vision, Values and Purpose for the company. This created tremendous buy in from the entire staff. They felt a part of the company and felt valued by the company to be a part of this process. In addition, every day the company has a ten minute “Huddle Meeting” via the phone where the workload for the day is shared and discussed and one person is asked on the call (spontaneously) to discuss how the Mission of the company is in alignment with the work that will be done that day. Or, how the Purpose of the company will help to get the duties and tasks accomplished. Or, how the Vision of the company will help grow the company. At first, when he started this exercise, staff did not respond well…now they are prepared and state …