Manage To Engage | Businesses Grow When People Do

Last week’s episode brought up a big question: What is your one thing? Or what’s the question that you will dedicate your life to? But don’t worry if you don’t have a definitive answer to those questions yet. Even just thinking about the question with intention puts you closer to the right path. And today, I’m going to give you some questions and tools you can use to continuously re-orient yourself towards fulfillment as you stumble towards your one thing. This four-part series is an excerpt from the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/learning-for-change (Learning for Change) course at https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/learning-for-change (ClearAndOpen.com). You can sign up for the course and check out a free preview by https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/learning-for-change (clicking right here).

Management is a constant exercise in shepherding change, internally or externally. But most people don’t like change, internally or externally. It makes most of us feel uncomfortable, and maybe even a little icky. Which leads me to what may be bad news for some of you: whatever it is you want in life will require you to change. But how do you even know what change is necessary or what steps you’ll need to take? That’s the question we’re going to address today — and when you’re able to find an answer, it’s going to make almost every single other question easier to answer. This four-part series is an excerpt from the https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/learning-for-change (Learning for Change) course at https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/learning-for-change (ClearAndOpen.com). You can sign up for the course and check out a free preview by https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/learning-for-change (clicking right here).

Being an adult means never having to say, “I have to.” At the end of the last episode, I shared why this idea that you have to do anything is just one of the most commonly shared delusions — a delusion encouraged by the structures of capitalism, sure, but a delusion nonetheless.  What does the alternative look like, then? What does it look like to practice adulthood as a verb and embrace saying “I get to” instead of “I have to” or “I should?” That’s what we’ll be exploring in this final piece of our dialectic on adulthood. If you want to keep going deeper on this subject and start applying these lessons, you’ll find this included as part of https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/accountability-path-2 (The Accountability Path 2.0).

In the last episode, we started a dialectic to investigate the truth about adulthood. When does it start? What does it mean to be an adult? The answers to those questions aren’t so simple, though, and the definitions seem to keep shifting over time, both for us as individuals and for society as a whole. This week, we’re going to move past the logistics and legal considerations for adulthood and start addressing the concept of Emotional Adulthood and the “I have to” delusion. If you want to go even deeper on the subject, you’ll find this included as part of https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/accountability-path-2 (The Accountability Path 2.0).

Do you consider yourself an adult? If you’re 18 or older, you probably answered to yourself, “Yes.” You might even have thought it was a stupid question to ask. And by the way, if you’re not 18 yet, kudos for listening — you’re way ahead of the curve. Now, especially if you rolled your eyes at that first question, consider the answer to this: What is the definition of an adult? The answer isn’t quite as obvious as you might think, and there’s a good chance that you’ve just never considered the question. But it’s a critical question to answer on the The Accountability Path, both as a manager of others and a manager of yourself, and it’s the question we’ll be engaging with over the next three episodes. If you want to go even deeper on the subject, you’ll find this included as part of https://courses.clearandopen.com/courses/accountability-path-2 (The Accountability Path 2.0).

To close out our first guest series, Matt Niblock shares how to identify the best candidates for the long haul in a high-pressure job and how hiring managers can create a good candidate experience — which doesn’t always mean making the candidate comfortable, although any good job interview should still be a safe space for truth. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Matt Niblock returns with more hiring and recruiting insight. We’ll walk through the early stages of the hiring process, touching on some common mistakes that people make along the way, when the hiring manager should push back against applicants, and how the idea of “gut meets data” that we discussed last week can be applied in practice. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Every organization has to deal with hiring and recruiting. So it’s funny that so many of the people who are responsible for hiring have little to no idea what they’re doing — even though there are experts out there who are happy to tell you exactly what works. Experts like Matt Niblock, VP of Employee Experience at Phase2, who has been working as a recruiter since you had to mail or fax in your résumé. And in the first part of this three-part interview, Matt will introduce us to some recruiting best practices and how hiring managers can start looking for the right person instead of the right skills. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

In the final episode of this series looking at the five stages of engagement through the lens of accountability, you’ll learn what keeps most people from achieving flow for more than a few fleeting moments of their life and how you can get closer to achieving flow — if you’re willing to put in the work (or, paradoxically, stop working so damn hard to get there).   Take the course: The Accountability Path 2.0   Learn more about the Five Stages of Engagement model: Ep 90: The Five Stages of Engagement – Part One – Crisis Ep 91: The Five Stages of Engagement – Part Two – Survival Ep 92: The Five Stage of Engagement - Part Three - Security Ep 93: The Five Stages of Engagement - Part Four - Thrival Ep 94: The Five Stages of Engagement - Part Five - Flow   I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

In the last episode, we reviewed the first three stages of engagement: crisis, survival, and security. Most people get stuck in those first two stages, engaging with a chronic stress response that makes upward momentum seem insurmountable for most of their lives. And if they eventually reach the stage of security, it can feel so comfortable that they settle in. But for those of us that don’t want to settle, or for those of us that don’t feel comfortable with security, there are two more stages: Thrival and Flow.  In this episode, I’ll talk about making these critical transitions, especially as it relates to your level of accountability and the accountability of those who you manage.   Take the course: The Accountability Path 2.0   Learn more about the Five Stages of Engagement model: Ep 90: The Five Stages of Engagement – Part One – Crisis Ep 91: The Five Stages of Engagement – Part Two – Survival Ep 92: The Five Stage of Engagement - Part Three - Security Ep 93: The Five Stages of Engageme

In this series, we will be revisiting the five stages of engagement — but this time, we’re going to examine the model through the lens of accountability. If this is a new concept for you, you won’t be lost starting with this episode, but you can find a more foundational introduction to the model back in episodes 90 to 95. Links below.   Take the course: The Accountability Path 2.0   Learn more about the Five Stages of Engagement model: Ep 90: The Five Stages of Engagement – Part One – Crisis Ep 91: The Five Stages of Engagement – Part Two – Survival Ep 92: The Five Stage of Engagement - Part Three - Security Ep 93: The Five Stages of Engagement - Part Four - Thrival Ep 94: The Five Stages of Engagement - Part Five - Flow   I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

A fair warning before going into this episode: it starts on a pretty emotional beat, and it might be a little triggering for anyone who is currently being overwhelmed by feelings of grief or loss. However, if you can listen through that, I think hearing the participant on this coaching call walk through her feelings can also be a healing experience that helps you process those emotions, as we discussed in the last episode. This experience of working through grief also serves as a microcosm of the spiritual journey that I first discussed in part one of this series, and hearing that process should help anyone who is committed to spiritual evolution. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

Over the last two episodes, we’ve clarified the content of our reaction to COVID-19 and the context of that reaction — the content being our egoic emotional reaction and the context being the perpetual state of not knowing. But getting to the point where you can hold both of those simultaneously is difficult. It doesn’t feel natural because it’s not common in our society, but our minds are actually well equipped to process these emotions and move beyond them. We just have to learn how to let it happen. So, in this episode, you’ll learn how to go about processing the fear, anxiety, grief, and other emotions that are being brought by the pandemic, get what you need to from those emotions, and then make room for that emotion within the greater context of yourself. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

In the last episode, I asked a question: What happens if you experience your experience from something other than ego? If you think about all of the things we don’t know about what the future holds, about how things will (or, unfortunately, won’t) change as parts of the world re-open amid still-growing COVID-19 cases, and you experience that through our egoic reaction, then you will probably experience some degree of fear and anxiety. For some, that anxiety and fear of the unknown can be crippling. But if you find the center of that “I don’t know,” if you take away the content of a possible future — a future that, if nothing else, this pandemic has taught us is unpredictable — and sit in not knowing, you can move past the egoic emotion to find a sense of calm. That’s why I view this time as a spiritual opportunity for so many, and in this episode, we’ll explore what happens when you make this spiritual transition and why our recent shared experiences create an opportune environment to do so. I’d love your

We’re doing something a little bit different for this series of episodes. While the format won’t change, we’ll be directly addressing some recent events: the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent worldwide economic shutdowns. The effects of the pandemic are ubiquitous and — as you’ve likely read many, many times already — unprecedented. Economically and emotionally, relatively few people will come out entirely unscathed. But, at the same time, there’s a spiritual opportunity. So, over the next four weeks, I will illustrate why this sudden disruption represents an invitation to wake up to reality and go beyond the content of your egoic experience. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)

When you strip everything else away, accountability boils down to abiding with truth.  The truth, however, can be a bitter pill to swallow... at least at first. When you start to experience the benefits, though, you grow accustomed to the flavor. You even come to like it, to seek it out, as you develop a true sense of self-mastery. So, to finish this series on accountability as a teacher, I’m going to share some more examples of what it looks like when the truth presents itself, looking at the results people get when they abide with it versus when they continue to resist. If you want to immerse yourself even deeper in this content, check out the full Accountability Path 2.0 course.

Over the last two episodes, we’ve established that the cause of all human suffering is resisting change. Life is kind enough to tell us when something needs to change, often gently at first, but it is persistent. If you ignore the letter, it’ll leave you a call. If you ignore the voicemail, it’ll come to your door. Accountability will make itself known. And any act of resistance is just childish. That’s the content of this lesson. In this episode and the next episode, I’ll be providing some context around how you can apply this knowledge to the accountability path.  If you want to immerse yourself even deeper in this content, check out the full Accountability Path 2.0 course.

When you experience pain, when you repeatedly endure the same suffering, that’s reality asking you to participate. That’s the highest form of accountability. Some of us will just wait for the acute pain to pass and move on without doing anything. Some will actively seek out a distraction, which is abundantly easy in this world of ours. Others will change superficially, change what they’re doing in an effort to get a different result. But when life is pushing you to change, you can’t just change your actions — you have to change your self. A critical part of this process is learning to differentiate between your thoughts and yourself, and in this episode, I’ll walk you through the process of disidentification. If you want to immerse yourself even deeper in this content, check out the full Accountability Path 2.0 course.

Before you get into this episode, I encourage you to pause for a moment and consider the answer to this question: What do you want and how is life telling you to change to get it? Really, take a couple of minutes and think about your answer. Interrogate yourself. This will help you actively engage in the discussion and get the most out of not just this episode but this entire series on accountability as a teacher. If you aren’t willing to do that, this series may not be for you. This isn’t a quick-fix solution. But if you want to create lasting and real change in your business or your life, and you’re willing to put in the work necessary to do so, then I urge you to pay attention.  And if you want to immerse yourself even deeper in this content, check out the full Accountability Path 2.0 course.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve established the value of engaging with life through a curious lens and how people show up differently as managers when they express curiosity. We also established that the main obstacle between you and a more curious life is fear. In this episode, I offer you some tools you can use to start overcoming the obstacle of fear and deconstructing the egoic conditioning that covers up your innate curiosity. And as a final reminder, this series was taken from the epilogue to the CLEAR Thinking course. If you want to take this extra time at home as an opportunity to start living more intentionally, you can find the full 11-week coaching seminar at clearandopen.com. I’d love your feedback. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1234688298 (Click here to leave a rating & review for the show on Apple Podcasts.)