The Wisdom of Wolves

Every wolf has his own voice. Every wolf respects the voice of every other wolf.


There is not a more eerie, mournful, frightening or beautiful sound at night than the musical extravaganza of a howling wolf pack. Campers and hunters who have heard this chorus are filled with wonder but are also usually immobilized by fear. Because of the melody of voices, it often sounds like they are surrounded by scores of wolves.

In truth, there are usually no more than five to eight wolves howling in a pack. The secret is that the wolves are always careful not to duplicate each other. Each wolf assumes a unique pitch, respecting the distinctiveness of the other members of the pack. While the notes may change, as in any beautiful song, one wolf will not copy the pitch of another.

Interestingly, this respect for the individual only emphasizes the true unity of the group. They are one, but they are individuals, each contributing to the organization in their own unique way. Every wolf has his own voice. Every wolf respects the voice of every other wolf.

While no one knows for sure why wolves sing, nature has blessed them with a talent they have perfected through the generations. However, we can make some educated guesses about the phenomenon; they are happy, excited, playful, territorial, and sorrowful. They may be simply reaffirming the spirit and unity of their pack. After all, why do birds sing? Why do we?

An additional reason that wolves may howl is that it provides a time, a place and an event for all social barriers to be broken. Wolves have a strong social order, with each member understanding its role and place. When we observe wolves eating together, we see what seems to be curtsies, bows, whines and hugs—all according to each member’s “place” in the organization. But when wolves howl together, all barriers are dropped, as if to say, “We are one, but we are all unique, so don’t tread on us.” As anyone who has ever listened to this magical howling choir will testify, its message is heard.

The wolf symphony makes the pack appear a much more formidable foe than would be the case if they all sounded the same. No wonder intruders become confused and frightened at what they assume to be an army of wolves.

So, too, are human organizations and families more formidable when the awareness of each individual is celebrated rather than stifled. Each person assumes his share of responsibility for the group by employing his special talents and strengths. By members expressing their own uniqueness and respecting and encouraging the uniqueness of others, the unit becomes a strong, formidable one.

“Over the years I’ve learned a lot about coaching staffs and one piece of advice I would pass along to a young head coach—or a corporate executive, or even a bank president—is this: Don’t make them in your image. Don’t even try. My assistants don’t look alike, think alike, or have the same personalities. And I sure don’t want them thinking like I do. You don’t strive for sameness, you strive for balance.”

~Bear Bryant

Questions to Ponder:

Business

Interdepartmental teams (TQM, CQI, focus groups, etc.) are now utilized worldwide to constantly improve products, services and customer awareness. Unfortunately, these teams are often formed without regard to the psychological makeup of the team members. Outstanding teams consist of individuals with differing gifts. There are several ways to enhance team selection, such as the use of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which I frequently administer to groups. How do you make sure your team members will bring out the best in each other?

Family

Do you believe in birth order difference among children? Is it true that most people are tougher on their first born, more indecisive with middle children, and easiest on the baby? Do you respect and enjoy your family members’ differences, or do you try to force them to fit your preconceived mold?

Personal

We all possess unique gifts. We can either contribute these gifts toward the success of our work team and family, or we can use our uniqueness as an excuse to remain aloof and weaken the unit. What are your special contributions? How are you using them?

Copyright Simple Truths, LLC, all rights reserved and reprinted with permission.

Ways to Build Commitment & Positive Attitudes

• Make a list of the things that your boss can do or say that would encourage you be engaged and involved at work. Use this list as a reminder of what you can do to help build others’ commitment.


• Never forget – people support what they help create! Even though it’s just common sense, it’s still an underutilized lesson. When people understand what’s expected and feel like they have contributed to the process, they are many times more likely to be committed to getting the desired results. So when making plans and identifying tasks to perform, ask people What do YOU suggest?

• Each day, ask a team member for something that’s going right. This habit encourages people to look for the positive things that are happening and reinforces what is working.

• Don’t “shoot the messenger.” Instead, make it safe for people to convey bad news that needs to be heard. Say, Thank you for telling me what I needed to know. By eliminating fear, you build trust and commitment for open and honest communication.

• Don’t punish good, committed performers by repeatedly giving them hard-to-do tasks that other people don’t want and therefore don’t put good effort into. Yes, good workers will get it done and do it well. But if you fail to hold others responsible for doing these things, soon even the best performers will likely develop a “bad attitude” about doing them.

• Reinforce good attitudes and fulfilled commitments by getting a LEG up on recognition:

o Look them in the eye

o Explain specifically what they did well

o Give them a great big “Thank You!”

No Losers

No Losers


They played one of the most memorable high school football games in history in the fall of 2008 in Grapevine, Texas. It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville State came out to take the field, the Grapevine Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through. That’s right, hometown fans made a spirit line for the visiting team.

The Grapevine fans even made a banner for Gainesville players to crash through at the end. It said, “Go Tornadoes!” Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

“I never in my life thought I’d hear people cheering for us,” recalls Gainesville’s QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah.

And even though Faith walloped Gainesville, 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave their head coach, Mark Williams, a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he’d just won a state title. It has to be the first Gatorade bath in history for a coach with a 0-9 record.

But with the game over, everyone could see 12 uniformed officers escorting 14 Gainesville players off the field. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That’s because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith’s head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 touchdowns all year. Faith has 70 kids on the roster, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing 7 year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking people to do just that. “Here’s the message I want you to send:” Hogan wrote.

“You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth.”

Lessons For Leaders:

“You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth.”

The leadership lessons in that one statement are as profound as any we might encounter in a dozen best-selling business books. Perhaps more so, because the intended recipients of that message were young men who before this game may never have experienced that sense of value or even believed in their own self-worth. Certainly, they were a group that had never received so valuable a gift from complete strangers.

But one man’s leadership sparked actions that led an entire community to rally behind kids who no one had ever supported; the leader of one team became the model for every team.

How powerful a message do we send as leaders when we proclaim the intrinsic value of every member of our team? And how much greater is that message when we extend that believe even to those we oppose with respect.

Balance sheet of life

Our Birth is our Opening Balance!


Our Death is our Closing Balance!

Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities

Our Creative Ideas are our Assets



Heart is our Current Asset

Soul is our Fixed Asset

Brain is our Fixed Deposit

Thinking is our Current Account



Achievements are our Capital

Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade

Friends are our General Reserves

Values & Behaviour are our Goodwill



Patience is our Interest Earned

Love is our Dividend

Children are our Bonus Issues

Education is Brands / Patents



Knowledge is our Investment

Experience is our Premium Account

The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.

The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some very Good and Very bad things …..

The most destructive habit.....................Worry

The greatest Joy......... ......................Giving

The greatest loss..................Loss of self-respect



The most satisfying work.................Helping others

The ugliest personality trait..............Selfishness

The most endangered species........Dedicated leaders

Our greatest natural resource..................Our youth



The greatest 'shot in the arm'.........Encouragement

The greatest problem to overcome...............Fear

The most effective sleeping pill.......Peace of mind

The most crippling failure disease.............Excuses



The most powerful force in life................... Love

The most dangerous act..............................A gossip

The world's most incredible computer.........The brain

The worst thing to be without..................... Hope



The deadliest weapon...... ........ .........The tongue

The two most power-filled words....... .... 'I Can'

The greatest asset....... .......... ......... ...........Faith

The most worthless emotion..................Self- pity



The most beautiful attire........................SMILE!

The most prized possession.................Integrity

The most powerful channel of communication. ……..Prayer

The most contagious spirit................Enthusiasm



Life ends; when you stop Dreaming,

Hope ends; when you stop Believing,

Love ends; when you stop Caring,

And Friendship ends; when you stop Sharing...!!!

That Stereotype Hurts

Guidelines for Stereotype-Free Communication


Individualize. Treat people as individuals rather than as members of a set.

Avoid stereotypical jokes and humor – they are often demeaning and embarrassing to listeners.

Use accurate descriptions. Replace descriptors, clichés, and labels that rely on stereotypes with specific, accurate, and relevant words. “She reminds you when work is overdue” is more accurate and less stereotypical than “She’s a nag.”

Depict people non-stereotypically in visuals. When using graphics or visuals, ensure that the images do not reinforce stereotypes. For example, use photographs depicting role models that include people of different ages, ethnicities, physical abilities, body sizes and gender rather than depicting all role models as tall, white men.

Solicit multiple opinions. If you are seeking information about a group of people, seek input from multiple sources. Avoid expecting one person to be a “spokesperson” for all members of a group simply because she or he is a member of the group.

Learn the “hot spots." Be sensitive to common negative stereotypes about groups – this will help you understand strong reactions to a seemingly positive description. For instance, a person described as “poor but hard-working” may feel the sting of the unspoken stereotype that people are poor because they are lazy. How do you find out what the hot spots are? Listen! Observe! Ask! Friends or coworkers will likely tell you what stereotypes bother them, if you ask.

LEARNING ZONE

“For you to be the very best, you cannot allow yourself to become complacent in your comfort zone. You need to be reaching for improvement. To fulfill your potential, you need to move out of your comfort zone and into ‘the learning zone’.”

“There are three rooms in the learning zone. The first room is the reading room. Look around this library – there are more than a thousand books in here. More than half of those books are about management and leadership … Suppose you decided to read one book a month on management or leadership. During the next year, you’d have read 12 books. Do you think you’d know more about management and leadership if you read that many books a year?”

“The second room in the learning zone is the listening room. Did you know that the principal reasons executives fail are arrogance, out-of-control egos, and insensitivity? They forget to take the time to listen to their people. Soon they become insensitive to the needs and desires of the individuals on the team. Don’t allow yourself to fall into that trap – listen to your people!”

“The third room in the learning zone is the giving room. You cannot succeed without giving back. Your legacy will be what you give to others.”