I am not the most spontaneous person but I can go with the flow at times. One of those times was this weekend. We found a goo deal on a hotel that allowed us to get away from the 114 degree heat of Phoenix and to the 104 degree heat (and views) of Sedona. I made a quick adjustment from our usual weekend routine (which isn't much right now with COVID). The rest of my crew was super excited to be getting away for a bit. After battling a bit of traffic who had a similar idea to ours to leave the hottest heat behind, we made it to Sedona. Since it was a vacation, as soon as we left the city limits, my kids were having a good time. Just getting to the hotel was fun for them and dinner on a balcony while watching the sunset on the red rocks of Sedona almost mind blowing to them. The best part was getting to swim at night, eating a snack before bed and then getting to swim first thing in the morning. No matter what we did, the kids had blast with my wife and I.
There's a point to this story. As team members and team leaders, sometimes we need to slow down - just need to be available and present for our people. Just as my kids enjoyed just doing something with me, people that work with us and, especially, for us often just want us to give them a bit of our time and attention. What we are doing matters less than the fact that we are doing something. Giving them our time and attention says they matter and shows that we care. It's How to Win Friends and Influence People 101 as well:
“Make the other person feel important–and do it sincerely.”
It is both brilliant and supremely challenging in it's simplicity. The more we can simplify the challenging and build or personal and professional tribes, the better and more fulfilling our lives will be.
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