by dlavieri
vision, and communicating that vision with others. So is leadership.”
“By engaging in art, or simply looking at art,” Merry says, “we see new
things, make new connections, and learn that it is fine to ask questions and
push boundaries. Some businesses are leading the way, using art to encourage
employees to break out of their limited thinking and invent new ideas.”
In the last year or so, Merry has been particularly intrigued by the con-
cept of spending more time with fewer things as a way to experience art in a
profound way. The idea was introduced by Peter Clothier in his 2012 book,
Slow Looking, and is now gaining attention at a number of museums that see this approach as a way to more deeply engage their audiences.
Merry describes the concept as “an antidote to contemporary life.” Often,
when busy people visit a museum they dash through, glancing at as many
works of art as they possibly can. The “slow art” alternative approach might
start with 30 minutes of strolling from room to room, but then the viewer
would return to a favorite painting and study it for the next half hour.
“Sometimes you’re rewarded more than you might have thought possible
if you’re able to deeply look and consider a single painting over a longer period of time. As you contemplate it minute after minute, you begin to draw conclusions and gather ideas about art and perhaps even about creativity itself,”
Merry says.
It’s not clear why long, deep looking can be so transformative, but one
theory is that it becomes a form of meditation. “This kind of viewing can
change your patterns of thought. It fosters your ability to get out of your rut, and think in entirely different ways,” Merry says.
Refresh creativity by engaging with art
If you want to bring new creativity to your team, or simply to your own work, one way to begin is by looking at art. Consider these strategies for stimulat-
ing innovation through art:
→ Do some team building. Instead of your normal quick lunch,
arrange with col eagues to visit a local art museum. Encourage
people to get to know each other better by talking about what
they like and don’t like. Merry says, “There is no such thing as
‘good’ or ‘bad,’ just ‘intriguing’ and ‘interesting’!” Discussing
exhibits can be a great way to bridge cultural, age, and other gaps.
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→ Try “slow looking.” Find a piece of art you like and study it
for 20 or 30 minutes. At first, it may seem that you can’t stay
still for so long, but as you continue to focus, you’ll begin to see
more and more.
→ Try another type of museum. Merry says that whether you’re
in the butterfly gallery at the Natural History Museum in
Washington, or viewing the collection of First Ladies’ gowns
in the nearby American History Museum, you can find art and
beauty in almost any kind of exhibition. So if your group is
turned off by the idea of an “art” museum, try another kind of
exhibit.
→ Redefine your book club. Do you belong to a book club or
some other kind of social group? Vary your regular program by
suggesting that one meeting be scheduled at a local museum.
→ Take a course. Museums are finding new ways to engage
and educate their patrons, and many schools and universities
offer continuing education programs touching upon the arts.
Stimulate your creative self by taking a course or signing up for
a workshop.
→ Take art home. Museum stores offer postcards and posters that
make it possible to take home exciting art at a reasonable price.
And, of course, the Web makes it possible for us all to look at
art, no matter where we live or work.
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the right way
to move on
most smart professionals understand the importance of getting off to a
great start in a new job. But some don’t take full advantage of that other
opportunity in a transition: the chance to tie up loose ends in the old job and turn the experience into a building block for the future.
Bill* is a young lawyer who was let go from his law firm after the leaders
of his energy group left the partnership, taking their clients with them. Bill started his week as an associate with a bright future, but by Friday he was ush-ered out of the office with a small severance payment and a cardboard carton
of personal items.
Bill was stunned and then angry. However, on the advice of a mentor, he
controlled his emotions and quickly launched a plan that paid off later. Bill saw that the firm’s senior lawyers were furious with the departing energy group and associated him with the traitors, even though he hadn’t been invited to
join their new enterprise. And he recognized that he’d been unwise during his time at the firm in not making an effort to get to know colleagues outside the busy energy practice. Most worrisome, he feared that former colleagues who
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weren’t his friends would describe him as not competent enough to either stay in the firm or be invited to join the departing unit.
Determined to make the best of his situation, Bill launched a process that
changed the way his former firm remembered him and ultimately led to a new
job. In the days after his departure, he methodically contacted the law firm
leaders and staff and found ways to thank each of them for something. Even
though it often felt like a reach, he wrote notes expressing appreciation for the collegial atmosphere, the training in managing client accounts—for any
kindness or strength he could describe without being insincere. And as a few
years went by, he found ways to stay in touch, even referring a little business to a friend in the old firm.
What Bill did so well was reframe his law firm experience in the minds
of his former colleagues. Most of them probably didn’t remember him viv-
idly, but now they did think of him positively. This was reflected in the fact that they occasionally sent him energy work they could no longer handle.
And when they eventually decided to rebuild the firm’s energy capability, they remembered Bill and recruited him to rejoin, this time as a partner.
Use these strategies for a departure that will
pave your way in the future
Whether you’re sad to go or can’t wait to get out the door, it’s normal in a career transition to focus more on the future than on the past. But if you’re smart, you’ll do what it takes to create a classy departure. In today’s fluid job market, it’s inevitable that you’ll bump into some of these people again. And, when that happens, what they may remember is your last few days on the job.
Here are five tips for leaving your job the right way:
1) Give proper notice. Once you’ve decided to accept another
opportunity, tell your boss immediately, before word gets around.
The boss may not like being surprised by your departure, but it’ll
be much worse if the news drifts in through the grapevine. Give
as much notice as possible—two weeks or a month is common,
but more could be better. And follow up your conversation with
a very brief resignation letter that clearly states your last day on
the job.
2) Resist the urge to speak up. You may have fantasized about
how
great it would feel to tell the team what you really think. Don’t
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do it! Your goal now is to end things on a good note, not point
out the error of their ways. Even formal exit interviews should
be approached with caution because you can’t really count on
confidentiality.
3) Finish your work and leave a trail. Your last days on the job
are a great time to show that you have what it takes. If you can’t
complete your projects, leave them in good shape so the next
person will know where to get started. Write notes about your
tasks, contacts, and responsibilities to help your coworkers or
your replacement keep things moving. If you leave things in a
mess, that’s how they’ll always think of you.
4) Say “thanks.” Think about every person, at every level, who has
been helpful to you in some way. Don’t dramatize. But write
notes, stop by your colleagues’ desks, or find other appropriate
ways to thank them for what they have done or what they have
meant to you. The more specific you make your “thank you’s,”
the more effective and appreciated they will be.
5) Make plans to stay in touch. Make sure everybody has your
new contact information and confirm that you have theirs. If
you haven’t connected with them on LinkedIn, do it now. You’re
likely to see many of these people again, but don’t leave it all to
chance. Think about the people you most want in your future
and promise yourself that you will find ways to make it happen.
In a career market where people change jobs frequently, knowing how to
say “goodbye” with grace has become an important skill. An essential part of
your smooth transition is treating each one of your old colleagues as though
they still matter.
50
choose to Be
an optimist
during my second year of law school, I hit a low point. I was exhausted
from long hours of work and feeling sorry for myself because I was pay-
ing my way through school. And somehow I got it in my head that I wouldn’t
be able to find a good job after graduation. I dragged through, day after day, with a little voice in my head saying, “I’ll never get a job. I’ll never get a job.”
Then my sister Helen reported that a routine exam had shown our brother
Dick to have a tumor on his spine. Helen, a nurse, said the spine was a dangerous place for a tumor and if it were malignant, Dick might not have long to
live. Dick was rushed immediately into surgery. Happily, we soon heard the
good news that the lump was just a harmless cyst, and Dick was in no danger.
The next morning I woke up in a wonderful mood. My career worries had
drifted away, I was confident that things would work out, and life felt good.
Then I noticed: My life was no different than it had been the day before
Helen’s call. But my depression had lifted and I once again felt confident and ready to face the world. The scare about Dick’s health had pulled me out of my self-pity and given me a chance to focus on the big picture.
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So I wondered: If a momentary scare could shake me out of my pessi-
mism, shouldn’t I be able to do that for myself? I knew I was born a worrier, but I decided that from then on I’d make better choices about whether to let
my worries take over my life.
I experimented with various ways of holding my pessimism in check, like
refocusing on the bigger picture and talking back to the voice in my head.
And I found that when I kept an optimistic outlook, my career did indeed
tend to flow smoothly. Years later, I came across a book that helped me understand that I was on the right track. I was captivated by Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by leading psychologist Martin E.P.
Seligman.
Often called “the father of Positive Psychology,” Dr. Seligman has spent
years studying “well-being” and ways that normal people can choose to
become happier and more fulfilled in life. Reading his work reinforced my
own belief, developed through trial and error, that optimism is a choice and
we don’t have to be controlled by our innate tendency toward pessimism.
Practice techniques for choosing optimism
Optimism is a positive attitude that carries with it an expectation that things will probably work out for the best. A growing body of research from multiple disciplines suggests that optimism can set you up for career success, improve your social life, help you overcome stress and many kinds of difficulties, and support your efforts to stay healthy.
Pessimism, on the other hand, can undercut your level of achievement,
weaken your immune system, and make it more likely that you’ll become
depressed. In the workplace, pessimism is valuable in performing tasks that
require an awareness of risks, such as drafting legal documents. Even for lawyers, however, a pessimistic style can be a burden when it’s time to woo cli-
ents or manage projects. Generally, it’s the optimists who enjoy more fruits of success.
Some lucky optimists are just born that way, but the rest of us need not
despair. Dr. Seligman documented that you can build optimism by modify-
ing your internal dialogue. The trick is to recognize and dispute your pes-
simistic thoughts. For example, if you catch yourself thinking “I’ll never get this right,” you can argue back to yourself that you’re just starting out and will get much better with practice.
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In my own life, and working with clients, I’ve seen good results using
these techniques pioneered by Dr. Seligman:
→ Catch that thought. Learn to identify self-defeating thoughts
that automatically run through your mind, particularly when
you’re feeling down or discouraged. Simply noticing your fre-
quent negative attitudes—such as, “I’m so bored” or “This will
never work out”—will help to tame them.
→ Argue back. As we discussed in Chapter 7, you can talk back
to the voice in your head. Once you observe a negative refrain,
dispute it, just as you would in conversation with a dear friend
who was putting herself down. If you notice a voice saying, “I’m
a loser,” respond with something like, “You have what it takes to
start winning.”
→ Test the accuracy. One simple way to dispose of a pessimistic
thought is to demonstrate that it’s just not true. Look to exter-
nal evidence, and then dismiss exaggerated statements such as,
“I always fail at things like this.”
→ Find other explanations. Most situations have many causes,
but pessimists tend to cling to the worst possible options.
They may leap to the most permanent and pervasive explana-
tion imaginable, such as, “I’m just too old to do this.” Dispute
negativity by proposing alternative explanations, like: “Maybe I
didn’t prepare enough this time, but I can do better next time.”
Here are more suggestions for developing a more optimistic approach
to life:
→ Make lists. Carry around a small notebook in which to list
each negative phrase that plays repeatedly inside your head.
Periodically re
view the list and create a new list by reframing
each pessimistic thought into a positive statement. For example,
“I’m too fat,” may become “Today I will eat consciously” on the
new list. Read the positive list at least daily.
→ Appreciate the good stuff. You can generate a surge of optimism
by refocusing your attention on the more positive aspects of any
situation. For example, if you’re frustrated with the stresses of
your job, look at the total picture and list five things you appreci-
ate about your professional life. Review the list frequently.
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→ Make goodwill deposits. Each time you say something kind
or positive to another person, or go out of your way to do a
good deed, there will be at least two impacts. First, it will be as
though you’ve made a deposit in an account where that person
can store up positive feelings about you. And you’ll know that
the goodwill might come in handy in the future. Second, your
positive gesture toward another person will probably provide a
lift in your own attitude.
→ Resist naysayers. Sometimes that negative dialogue isn’t all in
your head. Pessimistic people can drain your energy and pull
whole groups off track. Avoid negative people when you can
and try not to let them bring you down when their company is
unavoidable. When you must deal with angry or disrespectful
clients or coworkers, try to summon up a feeling of compassion
for their angst. Then observe your negative emotions stimulated
by their attitude or behavior, and imagine that you are opening
your heart and letting those feelings float away.
→ Talk to people. Pessimists may isolate themselves when fac-
ing difficulties, which can make things worse. When things
aren’t going well, resist your urge to curl up in a hole. Instead,
seek ways to enjoy even small positive connections with other
people. If things are troublesome in one sector, like work, find
new energy and renewed optimism by structuring happier inter-