Sage Advice from an Unexpected Source

I was reading an editorial this morning in a trade journal ("Industrial Heating") I get on-line and thought this was worth noting.  Just goes to show God can speak from anywhere.

The original text actually came from a Ken Blanchard column from 1995 entitled “The Spiritual Workplace” which appeared in another trade journal at that time.  I have copied both the current and original text below:
     
Blanchard indicated that he began teaching the importance of self-esteem in his leadership and management seminars because he realized that managers could not properly coach their teams if they didn’t feel good about themselves. He said, “After all, only people who genuinely like themselves can build the self-esteem of others without feeling that it takes something away from themselves. As I have said many times, I think the most widespread addiction in the world is the human ego. Ego stands for ‘Edging God Out.’”    

In his book, We are the Beloved, Blanchard offered some suggestions about how people can “get out of their own way” using the HELP model. The “H” in HELP stands for humility. In a book written by Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale, they said, “People with humility don’t think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less.” He then went on to say, “Humility helps you remember that there is someone more powerful, more loving and more caring than you.” In any time of uncertainty, it’s not a bad thing to remember that there’s someone more powerful than you (and that’s not the current resident of the White House).    

The “E” in HELP stands for excellence. Blanchard discusses the different definitions of this word, but says, “The kind of excellence that helps keep you on course is available to everyone. It’s the process of rising up and becoming the very best you can be. This means balancing between achieving (accomplishing results) and connecting (maintaining important relationships).”    

The “L” stands for listening. He used an analogy of ships listening for the fog horn when fog settles in over the seaport so that they know where the dangers are. “Charging hard through life leaves little time for listening to that voice that calls us to a more excellent way of living.”    

And finally, the “P” stands for praising. In The One Minute Manager, Blanchard emphasizes that the key to developing people is to catch them doing something right so that you can recognize their performance. He says, “If you are to stay on course in your walk through life, you need to begin to catch yourself doing things right as well.”