Synchronicity

​Did you ever experience synchronicity? You know, that sense that things that are happening have a rhyme and reason? With everything going on in this world it’s hard to believe one thing could magically relate to another. That somehow things connect in unexplainable ways. Scientist will tell you there us no such thing as synchronicity, but your experience says differently. It can’t be quantified or studied. There’s no set method or formula to make it occur. It’s difficult to study or prove something like that one way or another.

And yet there have been times I needed a sign – assurance that I was going in the right direction or needed guidance for my next move. I throw it out to the universe to see what happens and, what do you know, I actually get a sign! Something arrives in the mail, a friend I haven’t spoken to in years calls, I finally find that thing I lost 6 months ago, a feather drops out of nowhere onto my path, or a penny shows up someplace odd with a date on it that relates to an event that’s very important to me. I shake my head and wonder how much there is in the universe that we simply don’t understand.

Some people will tell you this sort of thing happens all the time. That you can actually train yourself to experience synchronicity more often by being open to it and looking for those connections, and that may be true. It’s easier to see connectedness when you’re intently looking for it. When you start expecting it and not just thinking it’s some occasional event outside of your normal experience.

To be honest I still sometimes struggle with the idea that there’s Someone or Something out there that cares about where my life is going and what I do on a daily basis. Of course, I live my life like there is – better safe than sorry, but I’ve had things happen that can’t be explained. Mystical and otherworldly things. Things I just can’t shake off as accidental. When they do happen it’s hard to deny that there’s a Hand in it in some way.

But maybe that’s why it’s so amazing! That we really can’t know for certain. There’s a part of life that can’t be explained or totally known. We simply have to take it on faith and trust our experience. Trust our inner knowing. The reason we see it, experience it, and recognize it is we aren’t just physical beings we’re spiritual beings too. We just happen to be living in this physical world right now so maybe, who knows, when we get to the other side perhaps it’ll all make sense.

In the meantime . . . I think I’ll just go with that explanation.

Worker Bees

In all my working career I’ve never felt the need to “drink the Kool-Aid”. I’ve never been much for company rah-rah or understood the need. I haven’t seen a company yet that truly follows it’s mission and vision statement, at least to benefit or improvement of the lives of it’s workers and ultimately it’s customers. When it comes down to it companies care about earnings and profits. It’s just a fact.

If you’re in business and you think it’s all about the product or services you provide you’re only half right. What really makes your company stand out from another is your people. From those who make the product, to those who sell it, to those who service it, and especially those who interface with your customers when the need arises. Each and every one of them is a reflection of the company and how it is viewed in the marketplace.

Swag will only get you so far. Rah-rah sessions at company events have a short shelf life. Allowing employees to discover their own intrinsic value within your organization is the real challenge. People want to feel what they contribute is important. That they make a difference. That they themselves are as valued as the product or services the company is known for. And this is where putting the wrong people in management is a company killer.

Most times when a management position opens companies look internally to promote, as well they should. And here, specifically, is where companies fail their employees. Not every tenured employee is qualified or capable of taking a leadership position. Leadership and management skills need to be fostered early at the ground level so that when positions do open there are multiple well-qualified internal candidates to choose from. By indiscriminately plugging the next in line into a leadership position you potentially set your best employees up for failure.

During my second interview with Rockport Shoe Celeste Kramer told me she was going make me a Supervisor in a year. I laughed and told her, “You don’t even know me! I could be a sociopath.” She replied, “No, I know you.” And so it was that over the course of that year she sent me to training. Training about working with and motivating people. Training on conducting reviews. Training on time management. She signed me up with organizations where I could network with people focused on customer service. I learned about businesses and finding efficiencies and streamlining processes. She made sure I had everything I needed to be a success. And, true to her word, at the end of that year I was promoted to a Supervisor position.

That single vote of confidence in my potential propelled me throughout my entire working career. I didn’t always have the answers, but I knew that treating my direct reports with respect and understanding not only raised their level of confidence in me, but also in their ability to make a difference themselves. Whenever I saw potential I encouraged it. I never left a positive word unsaid. When praise was due I made sure they got the credit. When a correction was required I made sure they knew it wasn’t personal. That it was about performance and not who they were as a human being.

I’m sure I made plenty of mistakes (I’m hardly perfect), but I tried to be the leader Celeste saw in me that day and one I myself would want to follow. To make the hard decisions when they had to be made and to make sure everything was transparent and open to question if the folks I supervised thought I was wrong (which saved me many times). All of this was a direct result of one insightful exceptional manager who had faith in me and made sure I was prepared and ready when the time came. And for that I’m forever grateful.

The Heart Knows the Way

Wish that life provided clear and concise answers. That when presented with which path to take the choice was obvious. That black and white eliminated gray instead of creating it. That we could hone our decision making skills so that they were delicately and perfectly precise. That with surgical precision we could determine the correct way to go.

But life is a mucky murky messy place full of ifs, ands, and maybes. A place where we can never be fully certain of the choices we make. Where we split hairs with the bluntest of edges and cross our fingers in hopes the blade was not too dull for the purpose. That what we knew at the time was adequate enough.

Over time I have learned the deciding factor is not the decision itself, but what lies in the heart. If my motives are based in love and selflessness, if I have no harm toward others in my heart, if my aim is kindness and goodness, if I truly and honestly seek the Light then regardless of the direction I go the Heart knows the way and the Heart will make it right.