If you are scheduled for a stay interview and want to be clear on what you need to remain at the company, try using the “Mojo” process that Marshall Goldsmith describes in his book, Mojo: How to Get it, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It.

If you’re thinking that mojo is a folk belief in the supernatural powers of a voodoo charm, you’re right.  It’s used in other contexts to describe alignment of one’s energy so good things can happen.  Ever hear a recording of American blues musician Muddy Waters singing “Got My Mojo Working”?  Listen and you’ll understand mojo.

Goldsmith, one of the top ranking executive coaches in the world, has brought Mojo into the business world: “Mojo is that positive spirit toward what we are doing now that starts from the inside and radiates to the outside.”

Below are his four vital ingredients that combined will bring you clarity and great Mojo.

1. IDENTITY
“Who do you think you are?”  The key to answering the question is to be honest and truthful about how you perceive yourself.  This is not about what others think of you; it is about your self-assessment.  Don’t back away from owning and sharing your self-appraisal.

2. ACHIEVEMENT
“What have you done lately….that have meaning and impact?”  A good question, isn’t it?  With many of my coaching clients, I suggest they write a monthly report and e-mail it to their supervisor regularly.  Although the supervisor may never acknowledge or mention it, you will be aware of your accomplishments—and ready for your annual performance review.

Goldsmith looks at achievements from two perspectives:  “What we bring to the tasks?” and “What the task gives to us?”  Think about your answers and dig deep to find your truths about the give and take of what you do.  “Until we can honestly put a value on what we’ve accomplished lately, we may not be able to create or regain our Mojo,” are words the coach uses with a CEO or her reports.

3. REPUTATION
“Your reputation is a scorecard kept by others,” Goldsmith writes in yet one more best-selling business book (to see more go to http://marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com).  What he says is true, especially in a world where online networking, communication, and evaluation websites (such as www.RateMyProfessors.com) offers ways to influence an individual’s reputation.  Questions you can ask yourself about your reputation include, “Who do other people think you are?  What do other people think you’ve done lately?”  (Visit www.ReputationDefender.com if you want help to monitor and manage your reputation.)

4. ACCEPTANCE
“What can you change and what is beyond your control?”  Another good question, isn’t it?  I’ve written about acceptance before as too many of my clients perseverate about what they can’t change and don’t invest their valuable time in what they can change.  “When Mojo fades, the initial cause is often failure to accept what is—and get on with life.”

Feeling any Mojo from answering the above questions?  Are you feeling a positive spirit toward what you are doing that starts inside and is radiating out so that others can experience your best self?

 Want to know your Mojo score?  Go to www.mojothebook.com to download a guide to Mojo and the Mojo scorecard.  Using these tools can improve your self-awareness.  The process can also help you set priorities and gain clarity when you are called in for a stay interview—or decide that it is really your exit interview.

It wasn’t until April 2006, that I found the right opportunity to donate my services to the city.  That month, I read in an e-mail that Community Church Unitarian Universalist-New Orleans was seeking help with internal organization before taking the steps of rebuilding.  A smart strategy, I thought, one that could aid in the overall process of restoring their heavily damaged church, physically scattered and emotionally battered congregation, and the place it had earned in the community’s life.

My work in 2006 took place over two long weekends—one in June and one in December—during which I presented customized workshops for leaders and the entire congregation.  To reinforce and support their processes, I returned to NOLA a few times since then to lead groups.  Additionally, I provide coaching and consulting services for leaders via telephone and e-mail.

“It is really a time of hope here,” wrote Suzy Mague, former Chair of the Board of Directors of CCUU-NOLA and now friend, in the April 2010 update she sent out.  “The congregation has decided to rebuild on the site of the former structure and we have begun the process to clear the ground, hire an architect, and negotiate with a contractor to take on the work.”

Draft of Plans for New Church

What was exciting is that the city itself is alive in a way that it has not been since 2006.  Suzy writes, “…we are actually still savoring our football championship.  I was amused the other day to pick up some cleaning and find a fleur-de-lis and “Saints – World Champions” printed on the cleaner’s bag.  Of more long-term significance, the Super Bowl victory was followed by a real landmark election.  Mitch Landrieu won a landslide victory for Mayor, carrying all but one precinct in the City.  Although incumbent Mayor Nagin tried to play the race card, voters crossed color lines in droves–in both directions.  Citywide offices of Mayor and Councilmember were won by white candidates with strong black support, and important citywide offices were likewise won by black candidates with strong white support.  Mayor-elect Landrieu has appointed task forces during his transition to advise him on myriad issues, from hiring a new police chief to better customer service in city hall.  The display of energy and the citizen involvement across all neighborhoods has all of us feeling very hopeful that a new day is coming.”

Continuing her report, Suzy lets us know that, “In an odd sort of way, the activities of the federal prosecutor have also inspired hope.  Following confessions and/or convictions from several ‘political operatives’, including Congressman Bill Jefferson, he has broken a police cove-up of misconduct following Katrina, obtaining two confessions from police officers involved.  There is tremendous determination here that corruption will not be tolerated in our public life, and having an active, effective pursuit of wrongdoers is very heartening.  The new police chief will have a good basis to begin re-making the department.  The new city inspector general is also very well focused and presenting reports that are relevant and influential.  Feels like a new day–and it couldn’t come at a better time.”

I hope that the spring spirit of renewal and rebirth continues and flourishes for not just the congregation but for the entire city of New Orleans.

Sufia Farha, President of WIB,  and her team of dedicated, organized, and helpful students made the evening an enjoyable one for everyone.  I did not want to turn down the opportunity to be the moderator for the third year in a row but I also had a class in “Organizational Behavior” to teach during the exact time of the panel.  A resolution was to assign “Women in Leadership” as my students’ next written assignment, require my class to attend, and give these achievement oriented students the opportunity to be part of an event that evening students do not often get the chance to attend.

Leigh, Virginia McNeil Montague, Lenore Janis, Heather Maloney, Dr. Barbara Lawrence, Diane Garnick

One of my students came up to me at the close of the program and said, “I’m grateful that you required us to attend.”  Later that evening, another student wrote me an e-mail in which she said, “Thank you for inviting us to such an invigorating event.  It was way better than I thought it would be.”

Why was it ”way better”?  The inspirationalprofessional  knowledge the guests offered. 

The keynote address by Diane Garnick brought audience members—and panelists—to tears when hearing of the adversities she overcame and how she challenged herself to enter the world of finance.   One “Pearl of Wisdom” Diane shared was, ”If your palms aren’t sweating enough, your game isn’t big enough.”  Today, after sweating a lot, she is an investment strategist at Invesco, an investment management company.  To read more about Diane and her volunteer work, here’s a link to her facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diane-Garnick/188133090053?v=info 

The WIB committee had developed a series of questions for the panelists and I had the opportunity to ask these inquiries (with a little embellishment) on behalf of the young women just starting their careers.

Panelists included Heather Maloney, Executive Director, Hope & Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund; Lenore Janis, President, Professional Women in Construction National; and Virginia McNeil Montague, President of The New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women.

Each response from the panel brought helpful insights into the lives of women who hold executive leadership positions.  One particular question from the audience brought this series of replies:  “Do whatever scares you.”  “Life is a series of trials and tests.”  “Go to the gym.”  What was the question?  I don’t remember.  What I do know is that the answers represent the ways that these women faced, managed, and overcame the obstacles in their careers.

Near the end of the question and answer period from the audience, I noted that about one-quarter to one-third of the audience were males.  Yet, not one male asked a question.  “Okay,” I said.  “It’s time for a man to ask a question.”  One of my students raised his asked and asked the panel, “What can men do to help women succeed?”  The overall answer from the panelists was, “Men need to talk to women to hear what they need.  And men need to talk to talk other men about what women need.  They also need to work with women so that they can understand and help women get the respect and acknowledgement they have earned in the workplace.”

Leigh with the wonderful Women in Business team

It was a great evening for so many reasons.  One of which is that after stepping off the dias at the end of the panel, I was invited to be the moderator for the Fifth Annual Pearls of Wisdom Women’s Leadership Conference.  I’m looking forward to the event already.

“The Bull Pissed in My Living Room:  Prof. Leigh’s Guide to Recession Resilience,” LTR’s latest level playing playing field special report, is my way of putting together the pieces of what I experienced and the process that brought me to a really good place in my life.

“Bull”  will be formally introduced at today’s meeting of the Employee Assistance Professionals Associaion (EAPA)-New York Chapter.  I chose this opportunity to let others know about my report because it explains the complex factors that can impact workplace intelligence.  It’s also a good venue  because I’ll be the moderator of a panel discussion on “It’s Not Over Yet!  You Still Have a Chance:  Resilience and Reinvention in the Older Worker.”

 Like others who have been dramatically impacted by the worst economy since the Great Depression, I wondered how I had the strength and resiliency to survive my “worst case”—the downturn of business and sale of sale of my recently renovated co-op apartment on Manhattan’s tony Upper West Side.  Using a format similar to that in “Temping with Tycoons” and my other well-received special reports, I tell the story of not just how I reinvented myself but what I learned during the process.  And how, now, I’m enjoying a “best case.”

A natural educator (strangers on the subway ask, “You’re a teacher, aren’t you?”), I use what I experienced as a platform from which to inform, inspire, and instill in readers greater awareness to face their own “bull.”  At the end of each chapter, I include “Resilience Guideposts”— helpful suggestions on how to navigate succesfully on your evolutionary highway.

To download your copy of “The Bull Pissed in My Living Room,” click on the link below.  After you read it, contact me with your feedback.

The Bull Pissed in My Living Room by Leigh Henderson

“It is hard to express the wonderful effect the Saints have had on our community – it has brought us all together in the glow of their achievement, and we are awash in black and gold and ‘Who Dat’.  I am sure the intense and widespread emotional involvement is directly related to the depth of commitment we have made to the recovery and improvement of NOLA. So many things are coming back but not there yet, but here is one area where success is palpable and was a long time coming (43 years!).  And it’s wonderful Lagniappe that Drew Brees is such a fine  human being – not just a great quarterback.”  Suzy Mague, a woman I met when volunteering in NOLA after Hurricane Katrina, pinpointed what was going to help the Saints win the Super Bowl:  the collective belief in success by those in the Gulf Coast region.

Lagniappe is a term used in Louisiana which  means “”something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure.”  What the Saints gave the city of New Orleans were gifts of hope, commitment to a goal, and success against great odds to even reach the Super Bowl.  What the city of New Orleans gave back was their enthusiastic support and hope that the area’s recovery would be as successful as that of their Saints.

 The consensus was that the Colts were the better team, Peyton Manning the best quarterback ever, the defense so strong that Manning had only been sacked 10 times all season, and on and on.  My clapping and cheering for the Saints when they were behind 10-0 in the first quarter did give me pause.  Yet, as is the nature of a 60-minute game, there was still a chance.  In football, you have to play the game to the very last second even if your team is losing 54-0.  The Saints went the distance in great form.

To lead off the second half of the game, Saints’ Coach Sean Payton used a tactic that brought his team success:  a practiced  surprise.  For the first time in Super Bowl history, a team started the third quarter with an onside kick.  The Saints punter made a short kick (more than 10 yards) to the Colts, a Colts player touched then lost the ball, a Saints player recovered the ball, and the Saints earned very good field position.  The Saints had practiced this surprise over and over again during the week leading up to the big game.  The timing made history, shifted the momentum to the Saints, and helped them come away with a 31-17 victory.

Today I wish that I could call the Colts fan who told me to give up on the Saints because they didn’t have a chance.  There is always a chance, always an opportunity to succeed whether on the football field, a baseball diamond, or the workplace playing field.  Give yourself a chance by practicing a surprise that can get you noticed,  realize the potential you have as a leader and become an outstanding team player for your followers while working to be a leader.

A few years ago when I was at a friend’s apartment, I noticed that her dog, a big German Shepard that stood maybe 24” high, was confined to the living room by a piece of wood placed at each doorway.  The barrier was only 18” inches high – a height the dog could have walked or jumped over with ease.

I knew this because my dog Emelie, a mix of Border collie and Samoyed raised exploring beaches and mountain paths, easily jumped the piece of wood.  In fact, she roamed all over the house, jumping or knocking down the barrier if it got in her way.  The other dog, who only got out to a small yard three times a day, looked at Emelie, whined, and after a couple of times testing her freedom and being disciplined for doing so, was too afraid to venture forth into risking another jump.

An executive coaching client recently commented to me that she values my creative input because her staff can’t see or won’t speak up about the ‘possibilities’ of a situation.  She is a ‘roamer’ but her staff uses what I call ‘silo thinking’ – confining their perspective to a narrow column of influence.   A silo is a structure used to store materials, in this picture it is grain on a farm.

Grain silos on a farm

Silo thinking in followers means that instead of looking out to the horizon, employees see the walls of the job description, the risks of speaking up, and the fear of going out of their comfort zones to explore unknown territory.  They’ll share ideas with peers but won’t speak up at meetings or with their managers.

The influence of their corporate climate, consequences of making a mistake in front of others, and their own ‘mental training’ are just some reasons for their ‘silo’ thinking.  It could be age – never being asked before for creative ideas – or conditioning over the years by being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it instead of being empowered to individualize their work.  Or the fact that people don’t want to expand for fear of the repercussions of what new activities they might be asked to participant in or that they would have to move out of their usual role to take on leadership themselves of an initiative.

My client consistently strives to inspire, model creative thinking, and provide opportunities for staff input.  She is persistent in efforts to overcome her staff’s ‘silo thinking’ and resistance to jump barriers.  However, with each subtle shift in behavior from individuals, my client gains confidence to continue her efforts to engage her staff in barrier jumping behavior.

Mary Travers, the Mary in the Peter, Paul & Mary folksingers, activists, and life enrichers, died in September from complications of  leukemia.  However, her spirit was very much alive when Peter, Paul, and a host of celebrities, politicians, spiritual leaders, and friends spoke about her gifts as a singer but most of all her passion and dedication to helping others.

After a video montage was shown on a large screen above the altar of the gothic church, Peter and Paul took center stage to welcome over 1,200 in the audience who came to pay tribute to the role Mary had played in their own and others’ lives.  As the singers warmed up their guitars, they said how hard it was to sing without Mary’s voice and invited the audience to sing her part while they sang harmony.

The song they chose was quickly recognized and as I joined in singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” I felt chills go through my entire body.  I, like everyone else it seemed, knew every word in every verse from decades of hearing it sung in person or on the radio or through speakers.

The New York Choral Society

I first saw Peter, Paul & Mary in-person when I was a student at the University of California at Berkeley.  And their songs followed me through my career.  Mary with her singing partners had been performing for nearly 50 years at concerts throughout the world, fund-raisers for human rights causes and political candidates running for office, and gatherings on the Mall in Washington to lift their voices to support Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who brought light to areas of growth for America.

President Barack Obama sent a note that Peter read to the audience, former President Bill Clinton appeared in a video, and former presidential candidate and senator George McGovern got up to thank Mary for her role in his career.  Another former presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) also went to the podium and told us how a fund-raiser early in his political career where Peter, Paul & Mary sang was the turning point to staying in a political race and continuing on his path.

To see a full list of speakers and performers, click here.

The evening together lasted four hours, exhausting emotionally and physically since like others in the audience we were up and down to give  standing ovations, sing along, clap, and sway with the music.  Whoopi Goldberg offered moments of laughter when she went to speak and said to the effect, “Forget those serious tunes.  I like ‘Puff the Magic Dragon.’  That’s my favorite song!”  Also, near the end of the program when Peter noted that the potted plants on the altar could be taken by anyone in the audience (Mary would have liked that no cut flowers were used, he said), before Peter finished his speech Whoopi got up from the front row, walked to a ledge below the stage, and picked up a potted plant then returned to her seat as the laughter gently rolled back and up from those who could see what she had done to the back row of the balcony.

Toward the end, Judy Collins sang “Amazing Grace” and triggered my thinking about the role performers play in society and the larger culture.  Mary’s legacy lives on not just by the lives she changed but by her commitment to use her power and influence in causes that promoted justice and harmony.

A leader’s legacy is not built in a day.  It is earned over years of positive contributions to the greater good.  I can’t say that I supported every cause that Mary did.  But I can say that I know the legacy she leaves is one that will inspire me to make the most of the life that I have in using my gifts as an educator and coach to help others reach their full potential.

Colvin’s article describes how Chenault lead his company through the worst economy since the Great Depression when, in the CEO’s words, ”The reality is that we were on the verge of an absolute disaster and collapse.”

During his first year in the job, Chenault learned and used crisis management skills on and after 9/11 that he could apply to the economic crisis.  Although the article focused on the financial challenges he faced and his outlook for the new economy, it also includes insights from the CEO that other leaders might find of interest.

1.  Leaders should continue to deal with the basic issues of their companies while planning for long- and short-term growth based on future obstacles as well as opportunities.

2.  Chenault feels that “the hardest time to bring about change is in good times.”  In other words, leaders need to be focused and decisive in good times to be ready for the less-than-good times.

3.  Transparency.  The CEO used that word in reference to proposed new financial services regulation and the impact the government’s intentions could have on the economy.

4.  On the topic of executive pay, Chenault said that he believed not in short-term packages to compensate executives but multiyear packages.

5.  After the company and growth opportunities, his third reason for staying at AMEX even though he was considered for a leadership role at another financial services company was “I like the people.” 

I liked what I learned from this article and suggest you might find it of interest yourself.

Wasserstein’s style?  “He frightened people,” according to Felix Rohatyn, the former senior Lazard partner is quoted as saying in The New York Times.  Known for his hostile takeovers, the Brooklyn-born Wasserstein approached deals not from a relationship building perspective as Lazard had for more than a century; he approached a deal as war.

I left Lazard before Wasserstein was brought into Lazard as a partner and then navigated his way into taking it over in 2005.  Yet, even though I never met the man, I felt very sad to hear of his death.  Why?  His age?  It’s close to my own.  The fact that he was responsible for raising his sister’s child after the noted playwright Wendy Wasserstein died in 2006?  Yes, that touched me to see a young girl lose another parental figure. 

Steven Golub is the interim leader of Lazard and may be Wasserstein’s permanent successor.  A long-time member of the firm, Golub’s style was not one to frighten people.  My experiences as his temporary secretary—and observations of him on the 32nd floor—while Michel David-Weill ran the firm confirm that a new culture is beginning at Lazard.  (To read more about the Lazard culture when I was there, read “Temping with Tycoons”.)

I send my condolences that a chapter of the Lazard culture is passing into the history books.

Ms. Vasquez says that students “find themselves especially attentive, although it is required for most of them.”

My students taking MGT 3300 are attentive, engaged, and eager to learn as much as they can.   One student had to very reluctantly withdraw from the class after he found out he would not get credit for taking the class since it was outside his major.  He complimented me on being ”humble and cooperative”—words that I will remember.

“I love your lectures” wrote one of my students included in an e-mail to me.  “I love this class,” commented another student who is being challenged to demonstrate her public speaking abilities.

It’s rewarding as a member of the faculty at the Zicklin School of Business within Baruch College to hear these words.  What is more rewarding is to see the growth of my students on their diet of ”brain food.”

Why are students so engaged?  The topics resonant with their own experiences of working at retail shops, financial services companies, pharmacies, food stores, etc.  Topics, as Ms. Vasquez points out, which include ”individual attributes, workforce diversity, motivation, leadership, organizational culture and organizational change.”  Topics that students know learning these will benefit them on every part of their career path.

Mine is an interactive class.  The technology in the classroom is limited to a PC, a projector and access to the internet that I use.  The interactivity comes from conversations, comments, interchanges of ideas.

There are 31 students in my class but during each one-hour fifteen-minute session I call on each person at least once.  I want to hear their voices, I want to understand what they know and think about a topic, I want to share my relevant experiences and I want to learn from their experiences.

 A diet of “brain food” is good for us all.