Working On My Accent

A story about how our bosses change us as people. If we're not careful. #storytime #work #life #psychology #business #fyp

[rbsmith]

As usual, exemplary advice! Now in the twilight of my careers, I can attest to the absolute truth in this nugget of wisdom. Keep doing what you are doing—it matters!

[chadwickposey]

Dang it 😂 I saw a new Neal foard video and was immediately super excited, then clicked to see I have to wait 😢 I’m sure it will be wonderful

[kathyboly]

Very wise advice. I would add co-workers, teachers, mentors, pastors, Rabbi's, neighbors, friends and even family members, not just bosses. Surround yourself with kindness 95 per cent of the time and then you are more able to show kindness during that 5 percent of the time you are surrounded by the narcissistic population.

[monicama]

What a wonderful video! Thank you so much for sharing. It's fascinating that sometimes the universe sends us good bosses because they are a reflection of who WE are. Sometimes we get the bad bosses, and without this darkness we won't be able to see the light.

[hburns]

Good advice on picking the right boss. I’ve had goo ones & some truly bad ones. (If I ever met you over a beer I have story about making sure my worst boss got to spend a night in jail!)

My father was a shift superintendent for GM by the end of his career. I try to actively emulate his best character traits for my teams. In Tech particularly, too many people view management as just a thing to get through rather than a calling in itself. You have to practice managing; you have to actively hone your chops for doing it, if you want to be good at it (just like anything else).

If you want to be a good boss, expend the effort. It’s worth it because you’ll have better, more productive teams, happier employees with lower turnover. It becomes the mythical virtuous circle! Thanks again for sharing your sage advice, sir.

[helenma]

Seems to me most of us start with "I am who am because of what happened" and stay there, because it made perfect sense and there were other more pressing demands on our attention. But we forget there is always the less rational choice of "I am who I am in spite of what happened".

You can let life tell you who you are, or you can let life show you who you are. It's a choice we make every single day, whether we are aware of it or not, and these choices will in time determine, among other things, what kind of boss we are on the path to become - a manager or a leader. Life can hand you a management position, but it cannot make you a leader. However, it can help you become one, if you so choose.

What's the difference between a manager and a leader? Simply put, leaders lead people and managers follow orders. A manager does her best with what she's given, but only a leader can create something greater than the sum of the parts. A leader can manage managers, but not vice versa. Leaders nurture more leaders, but managers can only create followers like themselves. This is not a value judgement, both have their places. However, the best management can offer is to preserve the status quo, which doesn't lead to anywhere new by definition. It seems to me that part of what's keeping us from addressing our mounting crisis in any meaningful way is that we have too many managers and not enough leaders.

Deciding "I am who I am in spite of what happened" won't make you a leader overnight, but it is the first step.

[StorytimeWithLana]

The part of this story that got me was when you talked about hearing your dad coming out of your mouth. The depth of "how much" we mimic the two ppl that raised us is deeper than most of us imagine it to be.
When I get tickled over something and laugh, I can hear my mom so clearly that it stops me... Just so I can listen. It's as if she is standing there doing the laughing. I lost her 25 yrs ago, still too young to lose my mom, and it means the world to me that I mimic that little piece of her, for it feels as if she is still with me.
I have always said that we "learned" to be the person we are today.
It's best to surround yourself w/good ppl.
Great story, Neal. 💖
You keep that LAX accent, I'll keep my southern (Good Lord, help me)

[shawn]

boom. I am a collection of all the good people I have known.

[brianedminster]

Regarding accents: While I was born in NJ, I was raised in the Washington, DC area - so naturally, I don't have an accent. ;-)
I was broken of this delusion when I started traveling for business (especially the early trips up and down the east coast) and found to have a southern accent whenever I went north, and a northern accent whenever I went south. Who knew that it was possible to have multiple accents!?!?! ;-)

[momcat]

Accents: Someone once told me, "I don't _speak_ with an accent; you _listen_ with an accent, " which was gas-lighting, of course, but also extremely funny.
Bosses: My sweet spouse is a computer wizard who has had bosses all over the personality spectrum - from slacker to micro manager - all of whom had their lessons to teach, even if it was merely to serve as a dire warning of how not to behave in the workplace. Finally, he is paired with the perfect boss. They share the same core values, work ethic, and have servant's hearts. How do I know Mr. S is the perfect boss? For the first time in decades, I have never ever heard anything but positive reports about their interactions. Yes, the good bosses are out there & I hope everyone has the experience of working with one.

[jakeledg]

In the military you have all extremes of bosses. The bad ones lead with their rank; pure literal authority. The good ones make you forget their rank and you find yourself doing more because you don't want to let them down. They're the ones who teach you when you fail and get you to reach your potential. I bet Neal is the kind of guy people would work for for free.

[ChrisTheBrit]

As a Brit living in MI, I was told that my English is perfect but that my American is c**p.
Aluminum/Aluminium.

[bbondsie]

I want to work for you and would commit to learning quite a few skills to be mentored by you.

[scottdelinger]

I’m working for a good boss, and read about others and emulate them, too. BUT, despite nearly 30 years in Alberta, I still sound like Illinois. 😉