In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, our Leadership Quote of the Week is about rain and rainbows, which lead us to pots of gold…..unless we get tricked along the way. Or rained out. Or washed up.
Happens so much that most of us don’t even believe they exist.
But they do.
Knowing this and knowing how to find them is one of the most important traits of a take-charge, make-it-happen, inspirational leader.
Talk about boosting morale. And productivity. And engagement. And performance. Woo!
Here are 10 tips for finding pots of gold.
1. Not all pots of gold look like the one pictured here. In fact most of them don’t.
2. You may actually be sitting on a pot of gold right now and just don’t realize it. See: Sitting on a Pot of Gold – coming this week.
3. It’s easier to find if you can describe what your pot of gold would contain if you could find it.
4. Start small – if you could find a pot of gold that would help you today or this week – what would be in it? Why would it be valuable to you?
5. Now that you are clear what you are looking for, look close by. Are you sitting on it? Or is it close by but hidden?
6. Tell others about the gold you want. The more clearly and passionately you can do this, the better. They may be able to help you. You may be able to collaborate. See: Business Lessons from St. Patrick.
7. If you or they aren’t sitting on it and you have to venture out in search…know that you will encounter obstacles. Deal with them but don’t let them consume you. For example, when it rains, watch for the puddles – better yet, put on your galoshes; even better, play in the puddles – AND keep an eye on the horizon for opportunities. Like rainbows.
8. If you get discouraged and start to give up, remember that it’s just this innocent looking little guy 
trying to trick you so he can keep the treasure.
See: Don’t let the leprachaun trick you!
9. Remember the importance of taking a chance.
10. Be grateful if you don’t have frogs in your underpants.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
May your troubles be as few and far between as my grandmother’s teeth!
Jan helps leaders to take charge, find pots of gold and inspire others to do the same.
Other Tips & Tools for St. Patrick’s Week:
**Note: 10 by 10 on Tuesday (also known as a Quick List) is a weekly feature is for managers who don’t have time or don’t want to make time to read lengthy articles or even short paragraphs. Here you will find 10 tips or questions or steps or ways to Get 2 Goal or Be a Better Manager, etc). And it will be posted by 10 (AM – EST) on Tuesdays. Here’s our collection of Quick Lists to date.
