Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

Anne and I attend a local church that brings a guest speaker in occasionally by the name Ryan Leak. He is inspiring; so articulate, so passionate, so good! Each time we hear him speak, we leave church after laughing, smiling, squeezing each other’s hand because he lands a point that we know exactly what he’s saying.

Podcasts are a great way to learn and Oprah has transferred media preference from daytime TV to podcasts and she brought Ryan on set to talk about How to work with complicated people, his latest book.

He talks about four strategies to work with complicated people. Ultimately, the first three sound good until he debunks them and settles on the real strategy, which is you; the reader, the learner, the wanna be … are complicated.

As a leader, you set the tone. The number one thing that determines if you show up as complicated or not, is (drum roll) … attitude. You don’t “Match the energy”, you “Set the standard”. Choose how you are going to be and be deliberate about it.

What might you take away from this short peek in the mirror coupled with some sage advice?

Ryan says, “Hope.”

If you are stuck, if you think your code of conduct comes from your zip code and your household “where I’m from” and somehow dictates where you’re going … there is hope.

You can decide your code.

You can choose your attitude.

You can be part of effective collaboration and help create a workplace you actually love coming to.

As a leader, that is the opportunity – and the responsibility. Create an environment where people look forward to Monday morning because of how they are treated, how they work together, and how they feel about the people around them.

People are complicated. Leaders are complicated. Expect complicated.

But don’t use it as an excuse.

Choose your attitude. Set the standard. Be deliberate about who you are going to be.

Expect complicated — and choose not to be.

Have a blessed weekend!

Eric