Other thumb on top

This week I began midyear touchpoint conversations with my direct reports. My goal for each touchpoint is to give and receive feedback about the first half of our year together, and chart a path for the next six months. I'm listening for accomplishments that bring people pride, discussing areas we agree could have gone better, and discovering projects that excite them for the coming months. We have regular meetings each week, but these conversations are designed to look at the work from a different perspective - a different grip on the same data.

I prepared a list of questions, and shared it in advance. Usually, in mid-year conversations, we'd talk about our specific goals for the year, measure our progress against them, and discuss how to overcome obstacles. This time, I've put my "other thumb on top" and taken a different approach: learning what brings joy to my teammates. To prompt this conversation, I included a question about red threads, a new concept we've been exploring in our team. I asked "What are your red threads - the things you love about your role?"

Red threads? What's that?

Red threads are the elements in the fabric of your work life that you just love. You just can't get enough. These tasks and projects keep you engaged and intrigued. Time flies by. Developed by Marcus Buckingham (one of the people who developed #Strengthsfinder, another tool I swear by), the idea of exploring red threads is to learn what brings us joy - and find ways to experience more of those moments. For me, writing is a red thread. So is presenting or teaching. My number one red thread is helping others find solutions, by giving them a new perspective on their circumstances.

Yeah, but what about the rest of the job?

Once you've figured out the work that brings you joy, that doesn't mean it's time to quit your job. As leaders, we aren't generally trying to help staff to find their joy at another company. That's where the concept of "other thumb on top" comes in.

The phrase comes from yoga teachers I knew years ago, teaching baddha vīrabhadrasana बद्ध विरभद्रसन, humble warrior pose. "Begin in warrior one on the right side," they'd say. "Now clasp your hands behind your back, and fold forward next to your right leg." I would clasp my hands in the way that came most naturally. After holding the pose for five or ten breaths and proceeding through a sequence to get to the other side they'd say "make sure your other thumb is on top." I'd switch my grip and fold forward, marveling at how different and awkward it felt.

That's what I'm trying to do with my red threads conversations. Here's an example: one team member finds joy in exploring how to maximize our results from the software platform she manages. She loves going down that rabbit hole searching for answers without knowing where the burrow leads. Figuring out how to get the most out of our tools takes time and energy. It's time she loves - and it definitely benefits our company. But she has routine tasks to complete, people to train and manage, meetings to attend. "You're in a different time zone than the rest of us," I remind her. "Why not block the time when the rest of us are gone for the day or at lunch, and use it for exploring rabbit holes?"

Switch your grip, block your calendar, make time for the joy.

In yoga that joy is santosha, संतोष , one of the niyamas नियम.  Typically translated as "contentment," santosha is a daily focus for me.

Here's my santosha practice.

• Every day, I appreciate the relationships in my life. I don't take my love for granted - I say it all the time. I have dreams about calling my mother for an answer, and when I wake up I realize she's gone...but I treasure how her presence made me feel in the dream. That's santosha.
• Every morning, I create the yoga practice that energizes me. Some days it's a hot, sweaty practice full of challenge and strength-building. Some days I open my heart and feel the length of my spine, trying to align my shoulders and my hips. That's santosha.
• Every day, week and month I dedicate time to developing my team and bringing them new perspectives. If I can help them find their red threads, try putting the other thumb on top and move toward the work they love 20% of the time, that's santosha.

Try this practice.

1. Learn what you love. Ask yourself, what brings me joy? What do I love? What are three red threads that make time stop, put me in flow? Start tracking how much of your time is spent there, and push it towards 20%. One easy method: block the time in red on your Outlook calendar.
2. Learn what each member of your team loves. Share a podcast or an article about this topic, and make it a team exercise to go around the room and each share one thing they love about their work. Share yours too!
3. Talk about it every day. Don't do the exercise once and ignore it - call people out for using their red threads whenever you see it. Ask people to report how they're using their red threads in future team meetings or weekly standup calls or one-on-ones.
4. Use red threads in your mid-year and year-end meetings. It's not just important to report progress against work goals - it's critical to chart increasing time for red threads, the practical results this has created, and the santosha you see in your team members.

How does your yoga practice improve your leadership? Post a comment and let us all know!

Janet Kyle Altman is marketing principal at Kaufman Rossin, one of the top independent CPA and advisory firms in the country. Past chair of The Women’s Fund and Friends of WLRN, she’s a daily yoga practitioner and a leadership writer and speaker. You can reach her at jaltman@kaufmanrossin.com