About a month ago, I received an email from a colleague that read: "Skype call canceled."
After preparing for a meeting with two colleagues and arriving at my desk early so I could receive the call, I learned at the last minute that one colleague had forgotten the meeting because he was overwhelmed with other business.
This is a common problem: both the overwhelm and the last-minute cancellation. Even more common is not knowing how to respond to the situation in an optimal way that opens the door for growth and positive change for everyone. After thinking about my options, which included extreme reactions like charging for last-minute cancellations to opting out of life, I decided to practice being a Global Leader.
What I really needed was some bite-sized wisdom to generate a response that would benefit everyone and create Goodwill in Every Interaction. I used the Presence card deck and pulled out the card Peace. The text helped me to reflect on some important things. For example, I remembered that an aligned organization outperforms its competitors by most major financial metrics. I reflected on my own opportunity and choice to grow from adversity. I reflected on the needs and problems of all three people who were scheduled to be on the Skype call. I found myself feeling grateful that reality had created a "contextual learning environment" for me so I could apply Global Leadership and the wisdom from the card deck.
I then crafted an email in response to my colleague's request to reschedule:
"Thank you for the opportunity to grow and apply one of the WA leadership cards—Peace (see attached card)—to perhaps help get everything aligned.
I wish peace for each one of us and peace for the project so that everything can come into manifestation easily and with as little conflict and inundation as possible.
I'm available most anytime next Monday or Tuesday [for another Skype meeting].
Lots of peace to you and [the other team member]."
What happened next was more positive than I could have imagined.
About a week later, I receive an email from my colleague with a date and time for the new meeting. I was free at that time so I respond that the suggested schedule works for me, and I will be waiting at my desk for the Skype call.
Five minutes before the new call, I am sitting at my desk and awaiting the call. The scheduled time comes and goes. Twenty minutes pass. What to do? It was a nice day so I decide to go for a bike ride. I return an hour later, feeling happy for the workout and sunshine. I sit down again at my desk, expecting to see another "Skype call canceled" message in my Inbox.
Instead, I see a message that says "Skype" with text that directs me to call a conference line.
Interesting. I reply that the scheduled time had come and gone so I had gone for a bike ride. I have just returned, gotten the message, and I can call promptly if my colleagues are still available.
"Yes, we're waiting for you," came the reply.
After one more technical glitch, my two colleagues and I are now all conferenced in together, and the meeting begins.
We have an enormously productive meeting. I am able to provide valuable connections to meet their current business needs. I also provide them with a potential new market opportunity for their business service. And one colleague offers me a consulting assignment with the business because, he says, "We're ready for someone like you now."
Great! The Peace card is working. I'm starting to see situations from a more neutral position. Exquisite balance is finding its way into the interactions with my colleagues. We are moving to greater alignment. We are all benefitting, and my colleagues' business is moving forward and growing in some dynamic ways.
Now, after several weeks have passed, we continue to build strong relationships and have been brainstorming ways to work more closely together. More positive energy continues to release itself into our collaboration, and we are all beginning to grow as Global Leaders and create Goodwill in Every Interaction.