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Hi Reader, Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with: If your biggest business challenges are actually people challenges, you’re in the right place. 1 Real Story I had a meeting downtown recently and decided to take the Metro. It involved a bus ride to the Metro, then heading down the long escalator to the train. Somewhere in the middle of all of it, I noticed two very different things. The first was a woman having a full conversation on speakerphone on the bus. Not holding the phone to her ear. I genuinely do not understand how we got here as a society. The language itself was irrelevant. It happened to be Spanish, but that’s beside the point. The part that struck me was the complete lack of awareness that other people existed in the shared space around her. But oddly, that wasn’t the thing I kept thinking about afterward. What stayed with me was something quieter. As I was on the train, I noticed one guy in particular get on the train, late 20s or early 30s, carrying absolutely nothing. No backpack. No phone! He must have had something to pay with, a phone or wallet, but nothing visible to me. And for a moment, I found myself oddly fascinated by how unburdened he looked. The funny thing is, I don’t actually carry much myself anymore. Years ago, I carried a normal-sized purse. These days, I mostly carry my phone, keys, and occasionally a lippy shoved into a pocket. Occasionally, I attach my magnetic card case to the back of my phone. If I’m on the Metro or on foot, I carry a small crossbody bag that fits my water bottle so I can stay hydrated as I move through the city hands-free and easily. Even when I was raising guide dog puppies, I traveled light. A couple of poop bags in pup’s jacket. A treat bag clipped to my hip. Practical. Minimal. So this wasn’t envy over “stuff.” It was something else. It was the visual of people moving through the world looking completely unencumbered. And it made me wonder how many of us are carrying things no one else can see. Responsibilities. Sometimes the heaviest things we carry aren’t in the bag at all. 1 Leadership Insight I see this in leadership all the time. Some leaders carry everything. Every problem. At first, it can look responsible. Noble, even. But over time, carrying too much becomes its own kind of dysfunction. Leaders start over-functioning. And eventually, people forget what belongs to them versus what they’ve simply gotten used to carrying. Strong leadership is not carrying everything for everyone. Sometimes it’s knowing what to put down. Sometimes it’s trusting other adults to carry their own weight. And sometimes it’s recognizing that constantly operating in a state of hyper-responsibility is not the same thing as effectiveness. 1 Practical Takeaway Take a minute and ask yourself: What am I carrying right now that no longer belongs to me? Maybe it’s:
A lighter load feels different. And every once in a while, it’s worth asking what you could put down. 1 Dose of Art A little whimsy. A little joy. A little doodle.
Doodle by Gary Schechner, 6/9/26 Even though this is a “mass email” I mean it when I say—let me know what you are up to. Reply, book a Zoom, pick up the phone. I’d love to catch up. If people issues are slowing down your business, let’s fix that. Thanks for letting me show up in your inbox. More joy. Less friction. Always. |