Making Magical Moments
Dec 19, 2023
This the season for creating memorable, magical moments.
Whether it’s a special moment with your family or your annual workplace Secret Santa exchange, there’s something special about the holidays, isn’t there?
I’ve been reading the book “The Power of Moments,” by Chip and Dan Heath. The whole premise of this book is that if you’re very intentional with the kind of moment you want to create – whether in a meeting, or a call, or on a trip – then people will remember what you wanted them to feel.
Think about that: Even if things go wrong, there’s absolute chaos, an experience gets derailed, your intentions will set the tone and define someone’s memories.
That is so powerful.
It made me think about how I approach the holidays.
For the past couple of years, so many friends and family members have encouraged me to make the Elf on the Shelf a part of our holiday traditions.
If you’re not familiar with this: The Elf on the Shelf is an elf figurine that is supposed to be Santa’s scout. You place it in different locations and holiday-themed situations each day, and the story goes that the elf reports back to Santa on your children’s behavior.
I was so resistant to this. For one thing, I wasn’t sure about having my two young daughters so focused on this elf for 30 days. What happens after Christmas? How would I find ideas for how to pose the little elf doll each morning?
I came up with a million reasons not to do it.
Until – I ran out of excuses.
Yes, this year we finally got an elf. And you know what? Not only am I having a great time finding creative ways to surprise the girls each morning, but they wake up every day and look for the elf.
They approach the day with wonder and curiosity in their hearts and minds, hopefully searching for the mischievous elf to see what she’s gotten herself into now.
Instead of resisting, I set my intention to create joy and delight, to encourage their creativity and make space for them to have their magical moments.
Video of Our Elves
I can already see the magic happening. The holidays are starting to evolve into something different. There’s a new magical component to how my daughters are interpreting the holidays – and how my husband and I experience them as a result.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized this is a great lesson for leaders: We need to set our intentions to create magical moments for our teams.
Here’s what that looks like:
When scheduling a meeting or a call, what is your intention? When people leave that meeting, how do you want them to feel? Too often, we don’t put in the time and energy to ask ourselves what moment we’re trying to create.
Pause and ask yourself: Is there a creative way to share this information in a way that it becomes more memorable?
As we approach the end of 2023, now is the perfect time to think about how you want to approach the new year. What type of moments do you want to create for your team?
By making sure you go into 2024 with a positive outlook, you can create a ripple effect with your intentions.
What is the first meeting on your 2024 calendar, and how can you set your intention differently?
Ready to continue the discussions on topics like this?
