On this episode of Creating Disney Magic, I answer a listener question that may seem unique, but it is more common than you may think. 

A listener told me she is 28 and people think she is a teenager. It creates a challenge at work because people think she is young and therefore inexperienced. 

Although you may not have this problem of looking like a teenager, you do have something in common with this listener. 

You have a challenge that gets in the way. You hope people don't notice, but they probably will. 

Maybe you try to get around it by not talking about it. 

Hiding your challenge is not the right approach. 

For this podcast listener, people treat her differently because they think she is young. It's not uncommon for people to discriminate against someone for being too young. 

Or too old. 

People shouldn't focus on age. Young or old. What matters is experience and knowledge. 

But sometimes it is to your advantage to bring it up right from the start. 

Call out your challenge from the beginning. Deal with it as soon as you can. 

When I was younger, I thought people would question my ability because I did not have a college degree. So I brought it out front in the beginning. It allowed me to draw attention to my experience and the positions I held during my career. 

If you don't address what people may already be thinking, you may not get the opportunity you are after. 

Bringing out the issue upfront will also show people you are not afraid to have a difficult conversation. 

Use the situation to help create a personal story of perseverance and overcoming a challenge. 

Documenting HR issues is important for you as a leader and your organization as a whole. 

When I was at Marriott, I learned how to coach, counsel, and discipline employees. Documenting HR issues was part of the training that stuck with me the rest of my career. 

If you have any issue with an employee, you need to build a record of the history of the behavior in case it becomes a problem.

Documentating issue gives you and the employee clarity to what is going on.

Without documentation, both parties may have a different understanding of what the problem is, or if there is even a problem at all.

When you hire new employees, let them know upfront you have a system to document HR issues. 

Document not only the issue but the consequences. 

And when you document consequences, you have to follow through. 

There is one activity every leader should do every day, and it may not be what you think.

In my book, The Customer Rules, Rule #15 is Be Like a Bee.

There is a story behind this rule or customer service. 

A girl asked Walt Disney if he was involved in making the movies. Walt explained he was like a bee. He buzzed around the company looking for and spreading new ideas.

What Walt told the young girl is the most important activity for any leader. You need to get out among people and hear their ideas. And help spread those ideas. 

If you want to be like a bee, ask more questions. Talk to customers and employees. Departments in your organization may have no idea what other ideas are up to.

Here are some ideas of what questions to ask;

"Why do you do it like this?"

"Do you think there is a better way to do this?"

"Have you ever thought about doing it this way instead?"

"What do you like most about the way we do things?"

"What don't you like?"

"What do you hate to have to say to our customers?"

"If you could change 2 things about how we serve our customers what would they be?"

"What items do you usually run out of?"

"What percentage of our customers are repeat customers and what percentage are one-timers?"

"What else can I do for you?"

Buzz around every day until you find all the issues and uncover all the ideas. Then you can spread ideas, uncover new solutions and pollinate your organization. 

When you have free time, what do you do with it?

Too many people let it get away without getting any value from it. But you can use free time to gain an advantage. 

There are three ways to consider how you use free time; organizationally, at-work, and personally. 

With organizational free time, you can take care of some of the small items you always wish you had time for.  You can train employees or work on planning. Free time is a perfect time to work on maintenance items that are harder to do when you are busy; paint buildings inside and out, change lightbulbs and other smaller items you may have let slide.

With your own free time at work, you can clean up your area for starters. But now is also the time to take control of your own career development. What happens next is up to you. 

With your personal free time, think about what you can do in the short term to get a long term payoff. Learn a new skill like playing the guitar or speaking a foreign language. Learn something new. Find an online course. Listen to podcasts. If you listen to all of the back episodes of this podcast you will practically have a master's degree in leadership, management, and customer service. There is no upside to sitting on the couch. But also take time to step away from projects and learning. Spend time with your family. You can build memories now that will last a lifetime.