|
By Laurie Guest
There are three facets of workplace participation that can make all the difference in productivity and results: attitude, initiative and engagement. These characteristics may come naturally to some, but often they must be cultivated in a workplace. Attitude – Yours, Mine, and Ours in the Workplace Your attitude is your choice. Choose well. Choose to surround yourself with the thoughts you want to have. Set boundaries on those inside and outside of your work who impact your thoughts. If you live with a person who is constantly stating things in the negative, consider having a conversation about adjusting that tone. If there are friends that can’t seem to get out of the negative place, maybe consider distancing yourself just a little bit in order to self-preserve. In the workplace, it’s a little harder to put space in place. It’s likely you’re not in a position to have the positive conversation talk with co- workers, but think about your own attitude. Initiative – Or is it interest? I believe at the core of the lack of initiative is lack of interest. Visualize the least motivated person you know personally or professionally. Can you picture them? Got it? I bet you’re picturing a person who is detached from the situation, looks bored, or appears irritated. What you may have is a corporate employee low on initiative who does what’s asked but doesn’t ever step it up a notch. How can you create more initiative in the workplace? Find out what aspect of the job interests the employees. If at all possible, give them responsibilities in that area. For example, I once consulted in an eye doctor’s office where one staff member was deemed the troublemaker. When I met with her and asked her questions about her job, she showed only mild interest in anything work related. Finally, I switched topics and asked her if she ever had a job she loved. She responded by telling me about her retail clothing job she had when she was just out of school. With the doctor’s permission, we asked her to take over displays in the optical area and in the windows. When her creative work got noticed and she was praised by others, her confidence went up and work performance improved. Initiative comes from being interested in the work at hand. What is it going to take to get all team members interested in your product, your services, and the guests that you are privileged to serve? Engagement – Ready for Battle While initiative is one’s personal responsibility to action, engagement means a formal promise, or, in its original form, ready for battle. What do we mean when we say, “We want engaged staff, or how do we facilitate that behavior?” Engaged staff means present in the moment and ready to take an action that fulfills the promise you have made to your guest. A server at a restaurant is engaged when he or she hears me place my order. For example, I already know I have to indicate a salad dressing, a side item choice, and a beverage, and do so when I order. A truly engaged server will smile and say thank you or possibly repeat the order if I said it too fast. A disengaged server will say, “How would you like that meat prepared? Do you want the soup or the salad? Would you like lemon with your tea?” You get my point. I’ve had this happen on many occasions in all kinds of industries and so have you. The disengaged employee doesn’t really listen and is on automatic pilot. How do we help staff be more engaged? What about asking for ideas from the team on how to do things differently or smarter? Attitude, initiative and engagement are the cornerstones to a successful organization. They do not appear automatically but rather through skillful planning and execution. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success!
0 Comments
By Amy Dee
I was sixteen when my family vacationed in Cartageña, Columbia. The first evening, we strolled along the pristine beach, enjoying the brilliant sunset and roar of the ocean when we suddenly heard cries of help. A man and two women frantically screamed as waves crashed over them, and the tide dragged them further from the shore. An Australian man tore off his shoes and dived into the ocean. He rescued the drowning man, and my dad saved one of the women. There were no lifeboats or lifeguards and tragically the third victim was too far into the ocean for anyone to reach. Powerless and horrified, we watched this helpless woman struggle against the surge until a final crest stole her away. It was heartbreaking. Still in shock, we met the Australian man and his wife at the hotel restaurant the following morning. As we rehashed the tragedy, I recall the Australian telling us that he swam in the ocean daily. He warned us that powerful riptide could quickly pull a swimmer to their death. He added this advice: “If caught in a riptide never swim against the tide because you will tire quickly and be pulled into the sea. Instead, swim with the tide, parallel to the shore. It will save your strength, and you will eventually swim out of it.” Recently my friend and I were commiserating on the slop bucket of difficulties that seems to have dumped into our lives. “Between my family’s issues, my problems at work, and my husband bad health, I wonder if I have a target painted on my head!” she laughed, wiping away a tear. Haven’t we all felt this way at one time or another? Of course, we don’t actually believe that an unknown force is out to get us. But it can be overwhelming when problems pile up. We can feel victimized over and again. Let’s make the analogy that life is like a swim in the ocean. One moment you are frolicking in the sunshine filled with happiness, feeling that delightful high. The next minute a riptide shows up. Maybe an uninsured, unemployed teenager smashed into your parked car. Perhaps in a heated moment (after a few glasses of wine), you told off your nasty sister-in-law, and now the family reunion is canceled because of you. Or, your company headquarters is moving to the bowels of New Jersey, and you just built your midwestern country dream home. Or, during your morning shower you felt a suspicious lump on your breast. Whatever the difficulty, the riptide of complications has smacked you in the face and yanked you into a sea of gloom. If caught in a riptide, stop fighting. Instead, try the following:
Have faith that no storm will last forever and beyond the clouds lies your rainbow. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Kristin Baird
We hear so much about empathy as it relates to the patient experience. And for good reason. Empathy is what makes the science of medicine human. It’s the care in healthcare. But empathy is often lumped in with softness, which is sometimes viewed as weakness. I contend that it’s just the opposite. It takes courage to be empathetic. Here’s the thing about courage. Mark Twain said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear. Not the absence of fear.” This is an important distinction to make. It takes courage to demonstrate compassion and empathy for others. Having empathy requires a certain degree of vulnerability. This is where heart meets courage. It takes courage to allow yourself to step into the emotion – to feel and to empathize. Real success will never be free of fear, but learning to move past it. And I do believe you can learn this. A few years ago I was working with a physician who was a brilliant diagnostician. “Dr. Smith” could assess and diagnose conditions quickly and move on to the treatment plan almost before the patient was finished describing their symptoms. The problem was – his patients couldn’t stand him. His surveys were the lowest in the system which was embarrassing for both him and his partners. He wasn’t a heartless person, he was simply objective-driven. He believed people came to him with a physical problem and that his objective was to diagnose and treat. Period. When I first met with Dr. Smith, he expected me to approach his “case” the same way he approached his – diagnose and prescribe a plan as efficiently as possible. Instead I asked him to describe what he hoped patients would say about him and their time with him. Of course he focused on clinical outcomes. So I asked him to describe what he hoped the patients would feel about their encounters. It took some digging, but I found that he really did want them to feel that he cared. As we talked, he revealed that it was hard for him to let down his guard and to demonstrate compassion and empathy. During the conversation, I tried to point out that a chief complaint isn’t really about the physical symptom, but often about the impact that symptom has on a person’s life. To take a moment to recognize that makes a patient feel validated and understood. He admitted that getting into people’s feelings was scary for him. (He used other terms, but scary is my diagnosis.) I told him that it takes courage to demonstrate compassion and empathy for others. Having empathy requires a certain degree of vulnerability. This is where empathy meets courage. It takes courage to allow yourself to step into the emotion – to feel and to empathize. We practiced some empathy statements and some non-verbal behaviors as well. I jokingly said, “Take two minutes for empathy,” but the truth is, that is a great place to start. It takes practice and consciousness. And chances are, you won’t change behavior over night. The secret is to keep going back and trying it again and again. As author Mary Anne Radamacher said, “Courage doesn’t always Roar. Sometimes courage is that quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow.” Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Tim Hague Sr.
What’s the difference between happiness and joy? Happiness is an ice cream on a warm summer day. Joy is infinitely more than being made to feel good by our circumstances. I like this definition by Rick Warren—that joy is “the settled assurance . . . the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright.” An ice cream on a warm summer day can never bring about that kind of feeling. Living through hardship and coming out the other side can. Suffering, if we allow it to, can draw us deeply into an ability to persevere. Hardship can teach us how to stay in the race even when all seems lost. It can teach us how to hold on when we feel as if we can go no further. I’ll never forget standing on the mat at the end of leg three, having come in last place in The Amazing Race Canada. Even when we didn’t end up being sent home, part of me just wanted to quit. Sometimes we wish the struggle we’re facing would just go away. Mine was the threat of humiliation and my ongoing battle with Parkinson’s. What is your struggle that you wish would go away? I would encourage you to name it, and to walk hand in hand with it. Discover the means to stay on your journey and win. We’ve been sold a lie: the lie that we should pursue only those things that make us happy. As my daughters have grown up, I’ve often told them not to believe the lie of all those beauty ads that promote a fake, unnatural look and an unrealistic size for most women. I say the same here in our context: don’t believe the lie that our lives should be free of pain and hardship. Life just doesn’t happen that way. Think of the many grueling, difficult tasks that we have to work hard through and that ultimately lead to joy. Those triathletes who daily slog through the intense training of three demanding sports with the hopes of one day becoming an Ironman are a great example of embracing hardship. Are those athletes always happy to swim at five in the morning in a cold pool? To run fifteen miles in the rain? These things don’t always bring them happiness, but they often produce joy—the sense of having accomplished something meaningful, having overcome something difficult, having done what you didn’t want to get up and do but did anyway. There is no joy without suffering. Do not believe the lie. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Courtney Clark
Do you have time to add one more thing into your life? I wouldn’t blame you if your gut response was “no.” Most of us feel full to the brim already, packed with activities and responsibilities. Making time for resilience-building practices in your life sounds like a chore. Yet another thing to check off your to-do list. And it could be… but it isn’t. Most of us are already doing 3, 4, or even 5 of these habits already. But we’re not doing them on purpose, and we’re not paying attention to how they help build our resilience and mental toughness, so we’re not getting the maximum benefit. So to make it easier, instead of giving you a list of 100 things you can do to feel more resilient, think about these habits as big categories. As long as you do SOMEthing in that category, you’ll get the benefit. Make Something Yes, I know “making dinner” may feel like more of a chore than a fun activity. But if you reframe dinner as “I’m creating something I want to eat,” it gets a little more fun! Or nuke dinner but make an art project with your kids. Or write a note to a friend. Use your creativity and your two hands to make SOMETHING every day, Creativity sparks an area in your mind that you don’t get to use very much as an adult. But it helps with problem-solving and keeping you calm, two things every adult DEFINITELY needs! Move Something Have you heard about telomeres yet? Telomeres are the little protective caps on the end of your chromosomes, and they can wear down with chronic physical and emotional stress. Research has shown that exercise is terrific for keeping your telomeres intact for longer. But moving your body in ANY way is good for your emotional well-being – it doesn’t have to be a full-blown exercise regimen. In our house, we like to have a 1-minute dance party in the evenings, after dinner. It’s a time to be silly and get our blood flowing. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t watch TV at night, we just do the dance party in ADDITION to our favorite shows. Because moving your body releases endorphins, try just a little bit every day to manage stress and build resilience. Enjoy Something For me, the best part of the day is heading to a bubble bath with a glass of wine and a good book. That’s three great things right there! Do you have a moment in the day you can just… enjoy? Sunrise with your coffee before everyone wakes up? There is actually a psychological benefit to what’s called “savoring” – paying attention to and appreciating something enjoyable. When you savor something, you’re not only practicing gratitude, but you’re also immersed in the moment, which is good for mindfulness. The practice of “savoring” has been shown to increase your positive emotions. So find something each day that’s really enjoyable and just revel in it for 2-3 minutes! Finish Something In today’s busy world, you’re constantly crossing something off your to-do list. But each finished item just moves you on to one more, and it feels like the day is never done. So often, we finish one or two tasks towards a dozen different projects in our lives: we make dinner but then leave the dishes for tomorrow. We send off a report but leave 10 emails in our inbox. Doing some but not ALL of a project can actually take a toll on our brain. Because of a process called “self-efficacy,” we like feeling powerful and in control. We like to see the end result of our hard work! It may actually be better to finish ALL of one project, as opposed to MOST of three different things. Look Someone in the Eye One of the key predictors of resilience in a person is having strong bonds with others. But in the day-to-day stress, we sometimes fail to spend quality time nurturing those bonds. Instead of just being in the same room with your partner or your children, stop for just a minute and have a real conversation. Look them in the eye and just talk. And your strong bonds don’t have to be under your own roof – volunteering and helping others does amazing things for your happiness levels! You don’t have to add 5 new activities into your daily life. That would make you MORE stressed, not less! But if you slow down and pay attention, you’ll realize you can shift just a few things around and prioritize these 5 important habits every single day, to help make you more resilient to the stress and challenge. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Bobbe White
We’ve been hearing this phrase a lot lately. It’s a handy one. It can tolerate any pronoun: That’s on me. That’s on you. That’s on us. That’s on them. I think this phrase be used a lot or a little. It depends. If we’re taking ownership in something we’ve done that doesn’t turn out particularly well - well, that’s on me. I need to own it. Before slinging this phrase around, perhaps the best idea is to turn the phrase into a question “That’s on who?” (For you grammar gurus, I suppose it’s more correct to say, “That’s on whom?” Whichever, it is and right now, I’m getting confused about the wrong thing, so let’s move on, shall we?) If someone is trying to throw blame on you for something, they might say, “That’s on you!” If it’s true, then it’s going to hit right where it hurts. Why? Because truth is hard. Truth can hurt. But the truth is the truth is the truth. And that’s the truth. Or as our Nick would’ve said it as a little kid, without front teeth, “That’s the troof!” And that’s okay. We need to hear a little more troof! The problem with hearing the troof is that we become so defensive. It’s a natural response. If we don’t go down the defensive road, I know that for myself, I will just crumble into a puddle of woe. Woe goes like this: “I’m so stupid. I’m such a loser. I should’ve known better.” Yeah, let’s be self-defeating. That’s so much more fun! This is because someone has just validated what I’ve known all along. And the troof can feel like crap. So, be careful before you sling around “That’s on you.” However, if we’re to correct our actions and become better humans, then it’s important to know what troof feels like. I think I really like using this version (troof), because it makes me laugh. And maybe we all need to do that a little bit more when it’s on us. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Donna Cardillo
An LPN student recently wrote to me with a bleak view of the job market. This person said, "I’m graduating soon. What can an LPN expect when looking for jobs? What can we do to make ourselves more attractive to potential employers?" How LPNs can make themselves stand out to potential employers Opportunities for LPNs vary from state to state, depending on the scope of practice. By and large, LPNs still have opportunities in long-term care, assisted living and rehabilitation facilities, as well as hospice and home care. Additionally, LPNs are also being used in schools, psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals/clinics, correctional facilities and a wide range of other ambulatory care settings, including medical practices, clinics, group homes, dialysis, wound care centers and more. LPNs also work for insurance companies doing pre-certification, in occupational health, nursing informatics, and quite a few other non-traditional healthcare settings. The job market is competitive for all nurses, so putting your best foot forward, activating and cultivating your professional network, and continuously expanding your skill set are all essential. For more specifics on marketing yourself well, read the articles “Put Your Best Foot Forward for Maximum Impact” and “Interview to Knock Their Socks Off.” It is important for you to join and get active in nursing associations too. It is through professional associations that we build community in nursing. Without community, you may survive but you will never thrive. Join and get active in the National Association of Licensed Practical Nurses. Also, check with your state chapter of the American Nurses Association to see if they have a membership category or special coalition for LPNs in your state. Many of them do. But even if they don’t, you can attend meetings as a guest to network and learn. Participation in professional associations expands your professional network, keeps you current with knowledge, information, and trends, and provides support throughout your career. Plus, networking is well known to be an effective way to find job openings and get interviews. LPNs play a vital role in healthcare. Be proud of what you have accomplished and what you do. Convey that sense of pride when you network, interview and work. There are always opportunities for individuals who are passionate, professional and enthusiastic. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By John O'Leary. This was originally posted on JohnOLearyInspires.com. When John O'Leary was 9 years old, he suffered burns over 100% of his body and was expected to die. He is now an inspirational speaker and bestselling author, teaching more than 50,000 people around the world each year how to live inspired. John's first book, ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life was published March 15, 2016. John is a contributing writer for Huff Post and Parade.com. John is a proud husband and father of four and resides in St. Louis, MO. Order John’s book today anywhere books are sold.
While watching a 4th of July parade earlier this month, I spent a few minutes chatting with a young man entering his senior year in college. I asked if he was excited to graduate and begin using all he’d learned in the past 20 or so years. He shrugged, looked away, and responded, “Not really. I think most people my age just feel pretty gloomy about our chances. Take a look around, the world is falling apart and we are the ones that have to figure it out.” He paused before adding somberly, “I’m pretty sure the American Dream is dead.” As he said this, not knowing exactly how to respond, I looked away from him and around at our surroundings. The street we stood on was lined with gorgeous century-old houses, massive oak trees, and sidewalks that were packed with generations of friends and family waving at the passing parade floats. There were tents set up with charcoal smoke and hotdog smells rising from barbeque pits. Music from a high school marching band approached from the distance and a float with politically-active citizens rolled by cheering slogans and passing out stickers. Immediately behind them chugged a massive World War II half-track transporter. The words painted on the side of the enormous vehicle read: “Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge.” In it were a few surviving soldiers who seven decades earlier fought in one of the harshest, deadliest and most important battles during the war. These men saluted, smiled, and proudly waved flags. And as they drove by the words of the young man echoed in my mind: “I’m pretty sure the American Dream is dead.” The Death of the American Dream Perhaps the young man was right. Maybe the American Dream is dead. But before we bury it, maybe it’s important to remember what the dream was in the first place. Quite simply, the American Dream was first imagined during a time of global tension, great injustice, social upheaval, and intense inequities among classes, races and genders. The dream foretold that through self-determination individuals could work, plant, strive and fight to be given the chance to make even better lives for themselves and their families. The promise of the dream was never one of assurance of great wealth, or ease, or rest, or health, or even longevity of years. Instead it offered a vague, but radiant promise that with enough personal grit, accountability, resolution and a bit of luck, an even better life could be cultivated. The verbiage for this dream borrowed heavily from words we celebrated together while watching the parade roll past. The Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson and ratified on July 4, 1776, includes the now immortalized words that we all enjoy certain inalienable rights including the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Before the American Dream’s reported death, the dream offered the right to that pursuit, but not the guarantee of its achievement. It is what fueled the first leaders of this country to willingly risk everything in signing their names to the Declaration. It’s what guided and motivated the early frontier families to leave everything they knew and head west in the search of something even better. It is what empowered the men rolling past us in the transporter (then boys) to enlist in the service of their country and depart the safety of their towns. These homesick kids boarded ships, traveled overseas, and found themselves in a foreign land, in some densely forested region of Belgium, fighting in an enormous battle that injured or killed almost 100,000 of their friends, before securing eventual victory: the Battle of the Bulge. You see, the American Dream to every previous generation was never a guarantee of ease or prosperity or even an absolute certainty of success. It was instead the promise of possibility. And it is my steadfast belief that this promise, this Dream, is far from dead. It is alive and well and just as difficult, arduous, and perfectly possible to attain as ever before. Sometimes you just need to open your eyes a little wider to see it marching by right in front of you. Fuel for a ‘New’ American Dream My friends, with the constant drumbeat of negativity from our friends on both sides of the aisle being echoed and magnified by the media each day, there are plenty of reasons to feel discouraged by life today and ample opportunities to stop believing in a brighter tomorrow. But what might happen if we stopped focusing only on all we don’t have, on all that might go wrong, on all we might have to endure? What might happen if we choose instead to view all we do possess, felt overwhelmed with gratitude for the preceding generations who provided us these opportunities, and boldly embraced the potential we have each day to work, plant, strive and fight for something bigger than ourselves? Yes, the world may indeed be falling apart. But what an awesome time to accept the responsibility of not being pushed down by these problems, but to utilize them as fuel to live into your dreams. This is your day. Live Inspired. Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! By Vicki Hess
As humans, we need to connect. This is a critical part of the leader’s role in engaging employees. But the news is bleak when it comes to connecting…here are a just few of the findings from a survey which Cigna conducted of 20K+ U.S. adults:
What are you doing in your role to promote positive connections? When I talk to leaders about Creating Connections, I hear about two types:
Chance Connections Chance Connections are those that are reactive in one way or another. Having an Open-Door Policy is an example. It’s good but doesn’t set a very high bar. Have you ever heard of an organization with a “Closed Door Policy”? Here’s what usually happens…you open your door and sit and wait (and mostly hope that no one stops by so that you can get your “real work” done uninterrupted – haha). It’s important to be accessible. So, keep your door open and understand that you are leaving the connection to chance. The second type of Chance Connection is rounding. In this case, you are the interruption to the staff member. Staff are in the middle of their “real work” and you’re stopping by might be a welcome break or an annoying inconvenience. Don’t get me wrong, rounding is very important because not only do you make connections, you also get a visual of how things are going. Keep rounding with staff, just know that you are still leaving the connection to chance. Conscious Connections The most powerful kind of connection is a Conscious Connection – where both you and the team member are proactive and prepared. This happens in a One-on-One (1:1) Meeting (either virtually or in-person). One question I routinely ask leaders in my client needs assessment is “What do you know you should be doing related to engagement and aren’t and why? I’ve asked this question to thousands of leaders and the number one thing they aren’t doing is meeting one-on-one with team members. Many leaders struggle with making Conscious Connections. The number one reason why they aren’t doing it is that “there isn’t enough time.” In follow up conversations, I hear the second reason it’s not happening is that there’s a perception that it’s not worth the time. Of course, these two challenges go hand in hand. If you don’t think something is worth your time, then you aren’t going to make time for it. Make Time for Meetings Here’s one thing I know. Your actions and behaviors reflect your beliefs and mindsets. If you believe that meeting 1:1 with your direct reports is important – you will make the time. Try these ideas:
Make the Meetings Worthwhile What makes a 1:1 meeting so powerful is that both you and your direct report are prepared for the conversation. It’s a Conscious Connection. That alone adds to the value. Try these ideas:
Now is the time to create Conscious Connections and positively impact engagement – yours and your team’s. Enjoy! Looking for your next healthcare speaker? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to make your healthcare event a success! |
Archives
June 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed