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By Amy Dee
Imagine: It’s so hot your thighs are sweating. Your throat feels like you’ve swallowed sand. You bring the icy glass of lemonade to your parched lips and drink a huge gulp. Suddenly, your tastebuds sear with tongue slipping sour; you spit the drink out, yelling, “I forgot the sugar!” Forgetting to laugh during stressful times like drinking lemon water. Laughter makes a sour day, sweeter. Humor is the sweetener in life. When you learn to shift your perspective and find the light side of a situation, you can turn lemons into lemonade. Humor doesn’t ignore Difficulties, it makes them tolerable. You do not have to let the fact that you are frustrated, stressed, and overall miserable keep you from finding a bit of fun and joy out of life. I’ll help you understand that humor has the power to weaken negative emotions. As a matter of fact, humor can even flip a negative mood into a positive one. Furthermore, finding funny can redirect you towards finding solutions to the problems that created your negative emotions in the first place. It will ease the tensions you feel and give you greater control over the challenges you are facing. Humor helps keeps everyday irritations in perspective. Most (not all) problems are pretty small when you consider the big picture. Laughter is Contagious Once you get good at adding comic sugar to sour days, you will feel happier. Better yet, those positive emotions will transfer to those around you. When we sprinkle humor into our day, goodness grows. As a funny motivational speaker, I’ve watched one giggle swell into a wave of snorting, knee-slapping laughter that swamps my audience. We all know how good it feels to share a laugh with family members at a reunion or with co-workers. Let’s face it, the sound of roaring laughter is contagious and much better for us than a sniffle, sneeze, or cough. Shared laughter unites us and increases our joy and affection for each other. Laughter Strengthens Resilience The power of laughter appears when you learn to use it during stressful situations.
For this reason, your sense of humor plays a huge role in your resilience. On your worst days, humor will help you bend without breaking. Finding the funny will help you better handle the challenges life throws at you. Laughing is a powerful weapon to help you punch back at adversity. Laughter Helps In addition to the ripple effect of happiness and delight, laughter also activates healthy physiological changes.
Laughter Is Strong Medicine For The Body There are oodles of stress management techniques out there. People find great success with deep breathing, meditation, yoga, and other stress busters. However, we often forget that humor is one of the most effective stress reducers available to us. It is natural, free, and one of the most essential tools you have to create an enjoyable life. No pill you pop will work faster or is more dependable in bringing your mind and body into balance than a deep laugh. Laughter is a potent remedy to conflict, stress, and pain. A good giggle lightens your burdens and keeps you grounded. It creates a connection to others and helps you remain focused and alert. Laughter has healing power. For this reason, your ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource because it:
Humor Doesn’t Mean... Just because you find something to laugh about during tough times doesn’t mean you aren’t serious about it. In fact, laughing can actually help you handle the problem more effectively. For instance, consider that many corporate meetings start out with a funny story or a joke. Beginning with a laugh puts attendees in a positive frame of mind, which can help the meeting flow better. Likewise, if you’re racing through your day, putting out fires, a good belly laugh can dampen the flames. Did you know that four-year laughs once every four minutes while adults laugh only an average of 15 times a day? Increasing our ability to find humor is vital for lots of reasons. Let’s start by exploring a few of the physical benefits, such as: Positive vs. Negative Humor Just to be clear, not all humor is the same. We’ve all known people who have miserably failed to be funny during stressful situations. Most likely, their humor leans towards being sarcastic, rude, or cringe-worthy. A study showed that the tendency to use negative humor is associated with lower interpersonal competence, self-esteem, and psychological well-being, higher levels of depression and anxiety—and even more frequent psychiatric symptoms. On the other hand, a bias towards positive humor is associated with higher self-esteem, interpersonal competence, and overall psychological well-being and lower depression and anxiety. Dark Humor President Abraham Lincoln once read something to his advisors, which he found very funny, but they didn’t laugh. He said, “Why don’t you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh, I should die, and you need this medicine as much as I do.” As a psychiatric R.N. who worked in an acute care psychiatric hospital, we dealt with heartbreaking situations and horror stories daily. There is an emotional build-up resulting from being immersed in other people’s emotional conflicts and turmoil day after day. Humor helped us, “let go.” I’ll admit that there were times when our humor could turn slightly gray. Humor preventing our negative emotions from taking over. It helped us maintain a positive focus while dealing with our patients. Not to mention, humor helped us avoid the ongoing risk of burnout. We also knew this humor could only be shared with staff, not patients or people outside our unit. Our sense of humor was sometimes unusual, but it also helped us manage our personal roller coaster of emotions. I love collecting stories from audience members after my keynotes. This true story came after a keynote to an audience of nurses. Emergency service personnel such as police and firefighters and E.R. providers also use humor to cope with the agonizing events they encounter. In these demanding occupations, cynical humor or ‘gallows humor’ helps them cope with stress, relieve tension, and vent their feelings. A Coping Mechanism One way this humor helps is by allowing the service giver space to detach or distance themselves. Also, it helps foster group stability and social support. As a result, they can be more effective during tough situations. None of this humor is meant to hurt or diminish the pain of the people they care for every day. Instead, it creates a momentary positive focus, which, in turn, helps them live with the emotionally draining things they confront daily. In addition, it helps them fight burnout and do their job effectively. Humor doesn’t ignore Difficulties, it makes them tolerable. You do not have to let the fact that you are frustrated, stressed, and overall miserable keep you from finding a bit of fun and joy out of life. I’ll help you understand that humor has the power to weaken negative emotions. As a matter of fact, humor can even flip a negative mood into a positive one. Furthermore, finding funny can redirect you towards finding solutions to the problems that created your negative emotions in the first place. It will ease the tensions you feel and give you greater control over the challenges you are facing. Humor helps keeps everyday irritations in perspective. Most (not all) problems are pretty small when you consider the big picture. “Life is full of misery, loneliness, and unhappiness, and it’s all over much too quickly.” (Woody Allen) “It is because they can be frivolous at times that the majority of people do not hang themselves.” (Voltaire) Laughter is Contagious Once you get good at adding comic sugar to sour days, you will feel happier. Better yet, those positive emotions will transfer to those around you. When we sprinkle humor into our day, goodness grows. As a funny motivational speaker, I’ve watched one giggle swell into a wave of snorting, knee-slapping laughter that swamps my audience. We all know how good it feels to share a laugh with family members at a reunion or with co-workers. Let’s face it, the sound of roaring laughter is contagious and much better for us than a sniffle, sneeze, or cough. Shared laughter unites us and increases our joy and affection for each other. Laughter Strengthens Resilience The power of laughter appears when you learn to use it during stressful situations.
For this reason, your sense of humor plays a huge role in your resilience. On your worst days, humor will help you bend without breaking. Finding the funny will help you better handle the challenges life throws at you. Laughing is a powerful weapon to help you punch back at adversity. Laughter Helps In addition to the ripple effect of happiness and delight, laughter also activates healthy physiological changes.
Laughter Is Strong Medicine For The Body There are oodles of stress management techniques out there. People find great success with deep breathing, meditation, yoga, and other stress busters. However, we often forget that humor is one of the most effective stress reducers available to us. It is natural, free, and one of the most essential tools you have to create an enjoyable life. No pill you pop will work faster or is more dependable in bringing your mind and body into balance than a deep laugh. Laughter is a potent remedy to conflict, stress, and pain. A good giggle lightens your burdens and keeps you grounded. It creates a connection to others and helps you remain focused and alert. Laughter has healing power. For this reason, your ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource because it:
Problem-Focused vs. Emotion-Focused Coping Problem-Focused on Coping Because problems come in all shapes and sizes, there isn’t a one size fits all solution. Admittedly, we know this is true. But instead, we often apply a preferred solution to most of our problems, ignoring the fact that it doesn’t fit. While addressing a problem, one of the most important questions you can ask yourself is: What can I control? One of the most helpful methods you can use to address a problem is; What do I have control over? We need to be realistic about what we can and what we can’t control. Problem-focused coping works when the problem causing you pain is under your control. For example, like many of you, COVID significantly disrupted my work when all my convention events were postponed. I couldn’t control the virus, but I could control my keynote options. Within weeks my husband and I built a studio in our basement, and I started presenting virtually with great success. My mom was diagnosed with wet macular degeneration. She can’t reverse the disease but is now on an eye-injection regime that has diminished its progress. Some situations we can fix and some we can’t. Instead, we must learn to live them. Emotion-Focused Coping However, some situations we can fix and some we can’t. When we can’t fix it, we must learn to live it. For example, you arrive at work and several co-workers are out sick. No float nurses are available, so your patient load is increased. As a result, you have a hectic and stressful day. In this case, emotion-focused coping concentrates on changing your mood or your frame of mind. In this case, you need to pull yourself out of anger or anxiety and replace it with a positive frame of mind. Switching from a negative to a positive mindset will help you recognize what you need to do to deal with stressful situations. SHAZAM! HUMOR TO THE RESCUE Humor creates a cognitive-affective shift. In other words, it reframes our perspective. Once you change the way, you also have an emotional shift to a more positive direction. Once you accept that humor creates this shift, you can deliberately use it to manage your emotional state.Now that’s POWER! The power of humor is that you can’t be genuinely happy and sad at the same time. 3 ways to increase your humor 1. Boost the humor in your daily life. Funny surrounds us, so there are lots of simple ways to boost humor in your life. Consider looking at outside sources.
2. Laugh at Yourself We all make mistakes, have quirks and goofy habits that are funny. Life is happier when you learn to laugh will get stop taking yourself so seriously. (Even though you continue to take your work and responsibilities seriously.) 3. Look for the Humor Humor is everywhere. Watch for humor at home, at the grocery store, at your job. Find fun in your relationships, at the dinner table, and while doing lawn work. Life is funny. When you look for the Funny, you will find it Humor is one of our greatest blessings. Being funny is possibly one of the best things you can do for your health. It helps bolsters your immune system, eases pain, protects the heart, and burns calories. Laughter strengthens relationships, enhances teamwork, and diffuses conflict. Find the funny relieves stress, improves your mood, and strengthens resilience. Best of all, laughter brings joy and zest to life. Everyone deserves a laugh and, if you look, every day will give you one. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By Steve Gilliland
The phrase “No Risk, No Reward” means many different things to many other people, but for me, it talks about the ties that bind us, strengthen us, and nurture us, especially in these days of uncertainty. Today, let us not think about risk in terms of money or power, but the spirit of love. As we think about this post, I would encourage us to think about what we should always risk. We Should Always Risk:
And, with that, dear friends and valuable friends, let me say how much I love and appreciate all of you. My goodness, it has been a challenging year, but with blessings, hope, and determination, we have made it through the storm. However, it always has been, and always will be, worth taking the risk! Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
1. Think about resource allocation as though they are the owners of the company. In economics there is a theory called the principal agent problem. It happens when employees, the agents of the organization, think more about their own best self interest than they do about the principal, or the organization. In small ways, it means that employees don’t worry about walking out the door with company pens, because they don’t consider that stealing. On larger levels, it can manifest by padding an expense report, skimping on hours worked, and habitually using company time for personal use. On a grand scheme, it means defrauding the organization. Great employees think as though they are the principal, or the owner of the company. They would not steal from themselves. They would work 100% while at work. They would consider, “If I owned this company, what would I want to happen next? What do I need my people to do, plan, and act upon?” 2. Be empathic while still holding employees accountable. Show compassion to employees while holding them accountable. Leaders who do not hold employees accountable are doing them a disservice. Employees believe they are fulfilling their role, because no one has advised them otherwise. Then they are surprised, hurt and angry when they are fired. 3. Turn uncertainty into action by breaking up large tasks into manageable chunks for their direct reports. Give people chunks of projects so they experience more wins at work. 4. Streamline internal processes. Every organization has processes that are cumbersome, outdated, and irritating to those who have to work within those confines. Examine everything for efficiency. Simplify processes to better reflect reality. 5. Adapt rapidly to the changing needs of customer demographics. Leaders have to understand and know their customer base as well as their emerging buyers. Real market data is critical. Leaders need to base decisions on reliable data. 6. Simplify the buying process for customers and clients. Make it easy for buyers to make the buying decision. 7. Focus on developing future products and services that enhance the lives of customers and clients. We exist to deliver better products, provide innovative solutions, and create solutions to problems before our customers realize that they have those issues. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Karyn Buxman. This was originally published on Karyn's blog.
Strategic humor has the power to build relationships, relieve stress, and boost creativity, along with many other outcomes beneficial to the workplace. So how does one begin to implement it at the office? It’s as simple as creating a Humor Habit! Why Set the Stage for Humor? Want to know something crazy? Humor doesn’t just work while it’s happening; it can also work before it happens! How? Thanks to a little something called the anticipatory response. When people anticipate something, they psychologically, emotionally, and physically “prepare” for it. Whether that “something” is good, bad, sad, or even painful, this phenomenon happens just the same, and it can be used to your advantage when developing your sense of humor. When you know something funny is about happen, you shift into a mindset that’s open to laughter. You’re ready to receive and react to the impending hilarity. This state of anticipation has some of the mental and physical benefits of a good laugh, such as stress reduction and an immunity boost, before the humorous event has even occurred! In other words, you can have happier and healthier employees by simply adding a little levity to the workday. It’s a fun and free solution to office woes! Humor by Choice, Not Chance Now think of a coworker, past or present, who has an amazing sense of humor and is always ready to make people laugh. You walk into the office every day happily anticipating the witty banter, one-liners, or (good-natured) office pranks this person always has in store. They set the expectation of a dose of humor to break up the office monotony. It’s a chance to destress and return to your work renewed and refreshed, having shared in a good laugh. This person is certainly professional, never viewed as a clown. They simply understand the value of a strategically executed joke on a stressed and often overly serious workforce. They choose to create opportunities for humor because intentional humor drives results. Humor by chance—those happenstance laughter-inducing occurrences—is entertaining, but when you take these occurrences and consciously add them to your daily workplace routine, you then create humor by choice. Leveraging levity (there’s a tongue-twister!) in the workplace creates a more optimistic mindset among employees and sets a humorous tone off which others can play. When this tone is combined with high performance expectations, your organization becomes bulletproof. Your team is happier, more relaxed, and more engaged—truly the recipe for success! How Can You Set the Tone? All of these outcomes can be yours if you just take the initiative to walk the talk and form a Humor Habit! Whether it’s a 5 minute dance party on Mondays, High-Five Fridays, or simply sprinkling more cheesy jokes into conversations (when appropriate, of course), you can start creating your habit today. Brainstorm a few ways you can set a more strategically humorous tone to your organization to build a culture of openness, friendliness, and creativity! Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Ron Culberson. With a master’s degree in social work, Ron Culberson spent the first part of his career working in a large hospice organization as a clinical social worker, middle manager, and senior leader. As a speaker, humorist, and author of "Do it Well. Make it Fun.The Key to Success in Life, Death, and Almost Everything in Between", he has delivered more than 1,000 presentations to associations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations. His mission is to change the workplace culture so that organizations are more productive and staff are more content. He was also the 2012-2013 president of the National Speakers Association and is a recognized expert on the benefits of humor and laughter.
I love music. In fact, I imagine a day in the future when my wife and I travel around the country in our RV attending music festivals and concerts. And while I enjoy music, I’m not an aficionado. Oh sure, I played a wicked baritone horn in high school. But I have no idea what type of guitar Jimi Hendrix played or what made Miles Davis so special. And I certainly can’t recite a single lyric from a Taylor Swift song. I’m sure Tim McGraw would shed a teardrop on his guitar if he heard that—so we’re probably never ever getting back together (look it up). Basically, I like music because something moves inside me when I listen to it. It’s not moving in a freaky way like the monster from Alien. Instead, it’s something more intangible that involves the senses, the soul, and the imagination. But for me, it’s not typically based on the lyrics. Recently, I was talking to a musician friend and admitted that I don’t always know the lyrics to songs. He assured me that this is not unusual because some folks are lyrics people and others are music people. I did not know this, and was relieved to know that it’s acceptable to be more engaged by the sounds in the music than the words of the song. This also explains why I’m terrible at understanding lyrics. For instance, in the Eagles hit “Hotel California,” I thought they were singing “once fell a police horse” but it’s actually “warm smell of colitas.” And in “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight,” an older song by England Dan and John Ford Coley, I heard the line “I’m not talking ‘bout movin in” as “I’m not talking ‘bout the linen” (Which might actually work too). And I’m really embarrassed to admit that I always thought Eric Clapton’s song, “After Midnight” was “Captain Midnight.” I guess I thought the song was about a cape-wearing, guitar-licking rock hero. So, I think it’s pretty clear that I don’t listen to music in the same way that many others do. Yet I am still drawn to the sound of music (cue Julie Andrews). Music speaks to each of us differently and in general, creative arts affect us in the way that brings meaning to us through beauty, insight, and a different view of the world. As I reflected on my own music preferences, I began to wonder how they evolved. For instance, I love the sound of John Legend’s voice and the feel of Aretha Franklin’s soulful sound. The harmonic groups like Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and The Band, became some of my favorite performers of all time. And I absolutely love the gritty country sound of Chris Stapleton. But why? While I did not grow up in a particularly musical home, I was exposed to some great music during my childhood. When I was a young, my mother listened to Mahalia Jackson, Nat King Cole, and Willie Nelson—such an eclectic trio! This music frequently played in the evenings, on weekends, or during the holidays with the likes of Johnny Mathis and Burl Ives. As I look back, I realize that the sounds I heard in my home led to an appreciation for artists like John Legend, Aretha Franklin, and Chris Stapleton. In addition to my mother’s music, I discovered my sister’s record collection that contained the soundtrack from Woodstock, Three Dog Night’s Greatest Hits, and the best of Seals and Crofts. These albums, which I played over and over, attracted me to beautiful harmonies and songs that spoke about social activism. Okay, so I did listen to some lyrics. In college I was exposed to 70’s and 80’s rock. As a kid from Appalachia, I learned about Lou Reed and David Bowie from my Long Island born college roommate. I did not know this music but got a regular dose as he would blast it through the speakers while he read Nietzsche. For the record, I probably couldn’t comprehend Nietzsche in dead silence. Steely Dan and Led Zeppelin became my all-time favorite rock groups after I was turned onto them from other college friends. The blend of blues, jazz, and rock truly lifted me up. As I got older, I learned to enjoy the complex sounds of Miles Davis and rediscovered the music of Joni Mitchell. And lest you think that my musical preferences only come from older artists, I also appreciate Billie Eilish, Post Malone, and Bruno Mars. So, what does this have to do with life, work, or anything, really? I think my music journey is symbolic of how we evolve through life. Who we are, as people, comes from the influences we’ve “heard” during our journey. We are the products of families, friends, and experiences. And the more we understand the value of these influences, the more we can tap into them to expand our view of the world. As a result of my mother’s exposing me to an eclectic music collection, I developed an eclectic taste for both music and people. I like the variety. Further, when I was in social work school, I visited a used record store in downtown Richmond, VA. There, I came across a recording of Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral service. As I scanned the list of speakers and musicians, I saw that Mahalia Jackson had sung at the funeral. I immediately bought the album and almost wore it out listing to her vocals, the other speakers, and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech which was also included. Those words had a lasting effect on my work and how I view social justice. The songs from Woodstock and the use of music as a form of protest made me appreciate the social impact of art. It reminded me that we can use our “voices” to make a difference. I’m sure this influenced my decision to pursue a career in social work as well as using my voice in my career as a speaker and author. Finally, the country music that was such an integral part of the region where I grew up had such a down-to-earth approach to life. There is a humility in it that encouraged me to not get too full of myself no matter how attractive the bright lights of success might look. As I said, I love music. And while I may not always understand the chords being played or what lyrics are being sung, the music gets through to me in other ways. We are all products of what we’ve heard in our lives. If we can channel the good aspects of these influences into noble work, we can put out some beautiful music in the world. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Kristin Baird
Healthcare leaders want to see consistency. After all, that is the essence of a high reliability organization. It is important to hold everyone accountable for certain service behaviors to ensure that they happen consistently. The goal is that, with repetition, the behaviors become so engrained that everyone performs them almost without thinking about them. The term hardwiring has become industry jargon. There is a lot of merit in hardwiring behaviors, but it’s equally important to heartwire. Help people to see the why behind what you are asking of them and connect to the bigger goals, mission, vision, and values. I like to think about this as heart-wiring because as I’ve worked with people in various settings over the years, as a clinician, a leader, and now as a consultant, I’ve found that without a personal connection to purpose, service tactics can just feel like more work for employees. There are two key operating assumptions at work here:
HIRING Heartwiring starts during the hiring process. It involves careful selection of employees that mesh with the organization’s mission, vision, and values, as well as the department’s culture. Firstly, find out what draws the candidate to healthcare and how he/she makes a difference in the lives of patients. Similarly, have individual conversations that explore the candidates’ unique interests, hopes, and desires for the work they do and their career aspirations. Ask how they have driven high quality care and exceptional service experiences for customers in the past. Discuss what the mission, vision, and values of the organization is and how their role will contribute. COACHING Once hired, ongoing coaching and feedback will help to cement desired behaviors and actions throughout their employment. Coaching provides a series of continual conversations, connecting the work being performed to the bigger picture. Coaching helps employees see the connection between what they do and the organization’s success. RECOGNITION We all like to get kudos every now and then. Recognize the behaviors you want to see more of. Employees need to know they are valued and appreciated. Recognition lets them know that you see them and appreciate them. Tactics alone won’t engage the heart. In fact, tactics that don’t clearly connect to purpose sometimes fuel resentment. When laid out as an edict, they can be seen as just more tasks layered on an already over-stretched team. Help your team make the connection between the tactic, the purpose, and the organization’s mission, vision, and values. That way, they see how their work connects to the big picture. That’s heartwiring—that’s how you can ensure that each and every one of your employees not only knows what is expected of them, but believes that their actions make a difference. That’s how you ensure that employees know that, through their actions and behaviors, they are impacting the patient experience. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Josh Linkner
Getting someone to take a chance on you is one of the most important steps to achieving success in both business and life. Yet mastering the art of persuasion is often overlooked and misunderstood. Alexander Fleming, the inventor of penicillin, was especially bad at communicating his discovery, despite it being one of the most important scientific advances in history. As a result, over 10 years were wasted and millions of lives lost because Fleming lacked the skills of persuasion. In contrast, the nefarious founder of the Fyre Festival, Billy McFarland, was masterful at getting people to back his idea, which turned out to be a giant fraud. Why do some ideas get backed and others bounced? And how can we become better at getting people to take a chance on us? That’s the exact topic of author Suneel Gupta’s new book: Backable – The Surprising Truth Behind What Makes People Take a Chance on You. Gupta researched the science of persuasion and deconstructed thousands of backable moments — from tech startups landing major funding to movie deals getting the green light — to illuminate the core principles of becoming backable. Most of us aren’t raising startup capital, but all of us can benefit from becoming more backable. For some, it’s scoring a long-overdue promotion at work. For others, it’s convincing your church or synagogue to embrace your new idea to grow membership. Being backable helps win the hearts and minds of clients, colleagues, business partners, investors, the media, neighbors, and even romantic partners. It turns out that being backable isn’t a unique genetic quirk but rather a learnable skill. Gupta goes on to share a specific methodology that any of us can embrace to become backable. Some of my favorite insights include:
Crucially, when we become more backable, we improve the outcomes of the things we care about the most. Before presenting your next big idea, first develop a concrete strategy to ensure you are backable. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Courtney Clark
Everybody gets stressed out by work. But regularly having a negative attitude at work can cause everyone to suffer: your coworkers, for having to put up with your negativity, and you, because you’ll miss opportunities and promotions in favor of people with good attitudes. #1 – You gossip or complain to coworkers This is the classic sign of someone with a bad attitude. Venting and gossiping at work is a telltale behavior of an employee who is feeling toxic and doesn’t care about bringing other people down with them. Venting feels good in the moment, but it’s been proven to be a poor strategy for relieving stress, because it fails to address the root problem. #2 – You shoot down your colleagues’ ideas in early stage sIf you find yourself rejecting someone else’s idea before you’ve followed the thought process through and really considered it, odds are good your colleagues are frustrated with you. It’s healthy for colleagues to question and test one another’s ideas. But if you shoot something down by saying “that’ll never work,” before the group has had time to really turn the idea over, you’ll be blocking conversation that can lead to good solutions. #3 – You feel tired most of the day Feeling that 3pm slump is normal. Feeling tired all day isn’t normal, and it’s a sign that you could be really disengaged at work. When I work with companies to help their teams build resilience, I remind them that burnout isn’t just about being busy – it’s about being busy plus having a lack of meaning and purpose in their work. If you feel like what you’re contributing doesn’t matter, then it may be hard for you to feel awake and excited to do your job. #4 – You aren’t respectful to the people lower on the company hierarchy I once worked with a guy who said “it’s not worth my time to care about Jan (at the front desk.) She doesn’t sign my checks!” What this guy didn’t know is that Jan often made decisions about which salesperson to transfer new callers to! Not to mention she ordered the company supplies, and could “rush” things if she wanted to. She was a good ally to have in your corner… but that guy didn’t know it. If you think it’s only worth kissing up to the higher-ups, your attitude could be harming your career more than you know. People notice, and people talk. Being respectful takes no more time than being rude, so make it a point to show respect to everyone. #5 – You don’t pay attention during meetings or conversations I get it: team meetings can interrupt your day and be a source of frustration. But tuning out isn’t the right solution. If a line of conversation doesn’t directly involve you, it’s a good idea to still listen, because it’s likely that somebody is going to get pulled into the conversation to answer a question or solve a problem. And if it’s you, you’re going to look silly if you were checking your phone or daydreaming about your fantasy football team. #6 – You have large responses to small annoyances My therapist calls this “turning a 2 into a 10.” Do you find yourself getting aggravated with everyday frustrations like somebody taking your sticky note pad? Or replying “thanks!” to an email chain that they could have just let drop? Sometimes we feel like life is frustrating, but it’s really our own reactions that are making us experience more frustration than we need to. #7 – You don’t care or seem invested in critical workplace issues When everyone else on your team is jumping to solve an important problem, are you hanging back? Being checked out at work can be particularly noticeable during a crunch time, when other people are spitballing ideas and getting creative. If you’ve lost your passion for your work, as we talked about in #3, then it’s hard to get invested in problem-solving. #8 – You respond to simple corrections by correcting the other person back Nobody likes being corrected. But watch your reaction next time somebody makes a small correction to your work. Do you find yourself wanting to correct a mistake of theirs? Or tell them why, in fact, your original version was right? It’s human nature to not enjoy being corrected, but successful companies are made up of employees with different backgrounds and strengths for a reason. The more eyes and hands on a project, the better the end result will be. Just take the direction, because we all need to get and give corrections sometimes. These 8 behaviors don’t have to mean you’re a bad employee – they could mean that you’re a good employee who’s on the verge of burning out. But whether it’s your innate attitude or unaddressed burnout, it’s critical to take action and curb these behaviors before they impact your work any more. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Vicki Hess
A WOW is something internal or external that makes you feel satisfied, energized and productive. Examples of internal WOWs include:
Examples of external WOWs include:
The WOW is in the eyes of the person who experiences it. As the name implies, a Potential WOW is something positive that might happen in the future. Think of the last time you planned a vacation and how excited you were while making arrangements. Remember how much fun it was in the days leading up to your big trip? Just the anticipation of seeing new places, partaking in an adventure, or visiting family is fun and feels good. When you’re experiencing the WOW of anticipation, your body relaxes and a smile comes to your face. You’re in a good mood and problems don’t seem so bad. Here’s some good news…Potential WOW’s aren’t just for vacations. They exist at work too! What’s something that your organization, department or team is planning that you’re looking forward to? Is there a new building in the works or a technology solution that will save everyone a lot of time? Are there new members of the team starting soon and you’re looking forward to having additional support to get your work done? These are a few examples of Potential WOWs at work. You can capitalize on these Potential WOWs and lower your stress. Take the time today to reflect on good things that are coming in the future. Talk them up. Enjoy the anticipation. After all, there’s no reason to wait until the actual experience happens to start feeling satisfied, energized & productive. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! |
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