Happy Weekend Joy Love & Work-ers!
Click on the lovely Wordle cloud above left to see what you may have missed this week and here's another opportunity to catch mr turbo hamster (click here) who was moving too fast to be included in the wordle!
Have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND :-)
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Friday, February 4, 2011
It's The End Of The Week As We Know It...
and I feel... err, well-I'm-not-actually-sure-how-I-feel-but-I-am-VERY-busy-and-typically-my-weeks-end-up-looking-a-bit-like-this! (click here)
I don't know how many of you will relate to that clip but for me it often perfectly describes the end of my weeks; talk about dazed and confused! but I know better, I've been blessed to spend most of my working life focused on human performance and effectiveness, and as I've mentioned before I love it :-)
Increasing performance and effectiveness relies heavily on measuring or assessing where you are today, thinking about how to improve for the future, making a plan and then working the plan. Sounds simple, but all too often in today's world we lose the first few steps and instead go headlong into 'make-a-plan-work-the-plan' and then we wonder why we never seem to make much progress, our weeks all feel the same and we up looking like the poor hamster!
In order to improve the performance and effectiveness of our work, which hopefully will lead to us LOVE it more, we need to carve out time to stop, reflect & plan. Fridays are a perfect day to do this because typically we're all a bit pooped from the stresses and strains of the week, reflection is a low stress activity and a great way transition into the weekend.
I recommend taking just 10 minutes each Friday to ask ourselves three simple questions:
1. What worked or went well this week?
2. Where did I get stuck?
3. What can I do differently next week?
If you're like me, just the act of slowing down to think is helpful, I notice things that otherwise would have been missed, like who really helped me this week and who I need to thank, where I'm struggling and need help from others, and where I just need to try a different tack because I'm making no progress.
The act of weekly reflection is a POWER-activity, it seems like just another 'to-do' and is easy to ignore but its positive impact on performance, effectiveness and LOVE can be exponential.
So try it today, take 10 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of your world, pour yourself a delicious beverage (preferably a CARIBOU beverage!) and just reflect...
Let me know how it goes :-)
I don't know how many of you will relate to that clip but for me it often perfectly describes the end of my weeks; talk about dazed and confused! but I know better, I've been blessed to spend most of my working life focused on human performance and effectiveness, and as I've mentioned before I love it :-)
Increasing performance and effectiveness relies heavily on measuring or assessing where you are today, thinking about how to improve for the future, making a plan and then working the plan. Sounds simple, but all too often in today's world we lose the first few steps and instead go headlong into 'make-a-plan-work-the-plan' and then we wonder why we never seem to make much progress, our weeks all feel the same and we up looking like the poor hamster!
In order to improve the performance and effectiveness of our work, which hopefully will lead to us LOVE it more, we need to carve out time to stop, reflect & plan. Fridays are a perfect day to do this because typically we're all a bit pooped from the stresses and strains of the week, reflection is a low stress activity and a great way transition into the weekend.
I recommend taking just 10 minutes each Friday to ask ourselves three simple questions:
1. What worked or went well this week?
2. Where did I get stuck?
3. What can I do differently next week?
If you're like me, just the act of slowing down to think is helpful, I notice things that otherwise would have been missed, like who really helped me this week and who I need to thank, where I'm struggling and need help from others, and where I just need to try a different tack because I'm making no progress.
The act of weekly reflection is a POWER-activity, it seems like just another 'to-do' and is easy to ignore but its positive impact on performance, effectiveness and LOVE can be exponential.
So try it today, take 10 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of your world, pour yourself a delicious beverage (preferably a CARIBOU beverage!) and just reflect...
Let me know how it goes :-)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Two-four-six-eight! Who do we appreciate?
Happy Thursday Joy, Love & Work-ers!
Ever noticed how hard it is to trust and collaborate with people who criticize your work? What about the impact the criticism has on your output and mood? How likely are you to go to the criticizer for advice or include them in projects? Nope, it just ain't gonna happen; you'd be more likely to volunteer for root canal surgery or scorpion wrestling!
Who are your criticizers?
Who are your criticizers?
On the other hand we literally fall over ourselves to be in the presence of those who encourage, cheerlead and seek to make us better, we extend trust and open up. Our work output grows, we take more risks and become more innovative, our mood lifts and we end up always wanting to work with these people, often trying to include them in everything we do either formally or informally.
Who are your encouragers?
Who are your encouragers?
It would be easy to throw up our hands at this stage and just give into the fact that some people are good for us and others are bad. Give up the toxic and gravitate towards the pleasant, but how would that help? Surely it would just entrench us even further in our position and polarize our points of view to the extent that even the mention of our criticizers name would have an adverse effect on our blood pressure. Is there another way?
A few years ago I was introduced to the concept of appreciative inquiry (AI) and it intuitively made sense to me; it's based on the premise that even in the direst of problems, bleakest times and worse relationships there is always something going right, and that's the place to start work because that's where the hope, possibility and energy live.
In today's world we tend to start in exactly the opposite place, we look for problems, differences and obstacles and throw ourselves wholeheartedly up against solving them, often only hurting ourselves in the process because these are barren, hard places with no life and little energy.
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" Philippians 4:8-9
Hmmmm what would happen if we tried this approach on our criticizers - is it worth a try?
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" Philippians 4:8-9
Hmmmm what would happen if we tried this approach on our criticizers - is it worth a try?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Torn between two (or more) lovers
Morning Joy, Love and Work-ers! Happy Wednesday from a frigid Smith Towers! I inadvertently switched the heating off last night and it's a brisk 54 degrees here - brrrrrr - let's hope it focuses the mind!!
Well, we seem to have hit a nerve yesterday in our exploration of fabulous work-at-home Mums, I received lots of calls and notes, thank you, thank you! So today let's appreciate another fabulous Mum varietal, the work-at-home-and-at-a-job (WAHAAAJ) Mums!
"I always feel guilty about being in the wrong place, everything I do is a little bit below my expectations although others tell me I'm doing a great job; I don't know, perhaps one day I'll get the hang of it." This quote was from a colleague of mine who was talking about the life she has as a WAHAAAJ Mum. I remember being so touched by her revelation that I wrote it down with a question "Where's the JOY in this?"
It seems to me that our wonderful WAHAAAJ Mums are torn between two or more things they love - their families and their careers and/or income, benefits, grown-up time, individual identity - the list could go on and on and is probably unique in every situation.
I work with many WAHAAAJ Mums and frankly I have no idea how they do it. I can barely get myself to work on time and they have already spun together a whole complex choreographed production involving all kinds of people, attention spans, wardrobe choice, destinations and desires and they often manage to get all that done AND get their make-up on - a morning activity which almost always eludes me!
5 things I LOVE about WAHAAAJ Mums:
1. The makeup thing ;-)
2. They have awesome perspective and rarely make a drama out of a crisis
3. They can call upon reserves of energy that only WAHAAAJ Mums know exist
4. They understand the world doesn't revolve around them
5. They have a sense of humor and an inbuilt creativity
SO hug a WAHAAAJ Mum Today!
Bravo WAHAAAJ Mums! I'm a fan :-)
Well, we seem to have hit a nerve yesterday in our exploration of fabulous work-at-home Mums, I received lots of calls and notes, thank you, thank you! So today let's appreciate another fabulous Mum varietal, the work-at-home-and-at-a-job (WAHAAAJ) Mums!
"I always feel guilty about being in the wrong place, everything I do is a little bit below my expectations although others tell me I'm doing a great job; I don't know, perhaps one day I'll get the hang of it." This quote was from a colleague of mine who was talking about the life she has as a WAHAAAJ Mum. I remember being so touched by her revelation that I wrote it down with a question "Where's the JOY in this?"
I work with many WAHAAAJ Mums and frankly I have no idea how they do it. I can barely get myself to work on time and they have already spun together a whole complex choreographed production involving all kinds of people, attention spans, wardrobe choice, destinations and desires and they often manage to get all that done AND get their make-up on - a morning activity which almost always eludes me!
5 things I LOVE about WAHAAAJ Mums:
1. The makeup thing ;-)
2. They have awesome perspective and rarely make a drama out of a crisis
3. They can call upon reserves of energy that only WAHAAAJ Mums know exist
4. They understand the world doesn't revolve around them
5. They have a sense of humor and an inbuilt creativity
SO hug a WAHAAAJ Mum Today!
Bravo WAHAAAJ Mums! I'm a fan :-)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Greater love hath no Mum...
Last night I attended a Stella & Dot jewelry party (be still my beating credit card!) at the home of my groovy friend Jennifer one of those 'one-woman-miracles' who combines being a successful wife, mother, business woman and fashionista with being one of the most FABULOUS friends a girl could ever wish for. Truly, I'm a fan :-)
Anyway, because of her many roles, Jen has a wide circle of friends and last night's event was populated by a wonderful group of women, all of whom happen to be currently working as stay at home Mums.
Because my Joy, Love and Work radar is on high level right now, I was interested to hear these women's perspective about the work they do and how they feel about it, but uniformly the response I got was an embarrassed "I don't do anything, I just stay at home and look after the kids"...and fade to grey
REALLY???
It seems to me that the women (and men - Hi Howard!) who make the choice to stay at home to raise families are performing an enormous act of love. On call 24/7 with no discernible reward, recognition, pay or benefits often with no 'grown up' conversation or treats. This seems like a hard life to me.
As someone who has never left the workforce I'm often struck by the big wedge of judgement and 'perceived unworthiness' that creeps into the lives of people who choose to exit paid employment to raise families - this makes me sad. And as an HR professional I'm acutely aware of the 'transferable skills and competencies (corporate code for 'really useful stuff') that people like my friends last night acquire, but the accompanying deterioration of self esteem that often seems to be present - this makes me furious and curious...what could I do to help?
"Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends"John 15:13 - Isn't this what Mums do every day? they put their lives & careers on hold (lay them down) in favor of their families, so their families can thrive. This is an enormous act of love at work.
Bravo Mums. Truly, I'm a fan - just help me work out how to support you in your labor of love.
Anyway, because of her many roles, Jen has a wide circle of friends and last night's event was populated by a wonderful group of women, all of whom happen to be currently working as stay at home Mums.
Because my Joy, Love and Work radar is on high level right now, I was interested to hear these women's perspective about the work they do and how they feel about it, but uniformly the response I got was an embarrassed "I don't do anything, I just stay at home and look after the kids"...and fade to grey
REALLY???
It seems to me that the women (and men - Hi Howard!) who make the choice to stay at home to raise families are performing an enormous act of love. On call 24/7 with no discernible reward, recognition, pay or benefits often with no 'grown up' conversation or treats. This seems like a hard life to me.
As someone who has never left the workforce I'm often struck by the big wedge of judgement and 'perceived unworthiness' that creeps into the lives of people who choose to exit paid employment to raise families - this makes me sad. And as an HR professional I'm acutely aware of the 'transferable skills and competencies (corporate code for 'really useful stuff') that people like my friends last night acquire, but the accompanying deterioration of self esteem that often seems to be present - this makes me furious and curious...what could I do to help?
"Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends"John 15:13 - Isn't this what Mums do every day? they put their lives & careers on hold (lay them down) in favor of their families, so their families can thrive. This is an enormous act of love at work.
Bravo Mums. Truly, I'm a fan - just help me work out how to support you in your labor of love.
February - Month O' Lurvve!
Happy February Joy, Love & Work-ers!
Welcome to the 'loviest' month in the year, where hearts, flowers, diamonds and chocolates fill every inch of retail space, and truly love is in the air!
But whilst retailers would have us believe that's the case, in today's world we often have problems talking about love and are hesitant to do it for fear of being misconstrued, branded as a weirdo or landed with a sexual harassment lawsuit; it seems that part of our problem stems from the English language (also used by Americans!) in which we only have one miserly word for love :-(
By contrast, the original Greek used the Bible's new testament has four distinct words for love - Agape or brotherly love, Eros or passionate love, Philia or friendship and Storge or affection. There now, doesn't that make the whole idea of love seem more spacious and less risky to talk about?!
In February my 'cunning plan' is to explore some of these different forms of love as they relate to work and to find FABULOUS examples of the people who make them come to life every day...if YOU are one of these people please contact me - have I got an interview for you!
Go LOVE chaps!
Welcome to the 'loviest' month in the year, where hearts, flowers, diamonds and chocolates fill every inch of retail space, and truly love is in the air!
By contrast, the original Greek used the Bible's new testament has four distinct words for love - Agape or brotherly love, Eros or passionate love, Philia or friendship and Storge or affection. There now, doesn't that make the whole idea of love seem more spacious and less risky to talk about?!
In February my 'cunning plan' is to explore some of these different forms of love as they relate to work and to find FABULOUS examples of the people who make them come to life every day...if YOU are one of these people please contact me - have I got an interview for you!
Go LOVE chaps!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday fun-day or not?
Do you leap out of bed on a Monday morning excited to begin a whole new week of work, pregnant with possibility, adventure and curiosity?
No, me neither...so why is that?
My idea of loving work isn't the big fairytale, hugely romanticized version; instead I see it more like the the relationships we have with people we love. We don't always like them, we don't always agree with them, sometimes we'd like to beat them over the head with a big stick, but we know that these relationships provide perspectives that are different from our ours, they develop us in ways we couldn't do on our own and they challenge us to examine who we are and what we want. This is what I mean by loving work.
I don't know about you, but with me I often notice just how much I love people when I'm away from them or have been separated from them for a long period of time, perhaps there's something to be said for distance and absence making the heart grow fonder.
I think this distance can affect our opinion of our work too - when you get up on the balcony and take the big picture view of your work does it positively contribute or negatively impact your life?
Today I didn't leap out of bed and my day definitely had its challenges but looking back on the day I helped facilitate some great work, laughed till I snorted with a colleague who chose to conduct a meeting "in the voices of" Count Dracula, a hillbilly and a latin lover, and I was encouraged and supported along the way.
Yep. Monday was a fun-day after all :-)
No, me neither...so why is that?
My idea of loving work isn't the big fairytale, hugely romanticized version; instead I see it more like the the relationships we have with people we love. We don't always like them, we don't always agree with them, sometimes we'd like to beat them over the head with a big stick, but we know that these relationships provide perspectives that are different from our ours, they develop us in ways we couldn't do on our own and they challenge us to examine who we are and what we want. This is what I mean by loving work.
I don't know about you, but with me I often notice just how much I love people when I'm away from them or have been separated from them for a long period of time, perhaps there's something to be said for distance and absence making the heart grow fonder.
I think this distance can affect our opinion of our work too - when you get up on the balcony and take the big picture view of your work does it positively contribute or negatively impact your life?
Today I didn't leap out of bed and my day definitely had its challenges but looking back on the day I helped facilitate some great work, laughed till I snorted with a colleague who chose to conduct a meeting "in the voices of" Count Dracula, a hillbilly and a latin lover, and I was encouraged and supported along the way.
Yep. Monday was a fun-day after all :-)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Super Sunday: A.D.O.R.E - A Day Of Rest Everyone!
GOD ROCKS!
I just love that in the very beginning he designed a day for rest and recreation, that's my kind of God!
Re-Creation - a change to stop, think, do something completely different and just reeeelaaaaaax...ahhhhh!
Of course I often ignore the invitation to rest & re-create instead believing that if I just 'push-on-through with my to-do list' I'll be better off, but I fool myself. And then wonder why I feel tired.
OK, that's it - STEP AWAY FROM THE LAPTOP!
See you all rested and re-created on FUN-DAY MONDAY!
Stop press!
Thanks to the Lovely AMY ZASTROW for making me a bit better everyday...especially today!
x
I just love that in the very beginning he designed a day for rest and recreation, that's my kind of God!
Re-Creation - a change to stop, think, do something completely different and just reeeelaaaaaax...ahhhhh!
OK, that's it - STEP AWAY FROM THE LAPTOP!
See you all rested and re-created on FUN-DAY MONDAY!
Stop press!
Thanks to the Lovely AMY ZASTROW for making me a bit better everyday...especially today!
x
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Hallooooooooooo!
I make a LOT of noise and my signature greeting shown above - yes I know that's not how you spell it but thanks for paying attention! - is really my equivalent of the full body shake that dogs do when they're excited to see you, so yes I am THAT excited to see you!
Joy, love and work have followed me around fairly doggedly for my entire life, JOYFUL is my resting state, I come from a family of joyful people and others think we're a bit strange but that's OK, we understand, it takes all sorts and we're definitely at the happier end of the sorts :-)
LOVE, passion and enthusiasm are my trademarks, I'm rarely lukewarm and instead tend to launch myself wholeheartedly into all manner of adventures, only then to realize that much can be accomplished with a load of oooomph and a complete ignorance of things that could be in the way. You'll find this phenomena appearing with my writing style, I tend to write as I think which is tricky because my thoughts don't come with a grammar or spell check. Sorry Mr. Ash.
Finally WORK has always been a big part of my life, from the paper round I stole from my Brother when he and his buddies were striking for more pay, to the fabulous job I have in the world's best coffee company - I just like work.
Joy, love and work is intended as an exploration, celebration and a showcase for all things JLW related, so lets strap ourselves in and enjoy the ride!
Wooooo Hooooooo!
Joy, love and work have followed me around fairly doggedly for my entire life, JOYFUL is my resting state, I come from a family of joyful people and others think we're a bit strange but that's OK, we understand, it takes all sorts and we're definitely at the happier end of the sorts :-)
LOVE, passion and enthusiasm are my trademarks, I'm rarely lukewarm and instead tend to launch myself wholeheartedly into all manner of adventures, only then to realize that much can be accomplished with a load of oooomph and a complete ignorance of things that could be in the way. You'll find this phenomena appearing with my writing style, I tend to write as I think which is tricky because my thoughts don't come with a grammar or spell check. Sorry Mr. Ash.
Finally WORK has always been a big part of my life, from the paper round I stole from my Brother when he and his buddies were striking for more pay, to the fabulous job I have in the world's best coffee company - I just like work.
Joy, love and work is intended as an exploration, celebration and a showcase for all things JLW related, so lets strap ourselves in and enjoy the ride!
Wooooo Hooooooo!
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