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Harness the Power of Gratitude

Gratitude graphic
From Thanksgiving to New Years, many exist in a constant state of chaos. There are parties to plan, presents to buy, and family to visit. All the while, we have to meet the expectations of work. It is easy to lose sight of what we are grateful for. The stresses of this season make it an ideal time to practice gratitude, but the many benefits of expressing gratitude are year-round.

There is power in gratitude that we can all harness very easily to help us through the season. A focus on gratitude elicits positive feelings and a greater sense of satisfaction. That focus changes our outlook from perceived scarcity to feeling good about what we have. Not only does gratitude increase our well-being, research shows it also boosts energy, generates optimism, increases resilience, improves relationships, and even increases earnings.

Gratitude is about noticing and appreciating what is going right in our lives. By doing so, we have many more chances to feel joy in the moment. Gratitude does not suggest we ignore problems or lower our aspirations. Just the opposite – gratitude helps us feel good about ourselves and our lives as we pursue goals, and it provides the positive energy, optimism, and resilience we need to achieve them. Gratitude holds a great deal of power waiting to be harnessed.

Let’s take a look at 5 ways you can do just that.

  1. Choose to be a grateful person

    A grateful person is someone who sees everything in their lives, good and bad, as gifts. It is easy to see something good as a gift. Grateful people look at setbacks and adversity in their lives as gifts as well. From their perspective, setbacks or challenges bring with them some lesson they wouldn’t have otherwise learned, and they are grateful for that.

  2. Write down each morning or evening what you’re grateful for

    This takes just 5-10 minutes and is an extremely powerful exercise. From the perfect parking spot you found to everyone showing up to your meeting on time to your family, what are you grateful for today?

  3. Make it a practice to say “thank you” throughout the day

    Thank the person who makes your coffee. Thank the person who holds the door open for you. Thank the person who promptly gives you the information you needed. Thank the person who offered their support.

  4. Give back

    Gratitude comes from acknowledging the good fortune you’ve received. Sharing that with other has a positive impact on everyone involved. Remember how you feel when you do something good for someone else, with no strings attached

  5. Express your gratitude to important people in your life

    We often get so busy that we forget to tell people who much we appreciate them. Whether you’re grateful for a peer’s responsiveness at work or a friend’s support, tell them. The more specific you are, the more powerful the impact for both of you. This has an immediate impact on your emotional state and a long-term impact on your relationship.

Harnessing the power of gratitude doesn’t mean that your life is perfect or that you ignore problems; it is simply a means of impacting your energy level and emotional state for increased satisfaction and productivity. What are you grateful for?

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Why it is Essential to Develop Emotional Intelligence

This is the first in a series of six articles from Klassen Performance Group that will focus on giving you specific, practical ways to develop the primary characteristics of emotional intelligence.

IQ + EQ = Success

Emotional Intelligence is the key differentiator that sets the best leaders apart from the rest.

“Emotional Intelligence accounts for nearly 90% of the differences between star performers and average performers in leadership positions.”
Daniel Goleman

This isn’t to say that IQ isn’t important; it is. There is a certain level of intellectual ability required for every position. Beyond that, it is the ability to understand and work with others that sets the best leaders apart and leads to success. That is where emotional intelligence comes in. Leaders who think they can succeed by relying soley on their intellect are missing a huge opportunity.

The reason emotional intelligence has such a significant impact on success is because leaders with strong EQ:

  • Demonstrate interpersonal skills that earn them respect and enable them to effectively influence, implement change, negotiate, manage conflict, and bring people together to accomplish goals.
  • Keep cool under pressure and quickly bounce back from setbacks.
  • Manage impulses and keep a steady long-term focus.
  • Set the most effective emotional tone during meetings and interpersonal conversations.
  • Actively listen and understand others’ needs and motivations.
  • Express emotions productively and elicit emotions when needed.
  • Understand how emotions impact their decision-making and problem-solving and consciously use emotional data to increase their effectiveness.
  • Accurately read emotional cues from others and discern how what they say and do impacts others.

Consider how important all of this is for the safety manager who needs to eliminate accidents, the sales person who needs to increase sales, the leader in a constantly changing culture, or the manager who wants to advance.

The good news is that unlike IQ that remains relatively stable over time, EQ can be developed. When you consider all of the skills emotional intelligence impacts, how can you afford not to develop it?

If you would like more in-depth information and practice developing emotional intelligence, contact Dr. Heather Johnson about bringing our course in-house to your team.

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Explore our selection of Online Courses and Webinars

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Dr. Heather JohnsonDr. Heather Johnson is an internationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-210-6021.

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Rebuilding Bridges

We all make mistakes from time to time that damage personal and professional relationships. Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time or in the wrong way can have lasting negative impacts. Maybe you can relate to one of these situations:

  • During a disagreement with a co-worker Liz yelled, “I can never count on you!” before leaving the cubicle in a huff.
  • Jay broke the “no politics” rule at Thanksgiving. He and his dad both said some cutting, hurtful things to each other.

When important relationships get damaged, we need to begin repairing it sooner rather than later. Things don’t get better by waiting for the other person to apologize to you. It isn’t always easy to swallow your pride and take the first step, but with important relationships, we need to do exactly that. The five steps below can help you navigate these high-stakes conversations and begin to rebuild those relationships.

rebuilding damaged relationships

1. Manage your emotions before attempting a conversation.

It will do no good to go into a conversation still feeling intense negative emotions. Whether you are angry, hurt, or feeling something else, calm down first. When intense emotions take over, they compromise our thinking, memory, and problem solving. The first step is to take the time to calm down.

2. Determine your purpose.

Remind yourself why the relationship is important and determine the purpose of your conversation. Do you need to rebuild an effective working relationship? Do you need to rebuild a relationship with a sibling so you can work together to make decisions for aging parents? Keeping your purpose in mind will help keep you focused on what is important rather than getting sidetracked by irrelevant comments.

3. Identify your role in what happened and own it.

Identifying why you are angry with the other person is the easy part. Identifying your role is harder. Assume that you played a role and dig deep, if necessary, to identify it. Maybe you fired back defensively and said something that made things worse. Or maybe you didn’t say anything, but your hostile body language exacerbated things. In either case, you can’t blame that on the other person; you have to own your part.

Owning your part will go a long way toward rebuilding the relationship. Don’t allow yourself to believe you were just a victim and did nothing. Dig deep to find your part in it.

4. Apologize

Once you’ve identified your role, sincerely apologize for it. Without a sincere apology, negative emotions fester and continue to erode the relationship over time. An apology goes a long way because it validates the other’s experience of wrongdoing. It then allows them to move past the negative emotion and move forward with the relationship.

5. Listen

The first four steps will go a long way toward having a productive conversation. Keep in mind that two people can see the same situation in two very different ways. You know your experience, but you don’t know theirs. Listen with an open mind. It is very possible that the other person experienced something you didn’t realize. In fact, once you listen with an open mind, you may find you need to apologize again.

Although you can’t undo the past, you can take steps to rebuild the relationship. Relationships are important in both our personal and work lives. Don’t allow damage to fester. Begin to rebuild relationships as soon as possible and move forward.

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NEW: Explore our selection of Online Courses and Webinars

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Dr. Heather JohnsonDr. Heather Johnson is an internationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-210-6021.

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4 Pillars of Emotional Intelligence

The ability to understand and work with others sets the best leaders apart and leads to success – that is where emotional intelligence comes in. Leaders who believe they can succeed by relying soley on their intellect and years of experience are missing a huge opportunity.

Each of the 4 Pillars of Emotional Intelligence CAN be developed and improved upon. Investing what is needed to increase each of these areas can have a profound and lasting impact on your leadership success.

What Are The 4 Pillars of Emotional Intelligence?

1. Self Awareness

  • How did I contribute to the problem?
  • What am I feeling right now and how is it impacting this situation?
  • What are my 3 greatest strengths?

2. Managing Emotions

  • How can I express my frustration with my co-worker?
  • What can I do to stay engaged in this meeting?
  • How do I tell my box I don’t like his idea?

3. Social Awareness

  • What strengths does this person have that the team can leverage?
  • Why does he get so angry when I bring up that topic?
  • How does my behavior impact others?

4. Relationship Management

  • Develop and nurture strategic relationships
  • Collaborate with diverse teams
  • Effectively navigate high-stakes conversations

If you would like more in-depth information on developing emotional intelligence for yourself and your team, contact Dr. Heather Johnson about bringing our in-house course to your team.

NEW: Explore our selection of Online Courses and Webinars

Learn More

—————

Dr. Heather JohnsonDr. Heather Johnson is an internationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-210-6021.

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7 ways to Reduce Zoom Fatigue

If your response to an invite for a video meeting is an audible groan, you’re not alone. Video meetings are valuable tools that help us stay connected and improve communication in many situations. On the other hand, attending too many video meetings can deplete your energy.

are you experiencing zoom fatigue

Before the pandemic, I couldn’t go a week without hearing one of my clients complain about unproductive meetings. Now that meetings are virtual, I hear complaints almost daily. All of the old frustrations have followed us into the virtual world where new issues compound them.

Video calls are more physically and psychologically draining than in-person meetings. Our brains work harder because there is more to process on a video call. Whether it’s all of the video tiles, multiple screens, or multiple documents, there is a lot of information vying for our attention. If there are five people on the call, we don’t just pay attention to the five videos; we notice five backgrounds, including people or pets walking by. It’s a lot of stimulation. Even if you’re not consciously aware of it, your brain works overtime to filter out the noise and focus your attention.

We are similar to teenagers learning how to drive. They need to think about every little decision they make because experience hasn’t created the muscle memory that automates those decisions. As video chat novices, we have to think about unmuting, sharing our screen, annotating, and more. Each decision takes additional energy, and we soon feel drained.

Video calls also require more effort to read body language, which is a valuable part of communication. What used to come naturally in face-to-face interactions now takes deliberate effort because of poor lighting, poor framing, or a slow internet connection. We require more energy to process what we see as we wonder if someone is avoiding eye contact because they’re nervous or aren’t comfortable looking into the camera. These things add to the effort it takes to communicate, collaborate, and make decisions.

On top of all of that, we see ourselves on video throughout the meeting. Can you imagine sitting in a conference room with a mirror in front of you? It sounds absurd, yet that’s what we have in our virtual world. It makes people very self-conscious. The distraction of the videos wastes energy. In addition, watching ourselves speak can make us less authentic as focus turns to ourselves rather than our audience.

When you add all of this up, it might be more accurate to call it “Zoom Exhaustion”. Let’s take a look at 7 ways to manage your energy and use it to increase your productivity.

  1. Take Microbreaks –
    Even a 5-minute break can be beneficial. Get away from the computer and phone and move or meditate. Schedule microbreaks throughout the day to ensure that you remember to take them. They will give you a burst of energy.

  2. Turn off video –
    Not every meeting requires video. If reading others is essential, then turn videos on, but don’t default to using videos for every meeting. Every time you’re able to turn the videos off, you’ll save energy.

  3. Cancel the meeting –
    As with any other meeting, ask yourself if the meeting is necessary or if you could accomplish your purpose with an email or a brief phone call. If you’re not facilitating, be sure your attendance is needed. If you’re not sure, ask. It may be that a copy of the meeting notes is sufficient. Every meeting you don’t need to attend will save energy.

  4. Hide your video from yourself –
    If seeing yourself on video distracts you or makes you self-conscious, hide it. To do this in Zoom, click on the menu on the top right of your video and select “hide self-view”. You won’t see your video, but others will.

  5. Get a standing desk –
    Volumes of research show the harmful effects of sitting all day. Standing up for part of the day will give you more energy than sitting down meeting after meeting.

  6. Change your view –
    It is nice to start a meeting in gallery view to see who is on the call and greet people. Looking at all of those videos for an entire meeting is more work for your brain than just looking at one. Changing the view to speaker view gives your brain a break from the stimulation of multiple videos. It also takes less energy to read facial expressions when the speaker’s video is big.

  7. Resist the temptation to multi-task –
    It’s tempting to have email or other work open during a meeting. While I don’t recommend multi-tasking in any meeting, I discourage it here because it contributes to Zoom Fatigue by giving your brain one more thing to focus on when it’s already overtaxed. Save some energy by resisting the temptation to multi-task.

Zoom Fatigue is real and takes a psychical and psychological toll. You don’t have to sit passively by while Zoom calls drain your energy. These seven suggestions to increase your energy are a great start, but this is only the beginning. What else are you doing to fight Zoom Fatigue?

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If you’d like to increase your ability to influence and to have an opportunity for practice and to go deeper, register for our self-paced online course ‘Mastering the Fundamentals of Influence’.

Learn More

—————

Dr. Heather JohnsonDr. Heather Johnson is an internationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-210-6021.

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5 Coping Strategies Using Resilience

Resilience is your paddle when you are up the proverbial creek

Resilience is Your Paddle When You’re Up the Proverbial Creek

There are times in all of our lives when we find ourselves up a creek without a paddle. Some of the setbacks that knock us off course are relatively minor while others are devastating.

Regardless of the setback that put you up that creek, one thing is certain: resilience is your paddle. The more resilient people are, the faster they bounce back from any setback. Resilient people use a variety of coping strategies to help them deal with setbacks and adversity and rebound quickly to a state of productivity and satisfaction.

People who lack resilience tend to drift aimlessly. They may feel overwhelmed, victimized, self-pity, hopeless, etc. Their productivity and their satisfaction plummet until they find a new direction and begin paddling again.

Let’s look at 5 strategies you can use to get paddling again in the right direction.

Resilience is your paddle when you are up a creek

1. Surround yourself with the right people

There are 2 things to consider when evaluating your network. First, do you have one? This network is more valuable than most people realize. In one study of nearly 3,000 nurses with breast cancer, those who reported having at least 10 friends were 4 times more likely to survive than those who didn’t have close friends. Are there people who support you that you enjoy spending time with whom you can confide?

The quality of your network is also an important consideration. During challenging times, surrounding yourself with positive, resilient people will help you be more positive and regroup faster. People who complain, blame, and wait for others to solve their problems will hold you back. Look around you. Do you have the right people in your network?

If you wait until you need these relationships to develop them, it’s too late. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to develop these relationships before you need them. Don’t let a feeling of invulnerability trick you into failing to develop supportive friendships. Make time to nurture personal and professional relationships. Find opportunities to support others and they will be there when you need them.

2. Tap into your motivators

Facing adversity or a setback can be discouraging and drain you of the energy required to begin moving forward again. Identify what motivates or energizes you. We are not all motivated by the same things so it is important to give some though to what will energize you to start paddling again. Are you motivated to:

  • Achieve a sense of accomplishment?
  • Find a new purpose?
  • Earn the respect of others?
  • Find the lesson?
  • Beat your previous results?
  • Collaborate with others to get back on track?

When you tap into your personal motivators, you will feel a jolt of energy. The more you focus on them, the more energized you will feel. That can mean the difference between aimlessly drifting and purposefully moving in the right direction.

3. Manage Your Thoughts

Our thoughts directly impact our behavior. One of our clients recently went through a significant reorganization. I received many calls from people looking for help. As each person talked about the reorganization, I found that I was able to predict what they would do based on their perception of the situation.

One man who was reassigned to a new position thought his career was irreparably damaged because his previous career path no longer existed. His thinking was very negative and he felt hopeless. He was drifting aimlessly.

A peer of his thought about it very differently. The career path she was on also vanished. She, however, viewed it as a challenge to find a way to use her strengths and create a new career path. Thinking of it this way energized her and got her moving forward again. It was a different direction, but she embraced it.

Remember, there are many ways to think about the things that knock you off course. If you find your mind swirling in negative thoughts, stop and write them down. Challenge their validity. Are they facts? Is there another way to look at the situation?

We often have more options than we realize. Don’t allow yourself to think, “I don’t have a choice.” Keep in mind that a choice you don’t like is still a choice, one of many you’ll make as you rebound. Remembering that can mean the difference between feeling empowered in a difficult situation and feeling victimized by it.

Resilient people believe they will bounce back, and they manage their thoughts to help them do so. Do your thoughts tend to lead to aimless drifting or do they help you refocus?

4. Manage the Stress

Stress is a natural byproduct of setbacks and adversity. Monitor your stress level so you can consciously manage it. This is so important that we have a course devoted to helping people increase their awareness of and manage their stress. One effective stress-management strategy that can be used almost anywhere is breathing. Deep breaths have been shown to decrease cortisol levels, which help reduce stress. The most effective breathing to manage stress is to inhale through the nostrils for 4 seconds and exhale through the mouth for 4 seconds. Focusing only on your breath during this time will help you regroup faster, and it will help you concentrate more effectively when you return to your task. Both outcomes are helpful when it comes to resilience.

5. Find what you can control

It is difficult to move forward when we don’t feel like we have control. Remember, we can’t control what happens to us, but we can control our response to it. Finding what you can control during difficult times and making conscious choices from there will increase your confidence and help you rebound faster.

Next time you find yourself up the proverbial creek, remember resilience is your paddle. Surround yourself with positive people who will accelerate your rebound. Tap into your internal motivators to reenergize. Manage your thoughts so you’re focusing forward, not backward. Find ways to manage stress that are effective for you. Finally, in every situation, there are things you can control. Find those and make conscious choices where you can.

This was just a summary of 5 of the strategies you can use to build your resilience. For those of you who would like additional strategies and more in-depth help for yourselves or your teams, we offer a course on resilience. For more information on that course and more, contact Dr. Heather Johnson at Klassen Performance Group.

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If you’d like to increase your ability to influence and to have an opportunity for practice and to go deeper, register for our self-paced online course ‘Mastering the Fundamentals of Influence’.

Learn More

—————

Dr. Heather JohnsonDr. Heather Johnson is an internationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-210-6021.

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Neighborly Standoff

We all face highly emotional situations from time to time personally and professionally. Your approach impacts the communication throughout the situation, the relationships of the people involved, and long-term outcomes. Do you see yourself in either approach in the situation between these two neighbors?

Neighborly Stand-off

The situation

Shortly after Trent moved into his dream home, he went next door to meet his new neighbor, Jack, who was also new to the neighborhood. During a friendly conversation, Jack explained to Trent that the construction materials in the yard were for a 2-story garage he planned to build with living space above it. As Trent listened to Jack’s plan, he became increasingly concerned that this new garage not only encroached on his border, but that it would negatively impact his view and the value of his house.

Trent went home that night and began looking into the ordinances to see if Jack was actually in violation, and if he was, what could be done. To save time, he called Steve, a close friend and neighbor who has had previous boundary disputes of his own. Steve was sure that Jack’s plans would violate the law and Jack would need to amend the plans for his garage. Trent planned to go back over and talk to Jack the following evening.

The escalation

In the meantime, Steve continued to ponder the situation and became more and more angry as he thought of the impact Jack’s garage would have not only on Trent’s property, but on the whole neighborhood. Steve hadn’t met Jack yet, but he pegged him as a selfish outsider who wasn’t going to follow the rules no matter what. Steve went to Jack’s house and began walking around the garage foundation and taking measurements. Jack came outside demanding to know what Steve was doing on his property and things escalated from there. Voices were raised, profanity was flying, and lawsuits were threatened. Two other neighbors heard the exchange and were drawn in as well. It ended with a call to the sheriff and everyone going back to their respective houses.

The response

Trent was disappointed when he heard that things had taken such an adversarial turn before he could talk with Jack personally. As Trent considered how to approach Jack, he thought about what he wanted to accomplish. Trent wanted to find a way that Jack could build his garage without negatively impacting Trent’s view or property value. He also wanted to preserve the relationship because he will live next door to Jack for the foreseeable future and their kids will likely play together.

When Trent saw Jack in his yard, he grabbed a bottle of bourbon, took a deep breath, and went to talk. As he approached, he said, “So, I hear you met Steve.” That broke the tension and Trent asked Jack if he’d like to talk about this over a drink. Trent spent most of the 90 minutes that followed listening. Jack shared details of his plans as well as his understanding of the ordinances. Trent began to realize that he wasn’t as “right” as he thought he was (and Steve was certain he was) and his perspective began to change. There was more to Jack’s plans than the garage, and Trent realized that this might actually increase, not decrease, the value of his property. He still had some concerns about the impact on his view that he shared with Jack. They made a lot of progress during their conversation, and agreed to keep talking.

The impact

While they didn’t resolve everything at once, two important things happened. First, Trent’s willingness to listen quickly diffused Jack’s anger over feeling attacked by Steve and calmed his natural reflex to attack when he feels threatened. Had Jack chosen a confrontational response, there would very likely be an ongoing battle long after the issue of the garage was behind them.

Second, Trent began laying a solid foundation for a good relationship for years to come that won’t involve attorneys. Trent demonstrated open, respectful communication and a desire to find a mutually beneficial solution. This enabled Jack to move from defending himself to a willingness to compromise. This foundation will pave the way to future conversations when there are disagreements.

Are you looking to improve your influence and communication skills this year? We’re here to help. Check out our growing list of online courses by clicking the button below!

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Dr. Heather JohnsonDr. Heather Johnson is a nationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-322-7821.

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15 Questions To Reflect on For Growth This Year

Year end reflection before goal setting

Reflection is essential to growth and development. Whether you call it a post-mortem, a debrief, or review, you do it because you know that it provides an opportunity to learn from an experience, situation, or interaction with someone and apply what you learned to make 2021 a great year.

People who value growth and personal development understand the importance of taking time to reflect throughout the year. The end of a year, and beginning of a new year, are special times for reflection. There is excitement about the coming year and a feeling of going in with a “clean slate”. It’s the perfect time to reflect on the past to arm you with the lessons that will help you start strong and excel in the coming year.

Take time to celebrate your successes and find the lessons in your failures. Remember, failures aren’t bad things. Failure is always a possibility when you venture out of your comfort zone and take risks. Some people may even look back and conclude that limited failures indicate that they didn’t take enough risks.

Reflection isn’t about goal setting. It’s about increasing your awareness and understanding of what you’ve done and how you want to move forward. Don’t move so quickly into setting 2021 goals that you rush the reflection process. There are countless lessons from 2020 you have an opportunity to mine as well as experiences to revisit. If you need a little help remembering the year, scan pictures, your calendar, social media, or even your emails. Once you’ve processed 2020, you can move forward and plan for 2021 with new lessons and a clear purpose.

There is no right or wrong way to review the year, and there are countless questions you can use as prompts to begin the process. I’ve included some questions to get you thinking about 2020, as well as some additional questions to help you start 2021 strong.

15 Questions to consider as you review 2020

  1. Summarize 2020 in 3 words.
  2. What emotion sums up 2020 best?
  3. Evaluate the progress you made on the goals you set for 2020.
  4. Of which achievement are you most proud and why?
  5. What have you learned from both your successes and failures?
  6. What was your biggest challenge, and how did you approach it?
  7. What new relationships did you develop, and how have they impacted your life?
  8. What were your most significant stressors?
  9. What are you most grateful for from 2020?
  10. What are your happiest memories from the year?
  11. When did you step outside of your comfort zone?
  12. Was your life balanced the way you wanted?
  13. What is the best compliment you received in 2020?
  14. What do you wish you would have done differently, and how would you change it if you had it to do over?
  15. What “unfinished business” do you plan to finish in 2021?

Questions to consider as you begin 2021

  1. Is there something from 2020 that feels incomplete or unfinished that you will finish in 2021?
  2. Is there a mindset or belief that held you back in 2020 that you will change in 2021?
  3. What are three things that you will stop, start, and continue doing in 2021?
  4. What new habits would you like to develop in 2021?
  5. What relationships would you like to develop, nurture, or repair in 2021?
  6. Will you change the balance of your life in any way in 2021? If so, how?
  7. What skills or competencies will you develop in 2021?
  8. What word sums up your theme for 2021?
  9. How will you be different by the end of the year?
  10. What are your greatest opportunities for 2021?
  11. What brings you joy that you’ll prioritize in 2021?
  12. In which areas would you like to see improvement personally and professionally?
  13. At the end of 2021, what would you like to say you’ve accomplished?
  14. What SMART goals will you set for 2021, and which one is your top priority?
  15. Write the “speech” someone would give at the end of 2021 while they gave you an award for _________.

You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
― Charlie Tremendous Jones

We’d love to help you reach your goals. Contact Dr. Heather Johnson to set up a free consultation or call (651) 322-7821.

NEW: Explore our selection of Online Courses and Webinars

Learn More

—————

Dr. Heather JohnsonDr. Heather Johnson is a nationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-322-7821.

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Stressed? Distracted? Recharge With Microbreaks

recharge meditative image
We live in a fast-paced world, constantly attending to one distraction after another while trying to get real work done. Trying to keep up can be exhausting. When we don’t pay attention to our energy levels and take the time to recharge, our productivity, health, and relationships suffer.

When I talk with people about managing their stress and energy, it is common to hear them say that they understand the benefits of taking breaks, but they can’t afford the time. They fear that if they take a break, their performance will suffer. In an effort to get the maximum ROI from their time, they bankrupt their energy and their performance suffers anyway, because we need both time and energy to be productive.

If that rings true for you, microbreaks could be the best solution. Microbreaks are periodic 30-second to five minute breaks that give you small boosts of energy. Much like plugging in your phone for 5 minutes gives it a small boost but not a full charge, microbreaks will replenish your energy enough to get through another 60-90 minutes. They don’t take the place of longer breaks like lunch, but throughout the day they provide a cumulative effect that will improve your energy, attention, and memory without the anxiety of feeling you’re falling behind.

It is important to remember that not all breaks are created equal. Spending time with people who drain your energy will not recharge you. Taking a break to scroll through social media could actually deplete your energy because you’re not getting a break from screen time. Don’t be fooled into thinking you are recharging just because you are doing something unrelated to work. If your brain is being taxed, you are still using energy.

If you truly want to have a positive impact on your energy level and mood, it is important to take breaks that will provide those benefits. The ideal microbreak involves physical activity and mentally disconnecting from work and technology.

Five easy microbreaks you can easily incorporate into your day:

  1. Get Moving

    When we sit for long periods of time, everything – including our ability to think – slows down. Get up every hour and move. Movement gets blood flowing and improves both energy and mental clarity. This can be as simple as walking over to a colleague’s desk to talk rather than sending an email, taking the stairs, a walking meeting, stretching, squats or toe raises. Even five minutes each hour will get your blood flowing and increase your energy and productivity. Make a list of the things you can do given your specific work situation and choose something from that list every hour.

  2. Unplug

    We spend the vast majority of our day in front of one screen or another. Whether it is a computer, TV, phone, or a tablet, it takes a physical, emotional, and psychological toll. We tend to fill even the tiniest window of time with a check of our technology. Although many see a chance to watch a video clip or scroll through social media as entertaining or even relaxing, research suggests it might actually be depleting our mental energy rather than recharging us. So what is the solution in a world where we need to be connected? Make time to unplug whenever you can and give your brain a rest so you can boost your energy. Resist the temptation to fill every spare minute you have and, instead, just be. The next time you’re waiting, don’t reach for your device, simply stay present. Focus on what’s going on around you. What do you see, hear, and smell? Maybe even strike up a conversation with someone else who’s waiting. Remember, every opportunity you have to unplug is an opportunity to allow your brain to rest and recharge.

  3. Take a Mental break

    Meditation has gotten a lot of attention recently, and for good reason. In the short term, meditation can calm nerves and recenter focus. Over a longer term (6-8 weeks) regular meditation rewires the brain’s response to stress. It increases your self-awareness and enables you to respond more effectively to stress so you can use your energy in more productive ways.

    Meditation doesn’t have to be long or complicated. According to Mark Williams and Danny Penman in their book Mindfulness, even a 3-minute meditation will give you a meaningful mental break. We can all find time for that.

  4. Go outside

    A short walk outside where you completely detach from technology combines all three of these strategies into one power microbreak.

  5. Breathe

    In the event you’re stuck in a meeting or at your desk for prolonged periods, you can still reduce your stress and recharge. Taking deep, slow breaths can rapidly decrease stress and clear your mind. Just relax your belly, deepen your inhale, and exhale for a count of 5 or 6. The extended exhale sends your brain calming signals that dampen the fight-or-flight response.

One key to effective microbreaks is to take them before you need them. Schedule them throughout your day to get ahead of energy crashes and keep productivity high. To maximize the benefit of a microbreak, disconnect from work and technology and incorporate movement to get the blood flowing.

Recharging doesn’t happen naturally for most people anymore. We are constantly connected and reacting to one stimulus or another. That means we need to be more purposeful in how we recharge and manage our energy. The above strategies are proven ways for you to improve your focus and attention and to enhance your memory and learning. Pay attention to what works best for you and schedule regular microbreaks into your day.

recharge with mircrobreaks to avoid burnout

To influence and effectively lead their teams, leaders need to manage their stress, especially during times of adversity. Recharging with microbreaks is an effective way to manage stress, increase energy, and maintain focus. If you’d like additional developmental resources to help you, there are three options below.

  1. Consider registering for one of our online courses to dig deeper and accelerate your development
  2. Sign up below for our Newsletters for articles, tips, and announcements of upcoming events

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Dr. Heather JohnsonDr. Heather Johnson is a nationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-322-7821.

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8 Reasons People Disengage

8 reasons people disengageConsider your top employee, that person you’d hate to see leave. What would the impact of losing that person have on productivity, customers, and revenue? While some people quit and leave a company, others quit and stay. In other words, they disengage.

According to Gallup, about 70% of American workers are disengaged. Can you prevent your top employees from joining that group?

There are 2 kinds of disengaged employees.

  • The first is simply disengaged. They are physically there, but just putting in their time and going through the motions.
  • The second kind is “actively disengaged”. This group isn’t just unhappy at work, they make sure everyone knows it.

Imagine 70% of your team or your company made up of some combination of these disengaged employees. Actively disengaged employees alone are estimated to cost US companies up to $500 billion annually.

That’s a lot of disengagement and a lot of money, but there is hope because 95% of turnover and disengagement avoidable. In addition, engaged workforces outperform others by 147% in earnings per share. The key to taking advantage of this opportunity is knowing why employees are disengaged and how to reengage them before it’s too late.

Let’s look at eight reasons employees disengage and even quit their job that you can do something about.

1. Their Boss

The single biggest factor leading to disengagement and turnover is an employee’s relationship with his or her boss. Spending 40-50 hours each week with someone you don’t like or respect is stressful and takes a toll. Eventually, people withdraw for self-preservation.

2. Disconnection from co-workers

Co-workers are another critical factor impacting employee engagement. They influence how an employee feels every day. Millennial workers value the social aspect of work even more than other generations. Their blending of personal and work lives mean that the relationships at work are more important than they’ve ever been.

Managers can influence this by providing opportunities for team members to get to know each other. This not only facilitates the connection they want, it also improves communication and teamwork, providing a nice return on the effort invested. This can be accomplished in small ways such as adding a bit of time for informal interaction at the beginning of a meeting, team development, occasional after hours gatherings, pot lucks, etc. There are a lot of little ways managers can do this, and, given the cost of disengaged workers, it is worth the effort.

3. Lack of developmental opportunities

In one survey, 80% of employees hadn’t had training in the previous five years. That is not only a disengagement risk, it is also a productivity risk. Development can come in many forms. Formal training is certainly one of them, and the one people think of most often. Some of the others include shadowing, mentoring, sharing best practices at team meetings, and coaching. One of the things that distinguishes Millennials from other generations is the amount of development they want. Are you providing it?

Managers can provide development easily and inexpensively by combining various approaches. Make sure that you encourage people to attend quality, relevant training. In addition to that, take advantage of daily informal opportunities through coaching, reading, leveraging internal mentors, sharing best practices, and so on.

For anyone concerned that if you invest in developing people, they’ll leave, keep this in mind from Richard Branson…

Train people well enough so they can leave, but treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

4. They aren’t challenged

No one wants to be bored and unchallenged by his or her work. Uninteresting work without the opportunity for growth can certainly lead to disengagement, especially for your most talented and motivated employees. Challenging employees doesn’t mean simply giving them more work; it means giving them new tasks that enable them to learn and grow.

Find out where employees’ interests lie, what skills they would like to develop, and find opportunities to challenge them in those areas. For example, you may have someone who wants to improve his ability to influence so you have him present at an all-hands meeting. The best managers challenge people to stretch themselves in a variety of ways. If you fail to challenge your employees, you risk boredom and disengagement.

5. Limited opportunities to pursue their passion

The opportunity to apply one’s unique strengths on the job is another important key to long-term engagement. When employees get a chance to do what they do best every day, they experience pride and a sense of accomplishment, which boosts self-confidence.

I worked as a supervisor in a group home for 3 years after college. I had a brief conversation with the president of that company as she visited the house and I mentioned that I enjoyed training. The following month, she asked me to be part of developing superviors in all 12 houses. It was a huge success and beneficial for both of us. She never would have had the opportunity to leverage that strength if she hadn’t taken the time to uncover my passion. It’s no surprise that this company has grown to 65 homes with over 1,000 employees and was rated the top workplace in MN for 2016.

Pursuing one’s passion energizes people and improves productivity and job satisfaction. Mangers must get to know the employees on a more personal, individual level to find opportunities to tap into an employee’s strengths and passions. Are you making the effort to do so?

6. Feeling overworked and overwhelmed

Doing more with less has become a common refrain in companies across the country and people are feeling the effects. Dr. Tiffany Sanders reports, “approximately 40% of all workers today feel overworked, pressured and squeezed to the point of anxiety, depression and disease.” Overworked employees who have a choice will leave. Those who don’t will quit and stay.

Companies that understand the cost of overworked employees are taking steps to help. What they cannot fix through increased efficiencies, they are creatively addressing by offering things like flex time, dry cleaning, gift cards for family dinners, etc. What are you doing to provide some relief for employees feeling overwhelmed?

7. They don’t see a purpose in their work

Employees today don’t just want a job, they want to feel connected to a worthwhile purpose. Those who don’t see a connection between their daily tasks and a greater purpose will disengage and soon look for different opportunities.

Help them feel connected by talking regularly about the company vision, mission, and values and how they impact the company’s strategic initiatives. What is clear to leadership may not be readily apparent a few levels down. Learn your company’s story and tell it passionately and frequently.

8. They don’t feel valued

Smart leaders make certain their managers know how to balance the business side of their job with the people side. Managers who only focus on the business side generally see short-term success because people will stay engaged only so long when they don’t feel valued. Managers who fail to really care will always have high turnover rates. There is little motivation to put in one’s best effort when that effort isn’t appreciated or valued.

One of the most effective things leaders can do is hire managers who understand how important it is to balance the business and people side of their job. These are approachable managers who are likely to make people feel valued and engaged. People need to hear that they are valued and appreciated. Are you telling them?

Disengagement is prevalent and costly. It is difficult to determine the exact cost to your company because it doesn’t show up as a line item on a balance sheet. With 70% of US workers disengaged, it is safe to assume you have some disengaged employees on your team. Each of these eight reasons people disengage is preventable. With actively disengaged employees costing US companies $500 billion per year and engaged workforces outperforming them by 147%, can you afford to do nothing?

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If you’d like additional ways to increase your ability to influence and an opportunity for practice and to go deeper, register for our self-paced online course ‘Mastering the Fundamentals of Influence’.

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Dr. Heather JohnsonDr. Heather Johnson is an internationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-210-6021.

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