teamwork

It’s Good to Have Troublemakers on Your Team

By in Communication Tags: , ,

Troublemaker

It’s great to work with people who share your opinions. It feels so wonderful and easy when everyone on a team gets along, and when everyone is always in agreement about what course of action to take. But is this really the ideal type of work situation to be in? Author Ali Donaldson would argue that it’s not.

According to Donaldson, it’s important to have “troublemakers” on a team. Now, these aren’t people who are rude, mean, or abrasive. They’re just people who are willing to question the decisions that are being made by the group, and disagree with the majority’s opinion when they think it might be problematic. They’re not afraid of “rocking the boat” if it means that the final product will be more valuable and effective.

Can a “troublemaker” sometimes be frustrating to other group members? The answer is probably “yes.” But are they also essential members of the team? The answer to that question is also “yes.” Troublemakers can identify potential problems that others may not want to consider for the sake of group harmony. Their input is important. And every effort should be made to ensure that they feel free to share their honest thoughts and opinions.

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Donaldson, A. (n.d.). Why you want to cultivate a team of professional troublemakers at work. Inc. Retrieved from: https://www.inc.com/ali-donaldson/luvvie-ajayi-jones-awe-luv-media-professional-troublemaker.html

The Importance of Humor at the Office

By in Living Well Tags: , , , ,

Humor_at_Office

Trying to incorporate humor into the workplace can be a risky endeavor. Something that’s funny to one person could possibly be viewed as inappropriate by another person. But according to author Peter Navarro, the benefits far outweigh the risks. Working in an office where people laugh together can have a lasting, positive effect on employees’ productivity and efficacy, and boost their feelings of job satisfaction. According to Navarro, incorporating humor into the workplace results in the following:

  • Improved teamwork – Coworkers who joke around together are also more likely to feel connected to each other, communicate more, trust each other more, and work with each other more effectively. Employees are more likely to feel like they have their colleagues’ friendship and support.
  • Reduced stress – Laughter is a great stress reliever. According to the Mayo clinic, it soothes feelings of tension, releases endorphins, improves your mood, decreases your heart rate, and even relieves feelings of pain. So laughing with your colleagues is definitely beneficial.
  • Enhanced creativity – Humor can help people to relax – and relaxation gives people the freedom to be creative. When employees feel stressed or pressured, it’s very difficult to “think outside the box.” But in a workplace environment in which humor and laughter are part of the culture, it’s much more likely that employees will feel free to take chances and be truly innovative.
  • Increased customer satisfaction – Happy employees provide better customer service. The happiness that they feel spills over to the customers, and makes every interaction more engaging and effective.

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Navarro, P. (n.d.). Humor is fundamental to a healthy workplace — but not without its risks. Recruiter.com. Retrieved from: https://www.recruiter.com/i/humor-is-fundamental-to-a-healthy-workplace-but-not-without-its-risks/

The Benefits of Having Both Optimists and Pessimists on Your Team

By in Communication, Learning Tags: , , , ,

Friendly_and_Grumpy_Cats

Optimists are positive, upbeat, and enthusiastic. Pessimists are realistic, cautious, and somewhat negative. Optimists are full of ideas. Pessimists tend to oppose new ideas because they focus on all of the bad things that could happen if those ideas were put into practice. Thus, this can sometimes lead to conflict at work.

On a team composed of optimists and pessimists, the optimists might feel angry and discouraged that the pessimists are always shooting holes in their ideas and preventing them from moving forward. The pessimists might feel annoyed that the optimists are always presenting unrealistic, underdeveloped ideas, and forcing them into the role of “the bad guy.” Both groups might secretly wish that they could work in teams in which everyone was like them – all optimists or all pessimists. But according to author Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, this would be bad for the organization.

  • In a group with all optimists, it’s likely that everyone would enthusiastically embrace new ideas without fully thinking through all of the possible ramifications. A phenomenon known as “groupthink” may also come into play. This is when bad decisions are made because the group members want to be positive and cohesive, and don’t want to voice a dissenting opinion.
  • In a group with all pessimists, it’s likely that not a lot of new ideas will be generated, because everyone will be too focused on the negatives. As a result, not a lot of progress will be made and necessary changes will not occur.

Tsipursky believes that the best teams include a mix of people. It’s important to have optimists who are enthusiastically generating ideas, as well as pessimists who play the role of the “devil’s advocate” and point out the flaws in those ideas. This is the only way that a team can develop a truly effective approach.

And according to Tsipursky, you can avoid conflict if everyone on the team has the right mindset. The optimists must understand that they’re needed to generate exciting new ideas – but that every idea needs to be developed and refined. And the pessimists need to know that they’re also essential, because it’s their job to take the ideas and shape them into something viable and effective.

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Tsipursky, G. (n.d.) How optimists and pessimists can get along. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/348115

Dealing With a Panicky Coworker

By in Communication Tags: , ,

Stressed_Coworker

Do you have coworkers who always seems to be under a lot of stress? Whenever you talk to them, they tell you that they’re overwhelmed, overworked, panicky, and exhausted. Every task that they have to complete needs to be done RIGHT AWAY. And everything is an emergency.

It can be hard to work with this type of colleague. Stress is contagious, and collaborating with a stressed-out coworker can make you start to feel anxious. But it is possible to have a healthy working relationship with a panicky coworker. Author Rebecca Knight suggests that you follow these steps:

  • Be kind – It’s easy to get frustrated and annoyed with a coworker who is constantly stressed. But you should try to be understanding. You don’t know what’s going on in your coworker’s life. He or she might be dealing with a lot of stressful issues at home. So try not to be judgmental.
  • Don’t avoid it – When your coworker talks to you about feeling overworked and stressed out, don’t immediately change the subject or try to shut your coworker down by saying something like “I guess we’re all feeling stressed out these days!” Instead, let your coworker know that you’ve heard what he or she is saying, and you understand. A good response might be something as simple as “That must be so difficult.” Once you’ve acknowledged the person’s stress, you can move on to other topics.
  • Be complimentary – Pay your panicky coworker a compliment. Tell the person that you think he or she is doing good work on a certain project. Your sincere compliment will make your coworker feel more positive and empowered, and hopefully help to alleviate his or her level of stress.
  • Offer to help – If you have the time, you could offer to help your coworker with his or her current workload. But be careful not to take on too much! Be very clear about how much time you have to give, and how many tasks you can complete. Your offer to help will make your coworker feel supported, and help your coworker realize that he or she is not alone.
  • Be specific – When you need your stressed-out coworker to complete some sort of task for you, send an email that’s very brief and specific. If you need this individual to complete a larger project, break it down into doable chunks, and indicate the order in which they must be done. Try to assign the work in a way that won’t make your coworker feel confused or overwhelmed.
  • Protect yourself – If you feel like you’re getting too deeply involved in your coworker’s stress and unhappiness, distance yourself from it. Take a break from talking to that coworker and try to relax. It’s important to protect your own mental health.

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Knight, R. (2017, August 7). How to work with someone who’s always stressed out. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2017/08/how-to-work-with-someone-whos-always-stressed-out

Feeling Joyful at Work

By in Living Well Tags: , ,

Cheerful black employee using digital tablet in office and laughing

We spend a large portion of our lives in the office. So wouldn’t it be wonderful to feel joyful while we’re there? It might seem like an unachievable goal. But according to author Alex Liu, it is possible to instill joy in the workplace. Managers simply need to incorporate three things into the work environment:

  1. Harmony – Each person on a team has certain things that he or she excels at. If those strengths are utilized, and everyone can work together to achieve something greater than they can on their own, it’s a wonderful feeling. But to achieve this type of harmony, managers need to encourage team members to play to their strengths. Team members need to understand what’s expected of them. And everyone needs to trust each other, and value each other’s efforts.
  2. Impact – It’s important for employees to know that their contributions are vital to the success of the team. They need to understand that they’re truly contributing to the team’s achievements. Accomplishing a challenging task as a team, and knowing that your efforts had a positive impact is incredibly rewarding.
  3. Acknowledgement – It’s important to celebrate a team’s successes. And when team members are acknowledged for their efforts (both by managers and fellow team members), it can further enhance their feelings of joy and accomplishment.

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Liu, A. (2019, July 17). Making joy a priority at work. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2019/07/making-joy-a-priority-at-work

Coping With a Competitive Coworker

By in Learning Tags: , ,

Chess board game, winner winning situation, encounter serious enemy, business competitive concept

Competitive coworkers can be a challenge to work with. They’re desperate to get ahead. They’ll take any opportunity to promote themselves, and even take credit for things they didn’t necessarily do. They won’t mention other team members’ contributions. And they may even discredit other people’s work in an effort to make themselves look better.

Do you have a competitive coworker? If so, you might be feeling stressed and upset. It’s really difficult to have a coworker who is always trying to get attention and acclaim – especially when it’s at your expense.

So what should you do if you find yourself in this situation? Author Gloria Larson has a few suggestions.

  • Form a friendship – One of the best ways to deal with a competitive coworker is to befriend him or her. Sure, you might not like your competitive coworker very much. And your coworker might not be that interested in being friendly with you either. But if you work at it, you might be able to discover your coworker’s good qualities and find some common ground. And most importantly, you’ll be able to turn a competitor into a friend and ally.
  • Enhance your skills – If you really can’t stomach the idea of befriending your competitive coworker, use that person as a motivating force instead. Start working on enhancing your skills and abilities. Learn new techniques and broaden your repertoire. You’ll be such an asset to the team that there will be no need for you to feel stressed or threatened by your competitive counterpart.
  • Take the high ground – Always behave in an honest, respectful manner – even towards your competitive coworker. Your behavior might inspire your coworker to change. But even if that doesn’t happen, you should still be kind, fair, helpful, and professional. Your other teammates will appreciate it, and you’ll all be happier and more productive.

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Larson, G. (n.d.) How you can use a co-worker’s competitiveness to your advantage. The Muse. Retrieved from: https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-you-can-use-a-coworkers-competitiveness-to-your-advantage

How to Work With People Who Are Younger Than You

By in Communication, Learning Tags: , ,

Multiethnic group of happy young business people standing in office

If you’re surrounded by coworkers who are younger than you, you may sometimes feel a little disconnected from them. People in different generations have their own ways of communicating and getting things done. So it may occasionally feel challenging to work together as a cohesive team.

But if you find yourself in this position, don’t worry. According to author Lindsey Pollak, there are five things that you can do to bridge the gap between you and your younger colleagues.

  1. Talk about how you prefer to communicate – Don’t just assume that everyone at work is going to share information in the same way. You might prefer to email, while your younger coworkers might prefer to text or skype. Talk to your coworkers about how they want to share information at work, and identify a form of communication that works for all of you.
  2. Be open to learning new things – Try not to cling to your “tried and true” ways of doing things – even if they’ve been effective in the past. Be open to new ideas and methods, and have a willingness to learn.
  3. Ask for guidance – Even though you may be the person in the office with the most experience, it’s still OK to ask your younger coworkers for guidance on how to use new techniques or forms of technology. It’s a great way to learn and form closer ties with your colleagues.
  4. Stay current – Try to stay up-to-date on what’s going on in pop culture. You don’t have to be an expert, but if you can understand what people are talking about in the lunchroom, that will help you to forge closer bonds.
  5. Don’t make “I’m so old” jokes – Don’t put yourself down by talking about how you’re “getting forgetful in your old age,” you’re “getting senile,” or anything along those lines. Be confident in what you know and what you can do. Your coworkers will respect you and your abilities.

Pollak, L. (n.d.). How to relate to your coworkers when they’re all younger than you. The Muse. Retrieved from: https://www.themuse.com/advice/working-with-younger-employees?ref=recently-published-1

Leadership and the Importance of Humility

By in Leadership Tags: , ,

Closeup of rubber duckies

What type of qualities do leaders need to have in order to be great? I think it’s generally believed that great leaders must be outgoing, powerful, persuasive, and charismatic. Humility isn’t usually considered to be an important quality in a leader. But new research suggests that it might be the most important quality of all.

Leaders who are high in humility often don’t get much attention because they tend to fly under the radar. But even though they might not get a lot of acclaim, they do get great results. Researchers have found that humble leaders are associated with the following:

  • Low employee turnover
  • Reduced employee absenteeism
  • Close-knit teams
  • High performing teams

Overall, researchers have found that teams with humble leaders perform more effectively and produce more high-quality work than teams with leaders who are low in humility.

Humble leaders excel at their jobs because they tend to be very open to feedback, they’re eager to learn, they ask for help when they need it, and they appreciate (and utilize) their employees’ strengths. When they succeed, they give their teams credit and recognition.

Do you think humility is an important quality in a leader? Feel free to share your thoughts in the Comments section below. And if you’d like to find out how humble you are, you can take a free, online personality assessment! It’s called the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised. One of the traits that it measures is “Honesty-Humility.”

 

Shellenbarger, S. (2018, October 9). The best bosses are humble bosses. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-bosses-are-humble-bosses-1539092123

Is It Possible to Be Too Helpful?

By in Living Well Tags: , , , ,

Too_Helpful

Are you the person that your coworkers go to when they have a problem? Are you always available to assist them when they need it? If so, you’re obviously a nice person and an excellent team player! But you could also be spreading yourself a bit too thin. If you spend a lot of your time helping others, it can be more challenging to get your own work done.

There are a lot of reasons why you probably enjoy collaborating with your coworkers. You like helping people, you like being viewed as friendly and knowledgeable, you like being seen as an expert in your area, you like to be in control of situations, etc. But even though helping others can feel really good, it can also lead to feelings of stress and exhaustion – and ultimately burnout.

So what should you do? Well, you shouldn’t stop helping your coworkers entirely. That would be mean and wrong! But you should try to put a limit on it. Author Sue Shellenbarger offers the following suggestions:

  • Protect your personal time – If helping out a coworker will cause your workday to stretch into the evening or weekend, you should politely decline.
  • Get your work done first – If someone asks for your assistance, you can agree to help out. But tell the person that it will have to wait until you get your own work done.
  • Ignore nonessential emails – It’s great to be responsive, and it would be wonderful if you could reply to every single email that you receive. But if you did that, it would likely eat up way too much of your time. Protect your time by replying to the important emails and letting the nonessential ones slide.
  • Get realistic about meetings – If you agree to attend every meeting that you’re invited to, the meeting organizers would certainly appreciate it. But you would also have little time left over to get your work done. So review the meetings that you attended over the last few months. Are there any that were a waste of time? If so, you should skip them in the future.

 

Shellenbarger, S. (2018, July 23). You could be too much of a team player. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/you-could-be-too-much-of-a-team-player-1532352464?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=5

 

Learn From Your Dog

By in Living Well Tags: , ,

Cute_dog

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about the many things that cats can teach us. By following their furry lead, you can be both happier and more successful at work.

Now I think it’s time to turn our attention to dogs. Dogs are the best! They’re loving, loyal bundles of joy. My parents’ dog, Max, is such a sweetie. He’s noisy and kind of high-maintenance, but he has such a good heart. And even though he’s not as wise or crafty as a cat, I think Max still has much to teach us about how to be a happy, productive employee.

Here’s what you can learn from your dog…

  1. Be a team player – Dogs are pack animals. They love to be around the people and animals that they care about. They’re social, they look out for their pack, and they work together to get things done. You should try to do the same when you’re at the office! It’s great if you have the ability to work independently. But it’s also important to be able to work with your fellow employees, when necessary. Try to listen to what they have to say, be open to their ideas, and help them when they need it.
  2. Don’t hold grudges – Dogs don’t hold grudges. They might occasionally feel hurt or angry, but it doesn’t tend to last. They have a wonderfully forgiving nature and they’re really resilient. Try to follow their lead. If someone upsets you at work, you can talk to that person about it if you feel like it’s necessary. But after that, try to let it go. If you hold a grudge, you’ll use up a lot of energy and probably end up upsetting yourself more than the other person.
  3. Stay focused on the present – Dogs really live in the present. They’re completely focused on whatever is happening at the moment, and they get so much joy from everyday things. I think this seems like a good way to approach work. Try not to worry too much about what’s happened in the past or the events that are coming up in the future. Focus on the present and the tasks that you need to finish today. And take time to enjoy the fun things that might be happening around you. You don’t want to miss out on the good stuff!
  4. Be dependable – Dogs are there for you. And you should be there for your coworkers! Be dependable at work. Your manager and teammates will really appreciate it.

 

Gisonni, D. (2014, July 8). 10 things dogs teach us about what matters most. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/debbie-gisonni/lessons-from-dogs_b_5556867.html

 

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