Friday, June 28, 2013

Is A Happy Work Environment Really Possible?

Let's face it.  Work is messy.  It will always be messy.  It's WORK.  Challenges will present themselves.  Everything will not happen the way you planned.  Everyone will not be on the same page all the time.  People will bring personal *hit to work.  Someone will unquestionably insult you at some point.  Your buttons will be pushed.  Gossip and negative talk will happen.

So, is it really possible to work in a happy work environment?

Yes.

Happy is a choice.  It's how you choose to respond to a situation.  It's how aware you are of your own reactions and why you respond that way.  It's being mindful of why someone else is responding the way they are.

Indeed, toxic work environments exist.  But here's the thing... you can choose to respond differently.  You can shift how you view a situation.  You can smile instead of sneer.  You can purposefully send love to the person annoying you rather than any other negative emotion.  And when you do, you not only make yourself happier, but you stop a negative chain reaction and start a positive ripple effect.

Consider this... Maybe your colleague has pushed your buttons because SHE is feeling insecure.  Maybe your client is being difficult because HE just found out his Mom is sick.  Maybe the front desk clerk is not being cooperative because she is following a system that has been put in place and does not know how to adapt it.

In these cases, we often find ourselves getting angry or judgmental or irritated.  The amazing thing about the human mind is that when we notice these feelings, we can shift them.  We can choose to see the situation differently.  When that car cuts in front of you, and you start to feel ticked off, you can say to yourself, "That guy might be in a hurry to get to his child's school because he is late to pick his child up."  Wouldn't you be in a hurry then?

Every situation can be perceived in a different way in your mind.  And how you react, feel, and respond to every one is YOUR choice.

So, yes.  Happy work environments are possible.  It's how YOU perceive it.  It's your choice.  And it takes practice to build new pathways in your mind that will help you more automatically respond in a more positive way.  Start practicing it now.


Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Got Calm?

Leaders and managers are faced with a plethora of demands on a daily basis.  When one problem is solved, two more are created.  When a project is delivered, a new one begins.  The future of business needs to be assessed while day-to-day operations take place... and sometimes past errors need to be fixed.  It's an endless amount of work.  And it can cause stress, anxiety, overwhelm, and negative results or emotions.

Bringing mindfulness to your day to day interactions and decisions increases your calm.  Even in a crazy, fast-paced, results-driven environment, you can have calm.  It takes practice.  But when you learn and implement a mindful way of relating to people, making decisions, managing your time, and creating your future, you will experience higher productivity, greater innovation, fewer conflicts, less turnover, greater happiness, and the list goes on.

Imagine a work environment where meetings flow smoothly, negativity is effectively shifted to possibility, difficult situations are overcome easily, everyone is working towards a common vision, and performance is high.  Increasing the mindfulness in your organization can bring you that environment.

Where do you begin?  It starts with a commitment to being more mindful as a leader or manager.  Once you make that commitment, practicing new techniques will form habits that will change your world.  Here's a good place to start... take 10 minutes each day to sit.  Do nothing else but sit.  When a thought comes to you, acknowledge it (there's a thought) and let it go.  Yes.  Meditate:)  It's the first step to becoming more mindful and creating calm at work and in your life.

Get calm with Pomroy Consulting Inc.'s mindful leadership and management coaching and mentoring programs.