Showing posts with label excellence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excellence. Show all posts

Thursday 23 March 2023

Self-regulation practices to maintain high energy level

 Self-regulation practices to maintain high energy level

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 
In continuation of last week's discussion on how to manage energy levels when things are not going well in the workplace either on a specific day or specified duration, one  of the powerful self-regulation practices discussed was "Acceptance." The practice of acceptance will help to realize the reality and move along with the flow rather than fighting and losing energy.
 
The other methods by which we can maintain our energy level during low-energy situations from my experience are as follows
 
Looking at the situation from the TIME perspective:
 
Any low or high-energy situations never last forever. It looks unmanageable during the tough time, but when we look at the event after some time, it seems to be nothing. For example, we were clueless during covid lockdown, and for most of us, that situation was challenging. Looking back now, the situation's intensity seems small after three years.

The point is any good or bad situation does not last forever, and from a time perspective, any event becomes insignificant from a longer time perspective.

That is why philosophically, there is a saying This too shall pass.
 
Create a space for your inner comfort :

We need to enhance our circle of people, places, or activities which can boost our energy level and make us comfortable when we are down in a workplace situation.

For example, one of my friends was not adequately recognized in his organization for a long time, and others perceived it as an injustice to him. However, he never bothered about that recognition and constantly engaged in charity work and volunteering in NGO activities. I realized he was more comfortable in the workplace because he had other activities to compensate for his energy level.

At least we need to have some trusted people in our circle( could be spouses or friends or mentors) with whom we can share everything by which we can feel comfortable.

The key point is that we need to find a space to be comfortable in low-energy situations.

There could be some other self-regulation practices each one can find to manage the low energy situations
 
The idea of self-regulation practice is to manage any situation with a balanced approach so that our energy level will be high at the workplace to get things done.

Have a great week ahead!

Sunday 15 January 2023

How to Build Trust in the workplace?

 How to Build Trust in the workplace?   

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)

 


 

Having discussed the definition of Trust in the workplace and its importance in gaining the influencing power to get things done, now let us understand how some effective people build Trust among their colleagues and clients.

As mentioned, building trust is not a one-time activity; it is a continuous effort. An individual must earn it despite being given any positional status or designation.

There is no single path to building Trust. It combines many repetitive behaviors and practices by which we can build Trust in character and competency.

Listed below are some of my observations from effective people whom i admire most for their effort in building Trust. They build Trust over some time and gain respect in their respective field or industry.

Demonstrating consistency:

Being consistent is one of the founding stones for building Trust. We generally do not like uncertainties and prefer certainty as it gives comfort. When someone is consistent in their behavior and does what they say consistently,it gives comfort to trust them.

Would you trust a person who delivers inconsistently in terms of timeline commitment?

Ease of approachability:

A person who is easily approachable either physically or digitally is believed more trustworthy than a person who cannot be easily reachable.

i have observed some people respond to the mail within a day or two, even if they agree or disagree with the content. Some people are disciplined to return the mobile call if they miss it the first time due to being preoccupied with something. That is approachability.

When we deal with those people, we feel the friendliness and enhance Trust.

More focused on business:

They are more focused on business than gossiping and spending time on the nitty-gritty of tasks or petty things. When we deal with those people, we feel secure, and the security feeling enhances Trust.

Admit mistakes and being vulnerable:

They openly admit when they make mistakes to show their confidence in themselves. Some people admit when they do not know the answer to the question than trying to give solutions for everything. That behavior of demonstrating confidence enhances Trust and their solutions.

Connect with care:

They look at the problems from others' views and display empathy for others which enhances Trust.

You may add something more from your experience. 

The point is that the trust-building process combines many efforts and being consistent in our positive behavior. It takes time; however, it is worth building to enhance our influencing power to get things done in the workplace.

Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, prosperous new year ahead!

Need for Trust Building in a professional environment

 Need for Trust Building in a professional environment  

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)

 
Having discussed the definition of building trust in a professional environment last week, let us understand the need for building trust to get things done.

Trust is an essential evergreen quality in any relationship in the workplace, and it can be between a boss and junior colleagues or among colleagues.

Need for building Trust

1) When we have trust in something or someone, it indirectly enhances influencing power to get things done.

For example, when we want to purchase something online, we prefer AMAZON over any other new, unknown e-commerce portal. We have more trust in the amazon brand, which influences the transaction ( things getting done).

In the same way, if we trust someone ( they earned their trust from us), they have more power over us to get things done.

The point is to influence anyone in the professional environment; the primary ingredient is building trust in character, competency, or both.

2) And today's change in the working environment calls for influencing rather than commanding, which indirectly demands trust building. 

The workplace relationship is changing from commanding to inspiring to get things done.

The change could be due to social changes, affordabilities, and opportunities compared to the past. Earlier, people look up to someone for knowledge, information, age, and experience they possess. Now with the abundance of information available thanks to digital evolution and humungous opportunities across the world for survival and growth, people are no more looking up to someone for the reason stated above.

Instead, people are now looking up to someone for their wisdom, insights, mentoring, or solution-providing capabilities for specific challenges. When someone demonstrates consistently, trust is built, and they become inspired and an influencer. They can get things done relatively easier than others.
 
For any one-time transaction or short-term benefits, commanding or pushing may help to get things done. Building trust is required if you are looking for a long-term association, positively influencing others to get things done, and peaceful transaction between you and others.

You shall deserve yourself as a person to look up to only when you develop yourself and you are proven as "TRUSTED "by your colleagues or networks.

In the above context, trust-building becomes essential.

Let us discuss the approaches for developing trust-building next week.
 
Have a great week ahead.

Staying focused in a day to day life

  Staying focused in a day to day life 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
As part of managing self to get things done, one of the self-development areas is being focused. Last few weeks, we have discussed how the leaders demonstrate the focus in the organization and make the team also focus at the macro level/organization level / medium term.

Now let us discuss how effectively people stay focused in day-to-day activities/micro level / individual level.

It is very challenging to remain focused on our daily activities and results as distractions may be created by ourselves through our practices and others. Some effective people overcome by consciously practicing some behaviors which i observe and learn from them.
  1. They have clarity about what they want or what agenda to fulfill in a day.
  2. They maintain a "To do list" on a piece of paper and ensure to check at the end of the day.
  3. They convert their agenda into key performance indicators (KPIs) that they measure and track periodically. We speak ideas most and forget them, but converting the idea into metrics will improve the focus.
  4. They will always start with END. This habit will help them focus on the result rather than being distracted by the activities.
  5. They are more prudent about "what not to do or what not to talk" about than what to do. Focus is all about what not to do and what to do.
In one of the firms, the business head casually shared his plan to go about technology degradation through investment. The team was then working on solving quality issues in the existing technology. When they heard about the business head's plan for upgradation, they stopped working on problem-solving. They pointed out the new technology could be the panacea for all the problems ...complete focus distraction!! by sharing untimely information.
  1. They manage and conduct the meetings very well, as distractions mostly happen in meeting forums. They organize themselves very well by certain behaviors like putting the mobile in silent mode, going by the agenda, taking notes, and involving all stakeholders.
  2. Even if someone distracts from the agenda, they will bring it back to the agenda quickly as they know it is one of the core jobs of chairing the meetings. Sometimes when the discussion gets into conflict, they brilliantly handle it or, worst case, make it offline to remain focused.
 
You might have observed the above behaviors and something more.
 
The point is that staying focused is a choice irrespective of the environment, and this is one of the mindsets that help us to stay focused. When we, as leaders/managers, remain focused, the team will also stay focused and enable us to get things done.

Have a great week ahead.

Tuesday 19 January 2021

Why finding PURPOSE is essential?

 

Why finding PURPOSE is essential?
(Emotional Management for Personal & Professional Growth Series)

 
In continuation of knowing self more through getting value clarity, the next step in Achievement Orientation is to know your purpose in life.

There is a saying that everyone comes to earth with a purpose, and everything happens with a purpose only. There is a school of thought from a philosophical perspective that the meaning of life to live happily or go along with the flow. It may be valid, and only a few people are aligned with that perspective and internally motivated. That is a high-level maturity of living.

However, from a materialistic perspective, there is always a compelling need to be on a high level of internal motivation and achievement-orientation. One way of fulfilling the requirement is to find the life purpose at the self-level at some point in a lifetime. 

Given the realm of our education, knowledge, skillset, experience, and background, we need to find the purpose of our life. The tough question that needs to be answered is," why do i exist"? what is meaningful to me? What is the real fulfillment for me? What is my identity? , what will i be remembered for, at least for some time?!!.

The purpose could be anything as it depends on the individual. It could be making a difference, creating an impact on others, building wealth, solving a chronic problem, entertaining others, and so on.

Finding purpose is the exploration process, and it is not a one-time activity.

Why should we find our purpose?
  • When we have clarity on the big-picture of our existence, it will give a sense of direction.
  • When the direction is not right, how fast we move, the path does not take to the right destination.
  • When we do not know our true north and being busy with all the distractions of life, we feel empty despite all the success.
  • When we know our purpose, even though there are struggles, it won’t hurt much. When we do not have any clarity about our purpose, we are vulnerable to even small disappointments, rejections, failures.
  • When we are clear about our purpose, our journey will be enjoyable even if it is slow because we are aware that we are marching in the right direction in our path. That realization makes us feel good. Optimism comes out when we are clear about our journey’s direction.
Let us learn the different ways of exploring self to get clarity on our purpose next week.


Given below the link to an interesting video on meaningful life/vision/purpose, you may relate them.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bumPyvzCyo

 
 

Monday 6 July 2020

Aware of Life Balancing

Aware of Life Balancing
(Emotional Management for Personal & Professional Growth Series)
 
As we are discussing the importance of self-awareness in managing emotions, one more methodology of self-awareness is to be aware of your balancing status in all aspects of life.

Some people list up to 24 aspects of life. To simplify it, i classify the life aspects into six areas like professional growth, relationship, health, wealth, maturity, and social contribution, as shown in the below radar chart. We should progress in all aspects at the same pace. That is  Life balancing.

When you measure the current balancing profile status in each aspect, you become aware of improvement areas.


                                           
You can do self-assessment in each aspect and see yourself about balancing profile.

For example,

on professional growth, considering your education, experience, if you feel, you have grown in the professional front in terms of contribution, monetary benefits, and social status, rate yourself on the higher side and vice versa.

Similarly, on the health front, rate yourself depending upon your health conditions.

On wealth aspects, rate yourself on your capability on earning, saving, investment, and spending aspects. On relationship aspects, you can measure your relationship quality with your circle.

Likewise, in all the categories, do the self-assessment and measure your balancing aspects. If you find some imbalanced profile, that will give you awareness of the focus area.

When i administer this assessment in my workshop, the result brings eye-opening experience for the participants as i think this is one of the powerful self-awareness tools for self-awareness.

The point is self-awareness is the starting point for all emotional management in the professional environment.

More you are aware of yourself in terms of values, beliefs, strengths, areas for improvement, purpose, organizing self, better you are on emotional management.

Let us discuss more on channelizing the emotions in next week. 

Friday 14 July 2017

Redefining your life success with right metrics

In today’s world, everyone is madly rushing behind money and positional status and in this process, we are too much stressed out.This causes disruption in physical and relationship.One of the reason could be unconsciously we had defined the life success as money and power. That is the only metrics by which we are measuring our success.Some study suggests that if we change or add one more metrics in our definition of life success, it will change our perception of life and our actions. That metric is "THRIVING".

Thriving can be defined as prosperous or flourishing or growing in all aspects of well-being.This metric is beyond survival and 360 degrees winning in all aspects of life.

The overall of well-being (Thriving) can be attained by 

1.Nurturing yourself physically and mentally
2.Keep learning
3.Spending time yourself to listen to your inner voice
4.Giving to others
5.Distance yourself from digital noises
6.Exploring new location and people 
7.curiosity like child
8.Get enough sleeping as it improves health

In reality, coming out of survival to thriving mode requires a lot of internal perspective change about life and real growth!