First, ask yourself...
Do you ever find yourself doing way too many things during the day that are not ultimately important?
One of the main reasons we sometimes feel that even though we worked hard for 10 hours at the office, we "really didn't get anything done" is because we react too quickly to the tasks presented to us, instead of taking the necessary time to evaluate their importance. We live in a fast-paced world, so we are wired to want to attend to everything right away. But when we don't take the necessary time to evaluate the importance of the task at hand, what often happens is the 'not so important' things take up most of our time.
Before just jumping into action the next time you get an e-mail telling you about a task or "emergency" that needs your attention, take 30 seconds and think about what this task REALLY is. Is there anyone else who can handle it? Can it be taken care of over lunch instead of right now? Is it something that might simply go away on its own, if given time?
If we can get into the habit of properly evaluating the tasks presented to us before actually acting on them, we will find that a good number of them are not as "code red" as we initially assumed. And when we can then postpone them, delegate them, or simply decide not to do them, we will free up much more of our time, and decrease our stress levels dramatically!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
How to Succeed in Challenging Situations
First, ask yourself...
Do you ever over-react to challenging situations, ultimately preventing yourself from moving on?
We face challenges every single day, some bigger than others. Often times, these challenges require us to formulate a response and then take action. Our reaction to these challenges will significantly influence the success we have in relation to the challenge moving forward. These challenges (also known as Key Moments) can be just about anything that require a response. Some examples can be an employee not turning in a report on time, not acquiring a new account we were hoping for, or even our top employee suddenly quitting because he/she took another job.
It's up to us to decide how to react in these situations. We can spend time being upset, or try to figure out a way through the problem. We can decide to only look at the immediate negatives, or choose to evaluate all of the long-term positives that could potentially come from the situation.
Just because you are faced with a challenge, or something doesn't go your way does not mean you must have a completely negative reaction towards it. It is important to learn from our experiences, and continue to push forward with a positive mindset to ensure we set ourselves up for the best possible result both now, and the next time something like this might occur.
**This week's tip was taken from "Being Positive & Resilient" which is the December session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.
Do you ever over-react to challenging situations, ultimately preventing yourself from moving on?
We face challenges every single day, some bigger than others. Often times, these challenges require us to formulate a response and then take action. Our reaction to these challenges will significantly influence the success we have in relation to the challenge moving forward. These challenges (also known as Key Moments) can be just about anything that require a response. Some examples can be an employee not turning in a report on time, not acquiring a new account we were hoping for, or even our top employee suddenly quitting because he/she took another job.
It's up to us to decide how to react in these situations. We can spend time being upset, or try to figure out a way through the problem. We can decide to only look at the immediate negatives, or choose to evaluate all of the long-term positives that could potentially come from the situation.
Just because you are faced with a challenge, or something doesn't go your way does not mean you must have a completely negative reaction towards it. It is important to learn from our experiences, and continue to push forward with a positive mindset to ensure we set ourselves up for the best possible result both now, and the next time something like this might occur.
**This week's tip was taken from "Being Positive & Resilient" which is the December session of The Compass Program. Click Here to view the schedule of all 12 sessions for The Compass Program.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Expectations for Conflict Resolution
First, ask yourself...
Is everyone on your team in agreement as to how to approach a conflict?
Conflicts in the workplace don't just appear out of the blue. They are typically caused by what is known as a normal difference, which includes things such as: a difference in opinion, difference in goals, difference in communication styles, difference in past experiences, a difference in motivation, etc. When working side by side with other human beings, normal differences are common and often unavoidable. But in order to help reduce the number of these normal differences that turn into full-blown conflicts, it's vital for everyone to be on the same page as to how to handle them when they do come up!
How should you approach someone you don't agree with? How quickly should you make the confrontation? Should you involve others, or go right to the source? What sorts of things should you personally consider prior to approaching the person in the first place? The above questions were just a few potential expectations that when determined, communicated, and agreed upon by the team will help to stop the normal differences from turning into something much more disruptive.
These normal differences can't be counted on to work themselves out. It is vital to have agreed-upon expectations and even a formal process in place as to how to approach others when a normal difference occurs, and then how to work it out to ensure that both parties are happy with the result.
Is everyone on your team in agreement as to how to approach a conflict?
Conflicts in the workplace don't just appear out of the blue. They are typically caused by what is known as a normal difference, which includes things such as: a difference in opinion, difference in goals, difference in communication styles, difference in past experiences, a difference in motivation, etc. When working side by side with other human beings, normal differences are common and often unavoidable. But in order to help reduce the number of these normal differences that turn into full-blown conflicts, it's vital for everyone to be on the same page as to how to handle them when they do come up!
How should you approach someone you don't agree with? How quickly should you make the confrontation? Should you involve others, or go right to the source? What sorts of things should you personally consider prior to approaching the person in the first place? The above questions were just a few potential expectations that when determined, communicated, and agreed upon by the team will help to stop the normal differences from turning into something much more disruptive.
These normal differences can't be counted on to work themselves out. It is vital to have agreed-upon expectations and even a formal process in place as to how to approach others when a normal difference occurs, and then how to work it out to ensure that both parties are happy with the result.
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