Living during a pandemic (and now also during very uncertain and volatile times) is a high stress situation. Our health and physical wellbeing and that of our loved ones’ is threatened. Living under social distancing and isolation are also stressful situations, as are experiencing a threat to global safety and stability. We need human togetherness to thrive.
Are you obsessed about how you looked recently during that virtual meeting? Those bags under your eyes seem to get heavier each day. What about that double or triple chin and shiny forehead? There is a word for the hyper awareness of our looks ‘Zoom dysmorphia’.
Anecdotal information from my network is telling me that we have grown comfortable with zoom and teams’ meetings while live in-person interactions now feel stressful, and even odd. We are experts at expressing and reading emotions with our eyes and foreheads only. Smiling with our eyes as we wear a facemask. How to transition back to in-person work?
How do you discover your own authentic leadership style and is there only one style that is truly your personal leadership approach?
These are questions we often ask ourselves.
A quick online search on ‘leadership styles’ will give you several different answers. Some articles list five, others six, another one ten and so on.
How do you know what expert to listen to and what list of leadership styles to use when selecting yours? Is there one style that fits everyone everywhere and always?
In episode 11 we looked at the six steps to take to prepare for a challenging conversation, they included among others, to have a clear goal, to check your assumptions, and to try to understand and anticipate the other’s goals and needs.
Let us imagine that you are now having that so called difficult conversation. Perhaps you are connected virtually by video conference. How do you start?
First focus on creating trust. How do we create trust? By communicating positive intentions, being honest and transparent in our messaging and my listening.
Have you ever dreaded a conversation at work, or one of a private nature? Perhaps it was about a job you wanted to be considered for, or a new project you really wanted to shift…
Remember to keep an accomplishment journal. It does not need to be fancy or well written – it can be a simple list or an e-mail folder where you save compliments and positive feed-back received….
How do we talk about our work and life? What’s the narrative we are creating? Is our story all about our stress and busyness? Are we glorifying being busy? I admit I fall into this pattern myself. It was my need to be busy, to work hard and prove myself that contributed (only one aspect of many complicated ones) to my burnout. Being busy was an important part of my identity. It still is. I’ve had to re-evaluate my values and beliefs and my sense of self to create a way of living that is healthier and more in harmony with what I need and what I must do.
The stories we create about our lives and who we are shape our lives and who we become. Perhaps it is time to change the narrative? Is there a happy and fulfilled busy? A busy that does not result in burnout?
Ever been in a meeting and not being able to raise your voice and contribute? Perhaps you have an important conversation scheduled. A conversation where you want to stand up for yourself and ask for,…
Asking for what we need and advocating for what we know or believe in can be challenging for many of us, especially if we are new in the office, just now embarking on our career…