Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: initiative

  • Loving Monday: Inserting a Warm Word in a Cold World

    loving_mondayIt would probably catch everyone off guard.

    Out of the blue, or so it would seem, you blurt out, “You really know your stuff. Thank you for all you contribute.”

    Or when she’s not looking, you sneak up and announce, “I couldn’t do this without you.”

    Even more inexplicably, you confess, “This team is one of the things I love most about this job.”

    It can be a cold world. Tight deadlines. Tighter margins. Nasty vendors. Nastier clients. And a tough economy to boot.

    We are busy. We are stressed. We are juggling multiple responsibilities, and it’s taking our full focus not to drop anything.

    It’s into this cold world that a warm word can make the difference between surviving and thriving.

    To hear that one’s ideas are appreciated, that one’s contribution is recognized, or that one’s presence is valued can transform a stressed, weary, minimal effort into an energetic and passionate engagement.

    We get caught up in the busyness and stress of the job’s intensity ourselves. It is easy to forget that people run on more than a paycheck to keep their motivation and energy levels up.

    Yes, it would be nice if someone directed a warm word your way. In the mean time, though, take the initiative yourself and insert a warm word into someone else’s otherwise cold world.

    Looking for a simple structure to guide your words? Download a copy of our “Say Thank You and Mean It” tool. (click here)

    Let me know what happens!

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Loving Monday: Who’s Setting the Tone If You Aren’t?

    loving_mondayWho’s setting the tone at work today?

    Anyone?

    If someone isn’t setting the tone intentionally, then it is probably being set by the first three things that happen this morning.

    Should the first three things that happen be an unexpected deadline change, an angry client, and an assistant gone AWOL, you’re in for a rough day!

    What if, though, you set the tone for your day? What if you were to choose—before even arriving at work—what sort of attitude, perspective and demeanor with which you were going to approach your day?

    Instead of waiting to react to whatever might be going on at the office, you would be taking the initiative to be one of the actors that everyone else reacts to.

    You would be taking the initiative on your own behalf and also on the behalf of the entire office culture.

    In this scenario, when the unexpected deadline change gets announced, the angry client yells at you, or the assistant goes AWOL right when you needed their help, you will deal with these unfortunate and difficult experiences from the healthy, positive, and constructive frame of reference you chose earlier.

    It’s your choice either way you look at it.

    You can choose to let circumstances set the tone for you, or you can choose the tone from which you will set into the day’s circumstances.

    Which brings us back to the original question: Who’s setting the tone at work today if you aren’t?

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Loving Monday: Attitude Infection

    loving_mondayHave you ever come to work to find someone in such a good mood that you can’t help but feel better yourself?

    Their attitude is infectious. Their mood, their outlook, their demeanor, their disposition, their frame of reference, whatever it is… you find yourself being drawn in and carried along.

    It’s fun. It’s refreshing. It’s a breath of fresh air in a stuffy and claustrophobic work world. It’s an unexpected gift.

    What if you were that person today?

    What if you made a decision—right here, right now—to bring the gift of a fun-loving, hard-working attitude to work today? That you would be extra positive, extra appreciative, extra helpful, extra conscientious… you take it from there with what you might do.

    The idea is simply to choose to be the source of the upbeat attitude infection.

    Nothing off the charts, simply an extra measure of good attitude. Not every day, just today. Not as some sort of grandiose mission, but more like giving a special, unexpected gift.

    Instead of donuts, flowers or coffee, your gift would be your attitude.

    Think about it. Think about trying it. Right here, right now.

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Where Do You Dig The Well In A Desert?

    When you need to stay in a job you hate, rolling out of bed in the morning can feel impossible.

    If your job gives you no reason to get up, then you need to give yourself one.

    The question becomes, “How can I create alternatives for myself, however limited they might be?” “How can I take some power back so I’m not merely being passive?” “How can I create my own meaning?”

    Creating an alternative for yourself will feel great, because you are shifting out of passive-mode into doing something for yourself. Of course, the question remains, Where do you dig the well in a desert?

    In this week’s podcast conversation, we offer three suggestions:

    1. Contribute something unsolicited.
    2. Connect with someone of interest.
    3. Explore something new that develops you.

    We’ll explore these three alternatives in future posts.

    I’m sorry you find yourself in the desert. Where do you look for sources of meaning, connection and/or development in the mean time?

    Joining the conversation just now? Catch up on the entire series, Toughing Out a Tough Job, by clicking here.

  • Toughing Out a Tough Job #2: When It Couldn’t Get More Boring

    Boredom is the kiss of death.

    Once boredom sets in, it’s like a slow, inevitable march toward madness. Nothing seems to matter. Energy levels plummet. The mind makes periodic escape attempts toward spectacular fantasies of life and adventure.

    The flip side of boredom, though, is challenge. Instead of blaming the boring job, you may be dealing with a changing you. It may be time for new challenges. Increased responsibilities. More complicated skills.

    But you can’t wait when bored. Time is your enemy. You need to take the initiative to seek out new opportunities or create them if they aren’t there.

    Boredom sucking the life out of you? Listen in to this week’s podcast conversation. (And don’t forget to leave a comment and say hi!)