Dr Alison Horstmeyer was doing research on anxiety. Then she came across some work on curiosity. “Is there a tie between anxiety and curiosity?” Alison takes us on this ride into our own inquisitiveness. “The way in which you explore is, is going to, determine how comfortable you are from leaving what you know, and also the degree in which you do that.” Though she uses terms like uncertainty and fear of it, heard during the depth of the pandemic, terms that became generalized and almost unempathetic. No oversimplification here. Just profound knowledge and help.
1 Comment
As consultants how many of us have been contracted to come in and solve one problem, when the real issue was covered up by an “ambiguous and complex situation.” Justin Zalewski and Studio Science thrive on those challenges and come out victorious every time. Be ready to take notes – and smile a lot. He covers it all, IT, overburdened, understaffed teams, etc.
In this spirited conversation, Justin Z (and his great voice) humbly share stories where their deep knowledge, agility, and not-quitting-until-they-got-the-right-answer-and-then-solved-it boldness were the most rewarding jobs for them. Of course, their clients were thrilled too. Still, when listening to Justin and his enthusiasm and wisdom about the connection between employees and Customer Experience and the executives, you know this man is on a mission to free all organizations from the old hierarchical way of doing things that barely get companies by. 
If you’re a caregiver or carer who also has a passion that you love, having your own small online business may be your answer. It’s been a godsend for Trudy Rankin’s Australia, and beyond, community. AND, if you already have a small business or online biz, then you need to know how quizzes can up your Customer Experience. Trudy teaches her groups how to fill needs and not just assume what you’re offering everybody wants. And just because she is the quiz queen, her work in helping the people that must be home all day, the angels that care for the people they love, find even more fulfillment with a side biz that brings joy to those who give and ultimately those that receive. Trudy’s humility and wisdom are worth way more than 30 minutes of your time.
Listen to the full interview below!
Learn more about Seth Greene and The Sharkprenuer podcast at
https://marketdominationllc.com/sharkpreneur/  What's My Future Here? Who would have thought it would take a worldwide pandemic to jolt us into analyzing our business organizations' hierarchy and their attitudes regarding their workforce. So here's the question that sparked the examination, "How the hell are we going to get people back to work?"
My dear C-Suite, this not 2008! You cannot stick your head in the sand and wait for everything to settle down. Jump for joy here because the reality is, things may never settle down. Studies and surveys are popping up all over, and the conclusions are all the same: Employees are pooped, exhausted, and dismayed. Yet, in between the moments of feeding Jason his breakfast, teaching Sophia the names of clouds, while trying to keep all this out of the view of their computer camera, your workforce was thinking. They asked themselves the hard questions that we all eventually come to when the suffering is too great:
A couple of stats:
My message to the esteemed group at the top: You've been given one of the greatest gifts one can have in a lifetime; the power to truly affect another person's growth, esteem, and talent. You can inspire boundless creativity. You can be surprised out of your wit by the exhilaration of collaborating with people – people who laid their future in your hands. Step into the shoes you've been given and be the leader others want to follow. For over a decade, I've been going into organizations working with teams and their bosses and supervisors. It doesn't take much for an employee to feel appreciated, heard, and vested. And it can't be a token or a crumb – not acceptable anymore. The irony of it all is that when you take the time to nourish your workers and focus on Employee Experience (EX), the productivity you're presently commanding will exceed the quality you wanted. Then watch what happens to the Customer Experience (CX) – out of the park! It's that simple. So, stop thinking about your next flight to the moon and start treating people the way they want and deserve to be treated. "Yes, and…" new ideas, be vulnerable – you do not have all the answers, LISTEN, engage, make a playground for bold new solutions by allowing for creativity without judgment. And don't order that ping pong table just yet. Instead, smile, walk out of your office, and start being curious. The rewards are boundless.
Listen to the entire interview below!
Learn more about Frank Wilson and Licensed to Coach at www.spreaker.com/show/licence-to-coach Leadership: The New Normal is already old. The BETTER Normal is right in your lap. Please use it!6/9/2021  It appears the hospitality industry has a challenging time finding new hires for their establishments. Presently, they are not alone. But in restaurants and lodging, something is even more apparent.
Besides the nonexistence of any work/life balance (long hours, 6-day workweeks), ex-hospitality employees want to be treated better. As reported on NPR’s Marketplace, according to Jennifer Tierney of Tierney Recruiting Services, the persons in charge “… comes in and screams and yells at people, and people are just sick of it.” Some owners and supervisors feel they have to be demanding, impatient, and rude to get what they want. This mentality may be left-over from the Great Depression, you-should-be-lucky-you-have-a-job attitude. So, what is it that management wants? They want the appearance of a smooth-running operation that puts customers and guests first. But come on, your guests can see right through that smoke ‘n mirrors. No unhappy employee has the capacity or the desire to deliver an authentic, incredible Customer Experience. (CX). Sometimes, the facilitator/trainer (me) gets the call to come in and fix them — please, teach the staff how to deliver an outstanding CX. Sure. My number one requirement; that the owner/manager be part of the workshop and that the owner/manager comes open to hear and learn something new. It’s simple. If they say no, I don’t go. It’s too frustrating for the staff. Here’s the exciting part; when the boss participates, all kinds of magic happen. Attitudes change. When staff interacts with the “boss” and laughs and truths are shared, everyone gets to see each other in a new light. Glimpses of hope appear in this trusting environment, especially as barriers come down and humanness and vulnerability are exposed. The culture transforms, employees are glad to be at work, pass it down to the guest/customer, and an Audacious Outrageous CX becomes organic and, soon, Legendary. Will this happen overnight? Usually not. Will it happen when respectful and generous communications are practiced consistently on both sides? Absolutely! Are you going to be perfect? No. Perfect is tedious and impossible. Are efforts being made to deepen collaborations and communications? That’s all anybody wants. Now is an ideal time, as all our businesses begin roaring full speed ahead, for changing habits and ways of thinking that no longer serve you, your staff, or your customers/guests. One last word to management, owners, supervisors — very simply, if you don’t find it fun coaching and inspiring other people, get out of that position — now. Or get a middle person who knows what a gift and honor it is to guide and lead other people to be their best. Next week — When we consider employees as our internal guests/customers and make Employee Experience (EX) a top priority, everyone wins.  No matter how eloquent the words, we cannot transmit the joy, excitement, or change in perspective when we experience pure spontaneity. It awakens the creativity in us we didn’t think we had. It demonstrates fearlessness. There is no need for applause as self-satisfaction is far greater than the world’s admiration. What stops us from letting it rip – to feel the freedom of spontaneity? 1. Fear of looking foolish Some of you are thinking, “Easy for you to say. I’m not going to risk looking like a fool. My team, family, friends, teachers have shut me down too many times. Not worth the risk. Someday though…” How about someday being now? Heck, we’re in the middle, end, who knows, of a pandemic that has jolted our need for everything to go as planned – a delusion even before March 2019. Now’s the time to let it rip! We all know what it feels like when we’ve had that missed opportunity to self-express. “I should have said…” or “I wish I had asked…” “Maria’s idea is good, and I could have added on to it.” I don’t know about you, but when I have the opportunity to express myself, and I don’t take, it’s me judging me – a worse consequence than fearing whatever you may be thinking. 2. Overthinking Besides the fear of being blocked by someone or a group, we overthink things. This habitual over-analysis grows stronger until there’s no way we’re opening our mouths. We second guess ourselves at every turn. I have a great second-guesser. Life is clipping along, and by the time we are ready to share, the opportunity is gone. No, really! 3. Perfectionism Perfectionism has become a most acceptable character defect. Society thinks it’s cute. Some of us wear it like a badge of honor. We hold back our enthusiasm because it may not sound perfectly thought out and then perfectly expressed. Then comes the day we recognize our isolation, lack of creativity, and rut we’re in is more damaging than people being witness to our mistakes. We cleverly and rightly so identify our need to be perfect as an addiction. Hence, those that have found liberation from it call themselves recovered perfectionists. (In full disclosure, I spent three hours searching for the "right" pics)
Where we jump in with a big smile on our face and surprise ourselves with originality. Jumping in may look like speaking up at a meeting and pretending not to care what others think. (Besides, other people’s thoughts are not our business.) Throw that idea out on the table and be ok without knowing why you think it would work. Dance your goofy dance, sing that song, tell the person you love that love them, sit back and feel the freedom gained.
Are you open today to be so perfectly present that you forgo approval (or disapproval) to let your wisdom, ideas, and creativity – rip? Don’t think. Just answer.  1. Play 2. Play 3. Play As I began researching this article, I started asking Google, what are the scientific benefits of laughter? Even though we all know how we feel when we laugh, I wanted the facts. The facts for all those naysayers who say they like to laugh but who don't believe it belongs in the workplace, which currently, for many of us, is in our kitchen, dining room, or stairwell. We all know how we feel when we laugh when those magical hormones, endorphins go up and that stress, that we didn't even know we had, is gone, and the TV blaring in the other room? who cares! There are nine million results on google, for the “scientific benefit of laughter.” Mayoclinic is the first to write about it. “Stress Relief from laughter – it’s no joke.” How cute is that?! But, I got more curious. You see, I’m not a big fan of one person who’s “just great at telling jokes.” A lot of times, I am that person. And I am pretty good at it. Still, not satisfying. So, where else can we find healthy laughter at work? Through play. I looked up the scientific benefits of play. What??? Not just 9 or 10 million like laughter. How about 125 million results on the scientific benefits of ADULT play!!! I even qualified it – no kids play here! Gray, research professor of psychology at Boston College, shares a few of his findings. Play:
What’s most important to note, is that we’re not just talking about sports games. In fact, for my purposes, we’re going to set that aside. What about the rest of us who just can’t catch the soft ball anymore, or ever could? There is play you can do right now, in Zoom or Teams, whatever the virtual platform. Now, tell me, which of the handful of benefits above do you feel would NOT be a game changer for your organization – in the middle of a pandemic? Here’s a quick activity you can start with today. SUPERHERO/SUPERPOWER Activity |
Maxine ShapiroDynamic speaker, coach and training professional. Popular Posts
Archives
August 2023
|
RSS Feed