Everywhere I look nowadays I see something about stress and reducing stress. When my doctor inquired about my stress level, he seems shocked when I said "Zero". I guess most of his patients feel stress. I just don't. I have a friend who was nice enough to point out all the things that I should be stressed about, "kids, work, money". Thanks for that buddy, but nope, still not feeling stressed.
Can stress ever FEEL like a positive?
Stress impacts the body negatively, but are there times when it can be perceived as a positive?
Can we trick our minds?
While I was attending a Leadership Retreat (CTI) last week, we were asked to identify what we need to let go of, in order to become a better leader. For me, it was “letting go of the idea that people are idiots”. Of course, I don’t mean you, dear reader, it’s everyone else.
In a Utopian workplace environment, every employee would arrive with a smile on their face, diligently work on projects about which they are passionate, interact with and assist their colleagues, have a great relationship with their boss, and when the going gets tough they would roll up their sleeves and pitch in without a second thought.
In recent times, more and more attention is given to the importance of mental health in the workplace. We now know what is at stake when we don’t create safe, sound working environments. In Australia, mental health compensation claims annually cost $145.9 million and the resulting absenteeism costs a further $4.7 billion.
We conducted a Q&A interview with Suzie Lewis, Managing Director at Transform for Value, around business transformation, strategic organisational change, and the importance of inclusion and wellbeing within an organisation.
Could you introduce yourself and what you do?
Are great leaders born or made? Some would argue that only those born with certain personality traits grow up to be leaders. Others argue that leadership skills are developed as one grows, through practice and education. Most likely, both factors play a significant role in how someone turns out.
Workplace Wellness programs are all the rage these days – and rightly so.
You don't need to be a doctor, analyst or accountant to realize that healthier employees are going to take less sick days and be more productive while at work....which obviously helps the bottom-line.
And it's also true that for many employees, a healthier body also leads to less stress, emotional well-being and a happier mindset.
Simply put, a fit and healthy workforce makes good business sense.
A collective silence about leadership problems that are in plain sight arises when no-one dares to be the one who speaks the truth to the leader. Providing constructive feedback to a narcissistic leader is a courageous move. A common survival strategy for the group of people around such a leader is to stick together, and generally, say 'yes' or nothing at all.
I attended the most recent DisruptHR event in London, which always has the most amazing speakers, and was encouraged to hear the talk by Antony Sloan, HR Director of Legal.