Even managers and leaders can have times when staying motivated is difficult. Maybe it's is something at home bothering you, employee issues or concerns, or just from feeling overwhelmed. It happens. If it happens every day, you need to take a look at what you are doing and why you are doing it? Are you truly happy with your job choice? Remember, life is about choices you make. If you are not motivated all the time, find the reason why and move forward. I can help with that.
If motivation is short lived, here are a few tips to keep you and your team motivated:
1 - Take a break. As managers and leaders, we forget to take a day off or to shut down during vacation. So do it. Remember, if you are a great leader, your team will survive without you for a day or two.
2 - Celebrate. Bring free coffees in to your team, or even a treat. This may not feel like it will motivate you, but when you receive the thank you's, you may feel motivated to take on the day.
3 - Team Building. This can help motivate you and your team. Make it fun, and not a "corporate is making us do something stupid" thing. Think outside the box. If possible get away from the office for it. Maybe an escape room, after work dinner, games day, or even ask for ideas.
4 - Get Support. If you are not feeling motivated, tell those who make sense (not necessarily your team - you are their motivator). Tell a friend, family member or your coach and work on taking steps to feel better.
5 - Get Outside. This may seem obvious to some, but how often do you actually go out for a walk at lunch? Go for a hike on the weekend? Enjoy a fire with some neighbours? Getting outside away from your electronics will bring back some energy that a lack of motivation can steal.
For more help, please do reach out as I am here to help. Email me at tara@twinlifecoaching.ca or visit our website at www.twinlifecoaching.ca.
Tara
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Keeping Things Organized
You have only so many hours a day and want some work / life balance...and so do your employees. So what do you do to get that? Be organized.
1 - Get rid of emails you receive regularly from your suppliers by unsubscribing. They can call you or you can reach out to them when the time arises. For a lot of leaders and managers this can significantly reduce your daily or weekly emails.
2 - Organize your inbox. Create rules that move emails when they come in. For example, have all emails you are cc'ed on moved to a CC folder for your review when you are able.
3 - When using an out of office on email or the phone, give the person on the other end someone else to contact while you are unavailable. This can also significantly decrease workloads when you return from a vacation, business trip, etc.
4 - Going on vacation? Tell everyone! Again, give them another contact for that time and you will see a huge drop in your emails and phone messages...and when you are on vacation do NOT answer them. Unless dire and urgent, there is no need to answer them. This just allows others to think it is okay to contact you on vacation when you need rest.
5 - Cross train. No one person should be the only one who knows how to do something. An organized leader will ensure their team is able to work without one or two of them there (think vacation, short term illness, etc).
6 - Practise the 5S process - Sort, Set In Order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain (Google it now and I will explain in a later post).
7 - Get rid of or store documents no longer needed. Check your governments website for how long you actually need to keep records (hire a lawyer to help if you aren't sure). This will help get rid of the paper clutter we all have around.
8 - Talk to your employees about what reports or other tasks you actually need and don't need. Review this annually. Maybe one of your employees runs a sales report for you and you never review it. Think: is this really worth the time it takes my employee away from other duties? Are we doing it just because we always have? Can I get rid of it and free up some of my employee's time? if you can, then do it. Times change fast, so the tasks your employees did last year need reviewed to ensure they are still relevant. You may find a lot of freed up time by doing this.
Organization is one of the keys to success...there are tones of tips out there and I will continue to share throughout my posts.
Until next time you can always contact me at tara@twinlifecoaching.ca or find us on the web at www.twinlifecoaching.ca.
Tara
1 - Get rid of emails you receive regularly from your suppliers by unsubscribing. They can call you or you can reach out to them when the time arises. For a lot of leaders and managers this can significantly reduce your daily or weekly emails.
2 - Organize your inbox. Create rules that move emails when they come in. For example, have all emails you are cc'ed on moved to a CC folder for your review when you are able.
3 - When using an out of office on email or the phone, give the person on the other end someone else to contact while you are unavailable. This can also significantly decrease workloads when you return from a vacation, business trip, etc.
4 - Going on vacation? Tell everyone! Again, give them another contact for that time and you will see a huge drop in your emails and phone messages...and when you are on vacation do NOT answer them. Unless dire and urgent, there is no need to answer them. This just allows others to think it is okay to contact you on vacation when you need rest.
5 - Cross train. No one person should be the only one who knows how to do something. An organized leader will ensure their team is able to work without one or two of them there (think vacation, short term illness, etc).
6 - Practise the 5S process - Sort, Set In Order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain (Google it now and I will explain in a later post).
7 - Get rid of or store documents no longer needed. Check your governments website for how long you actually need to keep records (hire a lawyer to help if you aren't sure). This will help get rid of the paper clutter we all have around.
8 - Talk to your employees about what reports or other tasks you actually need and don't need. Review this annually. Maybe one of your employees runs a sales report for you and you never review it. Think: is this really worth the time it takes my employee away from other duties? Are we doing it just because we always have? Can I get rid of it and free up some of my employee's time? if you can, then do it. Times change fast, so the tasks your employees did last year need reviewed to ensure they are still relevant. You may find a lot of freed up time by doing this.
Organization is one of the keys to success...there are tones of tips out there and I will continue to share throughout my posts.
Until next time you can always contact me at tara@twinlifecoaching.ca or find us on the web at www.twinlifecoaching.ca.
Tara
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Change and Your People
As my organization is going through many big changes right now, I thought it would be a good time to write a bit about this.
Usually leaders and managers know and understand the changes much better than the people on the floor or in the office. This means your employees may overhear conversations, not understand them and become worried, frustrated or scared for their job security. Maybe you are talking budget cuts and you know it won't affect them, but do they?
Ensuring your employees are in the know as much as they need to be is important. They don't have to know everything, but give them enough information so they are not fearful. Remember, if your company is not doing well or undergoing major changes, this can demotivate employees and actually make things worse. Being more open about why changes are coming, what they are and how they may affect people is important.
Management teams do sometimes forget the biggest human element in change management - emotions. We all have emotions and will go through them whether it be: shock, frustration, acceptance, depression, fear, etc. We must be prepared to manage the emotions of our employees in a way that allows us to move forward with change in a positive manner. How do you do this? Share information. Maybe you say that you are making cost cuts due to expected slow downs and ask them if they have any ideas on how your department can help. This may actually prove a huge benefit and help you eliminate the need to cut people or other items you know you need or will need in the future.
If your company is not open book, then share what you can to ensure your employees will be by your side, help in managing the change and have a positive outlook.
Until next time, you can reach me at tara@twinlifecoaching.ca or feel free to check us out online at www.twinlifecoaching.ca.
Usually leaders and managers know and understand the changes much better than the people on the floor or in the office. This means your employees may overhear conversations, not understand them and become worried, frustrated or scared for their job security. Maybe you are talking budget cuts and you know it won't affect them, but do they?
Ensuring your employees are in the know as much as they need to be is important. They don't have to know everything, but give them enough information so they are not fearful. Remember, if your company is not doing well or undergoing major changes, this can demotivate employees and actually make things worse. Being more open about why changes are coming, what they are and how they may affect people is important.
Management teams do sometimes forget the biggest human element in change management - emotions. We all have emotions and will go through them whether it be: shock, frustration, acceptance, depression, fear, etc. We must be prepared to manage the emotions of our employees in a way that allows us to move forward with change in a positive manner. How do you do this? Share information. Maybe you say that you are making cost cuts due to expected slow downs and ask them if they have any ideas on how your department can help. This may actually prove a huge benefit and help you eliminate the need to cut people or other items you know you need or will need in the future.
If your company is not open book, then share what you can to ensure your employees will be by your side, help in managing the change and have a positive outlook.
Until next time, you can reach me at tara@twinlifecoaching.ca or feel free to check us out online at www.twinlifecoaching.ca.
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