Joy is a Feeling - so let's get comfortable with feelings

Feelings - welcoming the release of emotion. Unexpressed feelings can inhibit good thinking.

Thinking stops when we are upset. But if we express feelings just enough thinking restarts.

> Which emotions are safe to express at work?

> How might you talk more about how you feel and help your team to put a path forward.

Highly recommended reading on all things feelings.

Brené Brown - Atlas of the Heart

No Hard Feelings: Emotions at Work and How They Help Us Succeed - Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy

The Joy of Appreciation

Noticing what is good and saying it. The human mind works best in the presence of appreciation.

In this episode we talk about the small moments of connection where we can appreciate not only the work someone has done or outputs but to appreciate a quality in them, or something that they did that we appreciated.

That could be

Helping get the room ready for the meeting.

Asking a thoughtful question.

Their wisdom or courage.

We will also find it hard to appreciate others if we don't take time to notice what is good in our own lives.

Think of a time when a quality of yours was appreciated. What impact did that have?

What have you appreciated about your team this week? How can you let your team know?

The Joy of Difference

"Committing to freedom from untrue assumptions driving prejudice."

How can we find joy through challenging the assumptions that keep us blocked, limited, fixed and set against anything or anyone who is different.

When we challenge these assumptions we can explore and be open to new possibilities and opportunities. New ideas emerge, 

It starts with us and our personal commitment to challenge ourselves.

If you lead others we must choose to act and show our actions first. This starts with our choice to change and challenge our thinking.

The Joy of Equality

Ok I am going to be honest. If you are serious about creating equality there will be some discomfort first. In facing up to the fact that your meetings may not be places where there is equality. You will be able to take authentic and impactful action.

Once we have faced the discomfort deep joy and connection can be found from creating spaces where everyone is equal. Spaces where we regard each other as thinking peers.

In this episode we explore what meetings look like when there is not equality. What they could look like and how create equality. Spoiler alert they can be joyful, energising, refreshing and motivating - for everyone.

Some questions for reflection

Finding Joy through Encouragement

The third component of a Thinking Environment talks about - giving courage to go to the unexplored edge of thinking by ceasing competition as thinkers.

Where there is competition, judgement or fear of speaking up there will be no joy. There will be performance, conformity and a lack of creativity.

The questions I want to leave you with are..

Learn more about Time to Think and the Thinking Environment HERE

Welcome to the second episode of the Finding Joy Mini series.

Finding Joy with Ease

Ease is disregarding internal urgency.

How can we find ease and what impact will that have on our team finding ease?

When we are at ease we will be more present, be creative, notice what is good, connect powerfully.

Ease is destroyed by our digital distraction - emails, slack, WhatsApp, social media, notifications, meetings. All of these things are valuable and can serve us we just need to be intentional about how we use them, how we work at our best and what will help us to achieve our goals.

The first thing we can do is notice - where do we not feel at ease?

Then ask - what will make me feel more at ease?

Join me on Tuesday 2 September at 12.30pm for a lunch and learn where we will delve deeper into how we can Find Joy for Ourselves and how that will impact how we create joy for others at work.

I'm delighted to start this mini series on Finding Joy.

First up ATTENTION How we give ourselves attention

How we find those who will give us attention

How we give others attention

This is your leadership super power.

A skill that we are loosing in the age of distraction, productivity and overwhelm.

Even taking 90 seconds to pause will help you unlock joy for yourself and others.

"The quality of everything we do depends on the thinking we do first. The quality of our thinking depends on the attention we are given." Nancy Kline Time to Think

If the gold standard for leadership is to be inspiring how can we do that when we are feeling uninspired and unmotivated ourselves.

We need to find joy, our spark, our motivation.

When we find this joy will be infectious.

Trying to change others behaviour alone won't get us very far.

In fact often it leads to frustration.

Taking time to think and pause will change how you feel.

Taking time to think and pause will change how you spend your time.

Taking time to think and pause will change how you show up.

One of the biggest barriers leaders face is time - I don't have time to pause.

In this episode I talk to Tim Baker about how pausing and thinking transformed him from "grumpy Tim" to finding joy in his role and leading others.

You will also come away with a compelling reason to pause and think.

As well as gaining practical tools to help you put your thinking into action.

Reading and Resources

Nancy Kline - The Promise that Changes Everything
Pomodoro Technique
Pace and Perspective

You can find out more about my Leadership Inner Circles HERE.

Delve deeper - join me for a live Lunch and Learn on Tuesday 2 September where we will look at how we can Find Joy for Ourselves and others at work. Register HERE.

In this episode of the Unlocking Potential podcast we look at How to Manage Your Workload Effectively.

We start by considering our pace and perspective. If we are going too fast and are not looking up and out we will not be doing the work that will have the most impact. This exercise will also help you uncover the impact of staying at your pace and perspective.

We then look at the Eisenhower Matrix but check it against our pace and perspective and some of our internal assumptions that might stop us from taking meaningful action.

We close with a word on delegation - why it is your most powerful took for your workload management and for your teams motivation.

In June I'm running a FREE workshop called From Stuck to Soaring: Motivating Teams when targets aren't met. We will go deeper into some of these areas. You can sign up on my website emilypettytraining.com

90 Day Goal Setting to help you make progress.

This episode if for you if you find yourself

90 Day Goal Setting is a simple, but powerful, process that will help you set the direction of travel, stay on track and have something to celebrate at the end of the 90 days.

My Leadership Inner Circles are 90 days for a reason. We know that together there is a lot we can achieve when you create space to plan and find accountability.