Patricia Thompson's Blog

When you’ve got a fast-paced and demanding job, carving out time to focus on your own mental wellbeing can be a challenge.

Whether you have lots of deadlines that you’re trying to hit, calls to make, or you’re simply trying to focus on your tasks so you can keep up with everything you need to do, attending to your own self-care can sometimes end up at the bottom of your list of priorities.

Whatever the reason for not focusing on your mental wellness, if you neglect it for too long, it can catch up to you.  It could be seriously affecting your daily life, and by extension, your performance at work. And often, this can happen completely outside of your awareness.

Many professionals suffer from exhaustion, burnout, and fatigue – in fact, a recent survey found that over 52% of respondents reported these feelings. So, if this sounds familiar, you’re certainly not alone. Much of the time, these issues can be attributed to getting out of balance by becoming overly focused on your professional obligations and not taking enough time self-care.

Taking time to nurture your wellbeing may seem like yet another obligation when you have so much else on your plate, but really, it’s all about putting yourself first and keeping the long game in mind.

Finding the time to work on your own mental health will help you to feel better, while also boosting your productivity and efficiency in the workplace.

With that in mind, here are five tips that I encourage you to implement to improve your mental wellness.

5 TIPS FOR BETTER MENTAL HEALTH 1. CONNECT WITH OTHERS

Being close to others is a basic human need that we all share. When we start to feel isolated, ignored, or undervalued by others, it can really affect our own well-being and sense of worth.

The relationships that we have with others are an important part of who we are. We all need people to talk to when we face challenges, to support us when we need extra encouragement, and people who can help us to feel happier when we’re down. Research consistently highlights the protective role that having social support can make in terms of our mental and physical health.

Going out of your way to cultivate relationships, or even talk to someone, can make a big difference with respect to your feelings of connection, so why not try:

Talking to a colleague in-person or by phone rather than just emailing them,Starting a conversation with someone newHaving a meaningful discussion with someone you work with, rather than just the usual small talkCalling a close friend or family member after work and really finding out how they areSuggesting going to a restaurant or coffee shop with a co-worker during your lunch break 2. GET OUT AND EXERCISE

Regular exercise is another way to build vitality, as it is associated with increased energy levels. When you work out,

Being stuck inside an office or sitting at your desk in the home office all day can often mean you don’t have the chance to get outside and enjoy some fresh air. Therefore, it’s critical to be intentional about trying to find ways to regularly incorporate exercise into your day.

Research has found that being sedentary has a negative impact on physical and mental and physical health. On the other hand, not only can exercise help to slow down age-related cognitive decline, it can also act as a serious mood booster.

Whether it’s going for a short walk on your lunch break or going to the gym after a day’s work, you should find that your mental health starts to improve the more regularly you get your heart rate up.

You don’t have to be running marathons to benefit from the feel-good effects of exercise, why not try:

Taking the stairs up to your office instead of the elevatorWalking to your favorite coffee shop on your lunch breakWalking or cycling to work instead of drivingBooking a tennis court for you and a friend after workTrying out a new exercise or yoga class at your local gym (or enjoy virtual instruction at home) 3. LEARN A NEW SKILL

Once we leave school, many of us stop focusing on learning new things, which is such a shame!

Continued learning throughout your life can work wonders for your mental wellbeing, keep your brain agile and ease feelings of depression or anxiety.

Learning doesn’t mean that you need to take a demanding course that will add to your stress levels. Instead, learning during your adult life can be fun, as you can choose exactly what you want to learn, and when you want to learn it.

Why not try:

Signing up for a creative class like pottery, painting, or dance, or something else that you’ve always wanted to trySubscribing to a new magazine or podcast on a topic that you don’t know much aboutStarting a book club with some friends or work colleaguesBuying a crossword or Sudoku bookDownloading an app that helps you learn a new language 4. FOCUS ON THE PRESENT

Our laptops and smartphones provide us with convenience and flexibility, however, they also make us available

When you’re getting stressed out, it’s easy to focus on things that have happened in the past, or things that you’re expecting to happen in the future.

While planning and reflecting are essential for making effective decisions, when they become worry or catastrophizing, they can get in the way of your mental wellbeing. In those moments, it can often be helpful to make a conscious effort to focus on the present moment through mindfulness.

Taking a moment to breathe deeply and consider your thoughts, feelings, body, and the physical world around you can be a grounding practice that can help you to move from making knee-jerk reactions to intentional choices. With practice, mindfulness can help you to be more aware of your feelings and can positively change your outlook on life.

To pull yourself into the present moment, ask yourself the following questions and write the answers down:

What emotions am I feeling right now?How am I responding to these emotions?What’s going on around me? Describe in as much detailHow does my body feel? Do I feel strong, in control, tired?How might I reframe my thoughts to look at the situation differently?5. IMPROVE YOUR MORNING TIME

Your morning can often set the tone for your entire day. Therefore, if it gets off on the wrong foot, you might find yourself playing catch up for the remainder of your time devoted to work.

On the other hand, having a slow, mindful, and relaxed morning routine can give you time to ease yourself into the day, while avoiding the unpleasant feeling of being stressed and harried, as you rush to get yourself (and your kids) started on time.

If you want to create a mindful morning routine that prioritizes your mental wellbeing, here are some steps you could follow:

Wake up 30 minutes before you normally would so you have time to take things at a more comfortable paceMake yourself a healthy breakfast that nourishes your body (or you could prep it the night before)Drink a big glass of waterHave 15 minutes of ‘me-time’ which could be meditating, writing in a journal, or reviewing your priorities for the dayTry to get outside or get in some exercise, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

If you need more help improving your mental wellness, why not take one of my courses? With topics ranging from mindfulness, to emotional intelligence, to leadership, they can help you to be happier and more productive.

The post 5 Easy Mental Wellness Tips for Professionals to Practice appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.

The Oxford dictionary defines vitality as, “energy and enthusiasm.” Derived from the Latin, vita, which means “life,” it’s a feeling of aliveness, both mentally and physically.

The image that comes to mind when I think of vitality, is seeing my third-grader on the playground with his friends when I come to pick him up after school. They’re completely engaged and present in what they’re doing, and enjoying it fully. They’ve got boundless energy – sometimes even breaking out into impromptu skipping. When he runs to the car, he can’t wait to tell me about the excitements of the day – like new things that he’s learned, fun interactions with classmates, and new games he and his friends have created.

While that level of energy seems to be a given for him and his peers, once we reach adulthood, many of us set the bar much lower in terms of how we expect to feel. In fact, if we’re merely managing stress and feeling neutral, we think we’re doing a pretty good job. And, while I’m not suggesting that you need to start galloping to the break room or your home office, wouldn’t it be nice to have a greater sense of zest, enthusiasm, and general joie de vivre? Wouldn’t that make your personal life more enjoyable? Wouldn’t it enable you to get more done?

In his PERMA model of flourishing, positive psychology legend, Martin Seligman, originally included five elements that contribute to an individual’s sense of well-being. They are: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement. Research has consistently demonstrated the important role that they play with respect to personal fulfillment and peak performance. Later on, however, based on the input of Emiliya Zhivotovskaya, Seligman realized that while all of these psychologically-based elements are essential, his model was incomplete. As a result, he eventually revised it to the PERMA+V model, to include the critically important physically-based concept of vitality.

CULTIVATING VITALITY

In their Harvard Business Review article “The Making of a Corporate Athlete,” Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, argued that energy lays the foundation for our capacity to work. After all, if you set aside time to devote to a given task, but are too tired to do it, your performance will be sub-optimal. Therefore, ensuring that you have enough fuel in the tank to support your daily activities is a necessary component of vitality.

The practice of tending to your body’s needs is referred to as energy management. This is done by being intentional about alternating between energy expenditure and recovery. Unfortunately, based on my experience as a coach, I have witnessed that many professionals see recovery as a luxury, as opposed to something that they should attend to purposely. When feeling tired, they often choose to “grind it out,” instead of taking breaks. However, just as a high-performance athlete needs to schedule in time for rest and recovery to avoid over-training, those who want to maintain a high level of performance at work need to build in recovery time, to avoid burnout.

Just as a high-performance athlete needs to schedule in time for rest and recovery to avoid over-training, those who want to maintain a high level of performance at work need to build in recovery time, to avoid burnout.

So, how do you manage your energy, to enhance your sense of vitality? Here are some tips you can start putting into practice today.

1. PRIORITIZE SLEEP

Most of us have experienced the feeling of dragging through the day due to a lack of sleep. Yet, when things get busy at work, sleep is often one of the first things that many people sacrifice. In addition to the decreased energy we experience when we haven’t had enough sleep, research has shown that sleep deprivation can negatively affect our critical thinking, decision-making, and creativity. It also makes us more prone to irritability, anxiety, and stress. If you wake up in the morning and aren’t feeling rested and recharged, there’s a good chance that you aren’t getting enough sleep. To combat this, engage in healthy sleep hygiene practices. In addition, taking naps, when needed, has also been shown to boost productivity.

2. MOVE YOUR BODY

Regular exercise is another way to build vitality, as it is associated with increased energy levels. When you work out, your body generates more mitochondria (the “powerhouse” cells), and increases oxygen circulation, making your body function more efficiently. If you’re a regular exerciser, you’ve also likely experienced the mood-enhancing effects of endorphins. Therefore, taking time to exercise throughout the week is necessary for maximizing your vitality. Some research has suggested that exercising in the morning is linked with more morning alertness, and getting tired in the evening (which sets you up nicely for sleeping). It also may make you more prone to stick with the habit. However, although I’m a morning person who likes to work out early in the day, I advise my clients to be practical, and schedule it whenever they’re most likely to do it.

If you are aiming to enhance your vitality, in addition to getting regular exercise, you should also move your body during the day. Prolonged sitting is linked to a host of physical conditions, including vascular conditions, pain, cancer, heart disease, and even premature death. In addition researchers found that every additional hour of average daily sitting was associated with a 2% decrease in the thickness of the medial temporal lobe – a portion of the brain associated with memory function. To address this, consider using a standing or walking desk. Or, move around throughout the day – whether it’s a quick walk around the block or stretching. I sometimes like to take dance breaks between meetings (at home, of course).

3. FOCUS ON NUTRITION

We all know we’re supposed to make healthy food choices. In addition to the obvious effects on our bodies, research also shows that it can affect our moods. Our diets can also contribute to inflammation, which has been linked with feelings of depression. (Other factors that can lead to inflammation include lack of sleep, exercise, obesity, gut permeability, allergies, dental issues, and others). Again, to use the analogy of fuel, giving your body the fuel it needs to function optimally is really important, if you want a greater sense of vitality.

On a personal level, although I was well aware of the research about nutrition, I had historically been pretty hit-or-miss in terms of actually applying it. However, last year, I made the decision to cut sugar and processed foods out of my diet. Although the few-day adjustment period to this new way of eating was unpleasant, once I got through it, I couldn’t believe how much energy I had. When the late afternoon rolled around, the difference between how I usually felt, compared to how I felt when giving my body the nutrients (and hydration) it needed was actually shocking. Currently, when I decide to eat something that I know isn’t particularly nutritious, the effects on my energy level and physical functioning are palpable (like putting the wrong type of fuel into a premium tank). If you’ve been on the fence about cleaning up your diet, I encourage you to give it a try – it just might make a monumental difference in terms of how you feel.

4. RECHARGE BY DISCONNECTING

Our laptops and smartphones provide us with convenience and flexibility, however, they also make us available around the clock. Research suggests that when employees are available 24-7, they are more prone to burnout in the workplace. Being unable to disconnect also tends to decreases one’s sense of autonomy, which in research, has been linked to decreased vitality. With many more of us working from home, it can be harder to set boundaries between our personal and professional lives. Still, doing so is critical, to give yourself a chance to recharge.

In addition to disconnecting throughout the week, taking time for vacations will also support your sense of well-being. Taking vacations has been linked to improved mental health, increased productivity, and even decreased risk of heart disease. Although Covid-19 has admittedly made the prospect of taking a vacation more complicated, even staycations, in which you fully disconnect, may provide some benefit.

CLOSING

The business world is one in which we often put so much emphasis on our minds, that we can overlook how our bodies can support us in driving better outcomes. Therefore, a common concern I hear from clients, is that taking time away from work to focus on self-care will decrease their productivity. However, in the research literature, vitality has been linked to better job performance, and better coping with psychological stress.

Ultimately, on a foundational level, vitality comes down to listening to your body and giving it what it needs to thrive. It’s about making yourself enough of a priority that you create the small habits that will accumulate into creating a higher quality of life and greater performance across the board. Who could argue with that?

The post Want to Boost Your Sense of Vitality? Here’s How to Start appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.

Four essential steps to being an inclusive leader

Over the past few years, organizations have been more intentional about bringing in a diverse workforce. Though long overdue, these efforts are just a first step. Hiring people from different backgrounds might make a company look more favorable on paper in terms of their demographics; however, to avoid tokenism, and to really benefit from the different perspectives being brought in, it’s also critical to focus on leveraging that diversity by being an inclusive leader.

The Society for Human Resource Management defines inclusion as, “the achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success.” In other words, it’s a setting in which everyone has a voice, feels accepted and valued for who they are, and works under conditions that allow them to perform at their best. 

In a study reported in 2015, Deloitte found that inclusive workplaces are six times as likely to be innovative, and had 2.3 times the cash flow per employee over non-inclusive workplaces. Therefore, in addition to being the right thing to do on a moral level, inclusion leads to better business results.

If you want to be an inclusive leader, who creates a psychologically safe environment in which your team can do their best work, here are four ways to get started:

1. Strive to Be Aware of Your Biases

Biases, by their very nature, can operate outside of our awareness. Still, if your goal is to be an inclusive leader, you should be intentional about trying to limit yours. According to Dolly Chugh, one way to do this, is to aim to be a “good-ish” person, as opposed to a good one. In her book,  The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias, Chugh argues that if your goal is to see yourself as a “good” person, you’ll be more prone to guard against taking an honest look at some of the ways in which you might be biased, in order to protect your self-concept. However, if you can think of yourself as someone who is “good-ish,” but learning, you’ll be less defensive when reflecting on the ways that you could grow and develop. 

With that greater sense of openness, you can take further steps to interrupt your biases. Some things you could try include reading to learn more about the nature of bias, exposing yourself to greater diversity in your media and entertainment viewing, and ensuring that your network is diverse. The more you learn about people who are different from you, the more empathy you will develop, and the less bias you will likely have.  Also, be sure to question yourself, particularly if you find yourself having knee-jerk reactions in which you dismiss the views of those who are different from you. Instead, get curious, and use it as an opportunity for listening, learning, and self-reflection.

2. Create a welcoming environment

I’ll never forget the first consulting trip of my career. On the way to meet with the CEO, I walked through the corridor adorned with portraits of all the former organizational CEOs (all white men, which obviously isn’t unexpected given the under-representation of women and minorities in senior leadership). I then sat down in his office and looked around to see the room decorated with civil war memorabilia and art depicting battle scenes from that era. As you might imagine, that immediately gave me some reservations about how much my opinions would be valued.

If you want to be an inclusive leader, you should do what you can to create a welcoming environment. You can do this in small ways, by putting your pronouns on your Linked In and Zoom profiles, for example, and making the effort to learn how to pronounce people’s names properly. Also, be thoughtful about the work environment. Are different cultures represented in artwork? What books are in your office? Do they reflect diversity? (And, have you read them?) Those seemingly little touches can alert to people that you are open to diversity, and that the workplace is more prone to be a safe space for them.

In addition,  ask your employees about their traditions and holidays that are important to them. Being sensitive to that when scheduling important events, so that you are not creating conflicts for people. One strategy would be to create a shared google calendar, in which people could note cultural days that are important to them. Ask your team for their suggestions about ways to make the environment more inclusive, and, to the extent that you can, put that feedback into action. 

3. Hold Inclusive Meetings

One of the strengths of diversity is the ability to bring people with varying perspectives together to solve problems. Therefore, it defeats the purpose of having diverse talent if their views aren’t getting expressed or considered. To ensure you’re being an inclusive leader who gives everyone a voice, here are a few best practices to put in place for your meetings:

Send out agendas before the meeting – This make your meetings more efficient, by giving people a chance to get their thoughts together ahead of time. This can be particularly beneficial for the introverts, who may have a harder time speaking off the cuff, compared to the extroverts on your team.Pay attention to who is speaking and who is quiet. Moderate accordingly – If you have a few people who tend to take up more airtime, make sure that those who are less assertive in voicing their opinions have adequate airtime as well. If you have introverts who tend to be quieter, you can ask them if they have anything they would like to add nearer to the end of the discussion, to give them time to process and get their thoughts together. If you notice gender or race disparities with respect to who you call on first, pause, and then make different choices.Monitor interruptions – Make a no-interruption rule, and enforce it. This will likely benefit women, as research has found that men are more likely to talk over others, particularly in dominant ways that can shut down the conversation. Give credit – Have you ever been in a meeting in which you expressed an idea, had it seemingly ignored, and then later on, someone made the same point and was met with positive feedback? If you want to be an inclusive leader, it’s your job to be on the lookout for such instances, and tactfully ensure that the correct person gets credit for their idea. (It could be as simple as saying, “John, that’s a nice way of restating the point Aisha made earlier. Aisha, did you have anything to add to that?”)4. Make it Easy for Employees to Market Themselves

To avoid this, encourage your employees to celebrate their successes. During your one-on-one meetings with them, don’t just focus on the obstacles they’re facing and how you can help them. In addition, ask them to tell you about their recent accomplishments, challenges they’ve overcome, and things they’ve done that have made them proud of themselves. If you have individuals who are particularly humble, coach them. Let them know that you expect them to share this sort of information with you, so that everyone’s contributions get the appreciation they deserve.

To be an inclusive leader requires self-reflection, openness, and a willingness to continually listen to, and learn from your employees. But, when you make the effort to do so, you’ll be rewarded with a healthier culture, and better results.

The post Four Essential Steps to Being an Inclusive Leader appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.

How much time do you spend on strategic thinking?

If you’re like the majority of the professionals I come into contact with, the answer is, “not enough.”

Although strategic thought is something that is essential to success, the truth is, that most people don’t spend enough time focused on it. Instead, the seemingly more pressing tasks that crop up day-to-day tend to get the bulk of our immediate attention. As a result, visualizing, planning, strategizing, and other bigger picture considerations, often become after-thoughts.

In the Art of War, Chinese General, Sun Tzu, wrote “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” If you’re strong at tactics but need to incorporate more strategic thought into your work, here are some suggestions.

1. Set aside time

In my experience, a lot of professionals have so much on their plates, that they simply don’t allot time to strategic thinking. It’s the kind of thing that they know they should do, but because the results aren’t as immediate and tangible as checking an item off of your task list, they often don’t get to it. As a result, it never happens.

As a best practice, I recommend setting aside time on your calendar to devote to strategy. If you think you don’t have the time, then start small, with an hour per week.  Use that time to take a step back from the day-to-day to reflect on how things are going with your business, your team, and your career. By making strategic thought as much of a priority as the tactics, you’ll be able to ensure that it gets the attention it deserves.

2. Make sure your “cows and fences” are in order

There’s a saying that goes, “Are you too busy chasing your cows to build a fence?” In other words, are you spending so much time attending to crises that you aren’t focusing enough on identifying the underlying issues that are creating those crises? 

If you’re constantly dealing with fire drills, take a step back to try to figure out why. Is there a broken process that needs to be addressed? Or perhaps a process that needs to be put in place? Do you need to delegate more or develop your staff in order to free up your time to attend to higher level issues? Be on the lookout for these opportunities, so that you can ensure your business is operating at its peak.

3. Have a Commitment to Lifelong Learning

The best strategic thinkers I know are also the most intellectually curious. They’re the kind of people who are not content to just know what they already know – they have a hunger for knowledge in general. They read. They listen to podcasts. They take online courses. They love to learn for the sake of learning. 

In addition, they don’t limit themselves to their own field. Instead, they are open to learning just about anything. This helps them to think strategically, because strategic thinking involves considering things from multiple perspectives. The more you know and have been exposed to, the more potential ideas can spark. So, if you want to be more strategic, make sure that you are constantly learning.

4. Seek Others’ Advice

If you want to be strategic, you should be open to considering others’ perspectives. We all have blind spots and biases. Therefore, it’s a good practice to get others’ opinions. After all, that’s why diversity can result in better outcomes – people who have different viewpoints and ways of looking at the world, can help you to think about things that you hadn’t considered.

Don’t get stuck in confirmation bias, in which you favor information and opinions that confirm your own ideas, while defending yourself against opinions that challenge your views. Instead, when someone presents an alternate point of view, get curious. Actively consider their arguments – especially the ones that are different from your own. This may broaden your thinking, and enable you to come up with higher quality solutions to problems. 

5. Observe Trends

Observing trends and connecting the dots is another aspect of being a strategic thinker. If you’re someone who is intimidated by statistics, learn how to analyze data. If your department has metrics, familiarize yourself with it. Whether it’s knowing the financials, understanding turnover or employee engagement, or getting into the operational markers of your business, you’ll need to understand them, so that you can make informed conclusions based on what the data is telling you.

While data is going to be specific to your own industry, as a general rule observe the trends. What are the implications of it for your area? What about for others in the organization? What are the trends over the past year? The past few years? What does that suggest for the future? Understanding these trends will give you a sense of the areas that you’ll want to address as you plan for the future of your vision.

6. Communicate Strategically

Finally, people who think strategically are able to communicate in a logical way that others can follow. If you are looking ahead and making plans for your business, but do not know how to communicate these plans effectively, others may underestimate your skills. Therefore, work to be able to articulate the big picture, and then build your case as to why you have made certain decisions or are suggesting that certain strategies be implemented. Discuss your understanding of the metrics, and why taking certain actions are likely to have certain impacts on the business. Demonstrate that you have considered multiple sides of an issue and that you are looking to the future, while also being grounded in the present. 

Strategic thinking is foundational for maximizing your impact. So, block some time off on your calendar, and get started!

Strategic thought is just one aspect of being a well-rounded leader. To build your leadership skills in a wide range of leadership competencies – from execution, to culture, to inspiring your team, enroll in my Inspirational Leadership University online course.

Want to learn more? Click here.

The post How to Become a Better Leader by Improving Your Strategic Thinking Skills appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.

By now, most professionals acknowledge the importance of EQ for workplace success. Research suggests that emotional intelligence is linked to more effective leadership, better relationships, enhanced ability to manage stress, and greater overall .

Still, despite the benefits of emotional intelligence, I frequently come across individuals who undervalue its importance. It could be the CEO who believes that business should be all about metrics, and none of that, “touchy-feely” stuff. It could be the frustrated professional who wants to move into management, but believes his work should speak for itself, regardless of how he gets along with others. Or, it could be the manager who needs help dealing with a direct report who is highly talented, but abrasive.  In all of these cases, the challenge is how to convince someone that emotional intelligence is important. 

I’ve been in that situation of needing to build an argument many times – either as a coach working with a client, who needs to strengthen his or her people skills, or as a consultant, providing guidance to a leader on how to encourage someone to be receptive to developing his or her EQ. If you’re in a situation in which you need to convince someone that emotional intelligence is important, here are a few tactics you can try:

1. Present Research

If you’re dealing with people who are analytical, I’ve found that the most effective approach is to present them with research that shows how critical emotional intelligence is for success. Although making the case that they should care about how others feel might sound compelling to you, it simply may not persuade someone who doesn’t place a high value on emotions or relationships. 

Therefore, to build the case, present them with research that addresses how emotional intelligence is linked to greater leadership effectiveness. Further, you could point out that employees of bosses with higher EQ tend to be happier, creative, and more intrinsically motivated at work.  You could make the case that this leads to better performance in productivity (and more success for the leader and the business as a whole). When you can back it up with data, these sorts of arguments are difficult to refute. As a result, it can make people more prone to entertain the idea of working on boosting their EQ.

2. Collect and Present Data

Often, when people lack emotional intelligence, they may not have enough self-awareness to truly understand the impact that their style has on others. Therefore, it can also be helpful to have them undergo a 360 survey, so that they can uncover potential blind spots and gain greater insight on how others view them. 

A 360 survey (a means of gathering anonymous feedback from others), allows leaders to discover how they are perceived by others. The data, which is typically presented in a quantitative format along with written comments, can be a very eye-opening experience. 

For example, I have worked with many professionals who would openly admit that they were more results-oriented than people-oriented. Still, once they saw the results of their surveys, it was impossible to deny that their actions were holding them back from fulfilling their full potential as leaders.

As an alternative to a 360, you can also collect other data to demonstrate the impact of their style. For example, engagement scores and turnover metrics are often lower amongst leaders who struggle with emotional intelligence. Again, these data make the case that their style is working against their success. After all, if people are demotivated, or if you are continually having to hire and retrain staff, it is a huge efficiency drain.

3. Address their fears

I have found that a big fear for many people who undervalue emotional intelligence, is the belief that if they focus too much on people, the business will get sub-standard results. They believe that emotional intelligence is at odds with  holding people accountable, and that everything will just be about feeling good and singing “kum ba ya” (I have heard that song referred to way too many times in my career). 

To address these fears, it’s critical for people with these beliefs to learn that the research just doesn’t support that. Instead, you can focus on people while simultaneously holding them accountable. (In fact, if employees feel more connected to their leader and the work that they are doing, there will likely be less poor performance to address)!

Next steps

Once you have been able to convince someone that emotional intelligence is important, it can be helpful to start by having them develop a greater understanding of themselves, in terms of their strengths and opportunities for development. To increase their social awareness, you can coach them on different personality styles and how to inspire people.

For additional motivation, it can also be helpful to have leaders tap into their values. For most people, I have found that one of their core values is related to having a positive impact on others, being of service, being kind, or being seen as a good leader. To increase their focus on emotional intelligence, encourage them to tap into that value in the workplace, so that they’ll keep the interpersonal element in the forefront of their mind as they’re making decisions and relating to others.

Developing emotional intelligence also requires a lot of self-reflection, feedback, and experimenting with new behaviors. Therefore, it can also be beneficial to have the individual work with a coach, so that they can get expert guidance, along with a safe space to talk about their concerns. Another approach would be to have them take an online course, such as my 21 Day Crash Course in Emotional Intelligence, or to work through a leadership development book which emphasizes personal development. 

Want to learn more about emotional intelligence? Click below for a preview of my course. Then, if you want to enroll, click here!

The post How to Convince Someone that Emotional Intelligence is Important appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.

Over the past year, we have seen more than ever, just how demanding it can be to work in healthcare. For those on the clinical side, the challenges of providing high quality care in a complex and high-pressure environment, juggling competing priorities, and coping with high patient censuses, can be very stressful. In addition to the workload, the emotional demands in this field are also high. Relating to patients when they are at their most vulnerable, supporting anxious families and caregivers, and navigating one’s own emotions when interacting with others in need can potentially lead to compassion fatigue. 

In addition to these demands, healthcare workers are frequently faced with constant change. The need to keep up with ever-changing quality standards, updates in technology, shifting record-keeping requirements, and taxing and stressful organizational and societal changes. Further, like most of us, individuals working in healthcare must also balance personal and family obligations.  All of these factors together can be a recipe for potential burnout. 

According to a 2019 national nursing engagement survey, 15.6% of nurses reported feelings of burnout. While burnout is clearly stressful on a personal level, it can also have negative implications for patient safety and quality, not to mention team morale and organizational culture. Physician burnout has also been linked to lower patient satisfaction, increased risk of medical errors, higher turnover, and increased rates of physician suicide, substance abuse, and addiction. 

Although the focus tends to be on caregivers, healthcare workers who do not work by the bedside also face a number of challenges. For example, healthcare administrators constantly deal with demands such as the rising cost of healthcare, nursing shortages, changes in fee structures (e.g. value-based care), and responding to increased need for tele-heath, to name a few. Those in technology must tend to cyber-security and rolling out, and supporting user-friendly applications that will meet the needs of clinicians, without creating disruption. Given all of these demands, helping healthcare professionals to develop greater resilience in response to their demanding and constantly changing environment is essential. 

The American Psychological Association defines resilience as, “the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.” Given this definition, it’s clear that developing resilience is essential for those who are experiencing burnout. However, it also provides a stable foundation that enables individuals to cope more effectively with daily stressors, so that they can avoid burnout and perform at a high level. 

For healthcare organizations that are committed to creating an environment in which their employees can deliver high quality patient outcomes while also thriving on a personal level, it is critical to provide resources aimed at developing resilience. Ideally, a comprehensive program would be two-pronged, and would include:  

 (1) Interventions aimed at providing staff with specific tools to effectively manage stress and change. These might include training in areas such as mindfulness, resilience, emotional intelligence, self-compassion, cognitive reappraisal, self-care, reconnecting to a sense of meaning at work, and other similar areas. These sorts of programs would also be supplemented by making counseling and support available through employee assistance programs or other similar mechanisms, for those who need additional assistance. In this way, employees will be able to better cope on an individual level. 

(2) Systems-level interventions focused on creating an environment that supports resilience. This might include leadership development coaching and/or training to ensure managers are empowering their teams, developing psychological safety, delegating and managing workloads appropriately, partnering with clinicians to increase their efficiency by reducing undue burden, and building a supportive culture overall. In this way, the organization would not just leave it to the individual to cope with a challenging workplace; instead, the aim would be to create an environment that is less prone to create burnout. 

For healthcare organizations to create spaces that best facilitate healing and high quality outcomes for patients, administrators need to emphasize the well-being of their employees. By providing programs that foster resilience, it’s a win for all involved.  

Need some assistance with developing resilience with your team? As someone who has consulted to healthcare organizations for over 15 years, I would love to help. Click here to contact me.  

The post The Importance of Resilience Training in Healthcare appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.

My son loves him some Minecraft. He loves it so much, that he has gotten pretty adept at coding in it. Every day, I’ll see him researching different commands, and creating intricate codes within the game. It’s pretty cool to witness.

After he has created some sort of coding masterpiece, he’ll proudly come and show it to me to demonstrate all that it can do. I used to enthusiastically reply, “Wow – that’s awesome!” (And I truly meant it – I didn’t know that a 7 year old could actually do that).

​
Then, his reply would come, “What’s awesome about it?”

​
I would respond with a variety of things – the effort he put into it, how he managed to get something to explode or teleport by coding a button, or create a chain of events that I wouldn’t have anticipated.

​
His response, “What else did you like about it?”

​
Again, I would add some more details, seeing his smile get brighter and brighter with each addition.
I see this as a life lesson on two levels.

​
First – the kid knows how to savor his wins. He wants to relish every possible detail and extract every bit of pleasure out of the thing that he is enjoying. He does it on his own, but to amp up that feeling with people who support him is even more precious. I think that’s a great reminder for all of us.

​
Second – it’s an excellent reminder for how to give positive feedback. In general, I find that people tend to be a lot more specific when giving constructive criticism. However, when it comes to positive feedback, they often stop at “great job,” or “keep doing what you’re doing.”

​
If you want to give more effective positive feedback, make sure to make it targeted so that you can reinforce the behaviors that the person did particularly well. For example, instead of saying “You were great in that meeting,” you could add, “I really liked the response you gave when they questioned your idea. You stayed confident and gave a really articulate response. I could see that you changed their minds because of that.”

​
Just some food for thought, courtesy of my son, Blake.

​
To learn more leadership tips (courtesy of a grown-up), check out my Inspirational Leadership University Course.

The post Leadership Lesson From My 7 Year Old appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.

boss is a Micromanager

In my work as an executive coach, I have the opportunity to hear about a lot of  different approaches to management – both from leaders and from the people who report to them. I hear about the approaches that people love (e.g. inspirational bosses, who take a genuine interest in their employees’ development), and styles that employees find aggravating (e.g. impatient or critical bosses with low emotional intelligence). Of all of the challenges that employees face with their bosses, the one that seems to be the most frustrating, is working for a micromanager. 

Considering that autonomy is linked to a greater sense of well-being and satisfaction on the job, it’s unsurprising that working for a boss who manages you too closely would be demotivating. The decreased sense of agency that micromanaging causes, can make people feel less ownership of what they are creating.  Further, not only does micromanagement tend to feel stifling, it can also, somewhat ironically, lower the quality of work that employees produce. I’ve heard many reports from people who have simply given up trying to please their bosses because they know that regardless of what they do, their work is going to be criticized and torn apart. 

If your boss is a micromanager, you might feel helpless. However, there are some strategies you can try that could possibly improve the situation. Put them in practice, and see if it makes a dent in the behavior!

1. Ensure that you are performing at a high level

When your boss is a micromanager, the first thing to consider is whether it’s because you actually need to be supervised so closely. Self-reflect and think about if your level of work quality is consistently high. Do you attend to detail? Do you take initiative to solve problems? Are you new, and requiring a lot of direction? If your performance is not what it should be, your boss might be micromanaging because he or she doesn’t trust that you’re going to deliver. So, as a first step, make sure that you’re producing high quality work.

2. Consider your boss’ needs – and try to fulfill them

Assuming that your work product is sound, and your boss just tends to micromanage everyone, the next step is to reflect on your boss’ needs. Come up with a hypothesis about what is driving the micromanagement. Is your boss a perfectionist? Does he or she have high needs for control? Is your boss anxious, with a need to know what’s going on and that work is getting done?

Once you’ve diagnosed the cause, strive to address the areas that are important to your boss so that he or she will trust you more. If she is a perfectionist, triple check your work to make sure there are no mistakes. If he is anxious or has high control needs, communicate about how things are proceeding, and be as responsive as possible, so he won’t have to wonder. Ask for clear expectations up front, so that you’ll know exactly what your leader is looking for. That way you’ll increase the odds that they’ll be happy with what you produce. 

Having worked for a few micromanagers in my time, I have found that staying communicative works particularly well. Letting your leader know when they will hear back from you (and following up as promised, with good work), often scratches their itch for staying informed, and tends to prevent them from constantly checking in with you for updates. In turn, this can help you to feel more empowered, since you are the one who is initiating the communication, as opposed to responding to constant demands. Admittedly, these approaches may not get rid of the micromanaging behaviors completely, but they can definitely help. 

3. Talk about it

If you feel safe to do so, it can also be helpful to have an open dialogue about your leader’s behavior. For example, if your boss ever asks for feedback. you could delicately state that you sometimes feel as though you’re being managed very closely, and that you’re wondering why. Explore if there are aspects of your work with which your leader isn’t happy. Ask how you might be able to earn his or her trust.

If your boss doesn’t ask for feedback regularly, then you could ask to set up a time to talk about how things are going in your work relationship. Avoid using the term “micromanagement,” as it can be emotionally charged. Instead, outline the specific behaviors that are presenting challenges for you, using terms like “a lot of structure,” “more oversight than I’m accustomed to,” or “needing a lot of detail.” 

Then, ask for clarity about why those behaviors are occurring. Under-performance could definitely be one reason, and if that’s the case, find out how you can improve. However, a lot of micromanagers have received feedback about their behavior before, so a conversation about it could possibly serve as a helpful reminder for them to monitor themselves more appropriately. You could also request the opportunity to experiment by working on a project in which you have less oversight, but agreed upon check-in points in advance. Then, if your boss agrees to this, do your absolute best, so they’ll know that you can manage it.

Of course, there are some people who simply can’t resist their tendency to micro-manage. If your boss is a micromanager, and you just can’t take it, then you might consider looking into other options. 

The post What To Do If Your Boss Is A Micromanager appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.

If you knew you had one year left to live, how would you show up differently?

Time is fleeting. This isn’t morbid, it’s true. If there’s anything that the past year has taught us, it’s that we just don’t know what the future will bring. 

Life is precious. Our time is valuable.

And while as an executive coach, I can always give you a great productivity tip (or forty), the truth is that I think that at its core, life satisfaction is less about what we’re doing, and more about who we’re being. 

Trust me, I’ve worked with a ton of successful people who are getting boatloads of stuff done. They’re hitting their business goals out of the park, and are handsomely rewarded for it. But, at the same time, they might feel anything from a mild sense of ennui to deep unhappiness. They might feel like their lives lack meaning – or that something is missing.

Why? 

Sometimes it’s because they’re so busy that they’re not fully present enough to even recognize and appreciate all the good that they have in their lives. 

Sometimes it’s because they wish they were doing something else – but instead they’re living their lives based on others’ expectations. 

Sometimes it’s because they’ve tied up all of their identity to one aspect of themselves (their work and their accomplishments), and as a result, feel the constant pressure to do more to prove their worthiness to themselves and others. 

All of these approaches might “work” on the surface, but underneath it, there can be a gnawing sense that something is awry. We might do our best to ignore those internal nudges, but they’re still there – prodding us to explore what those feelings might be trying to tell us. 

If you’re human and paying attention, you’ve probably experienced moments of feeling a desire for more – a yearning to get in touch with your authentic needs so that you can share more of that with the world. 

I think sometimes, people ignore the call because they’re afraid of what it might suggest. Will I need to quit my job? Make major changes? Go outside of my comfort zone?

The truth is, that while a big shift is sometimes the chosen path (it prompted me to become an entrepreneur, for example), you can find more meaning in your life and work with little tweaks too. It could be as simple as bringing a greater sense of gratitude and presence to your days. Investing more time in the relationships that are important to you. Getting back in touch with your spirituality (add spirituality post link). Making more time for joy. Cultivating self-compassion. Taking the risk to share more of your true self with the world.

Are you going to answer the call?

Admittedly, these are big existential questions that may seem daunting, and so sometimes, a little help and support can go a long way in helping you to peel back the layers to make a stand for what’s important to you in life. I love doing that sort of work with clients, and it’s why I’ve decided to get back into offering life coaching, in addition to continuing to do executive coaching. 

What’s the difference? 

While they have some similarities, and I take a holistic view to work with clients, the big difference is that in executive coaching, the main emphasis tends to be you at work, whereas with life coaching, work may be a component of what we work on, but it tends to be a broader focus.  

I’ve seen the transformations that can happen for people when they really decide to go towards that little voice, instead of choosing to continue to ignore it. Life becomes richer, more rewarding, more freeing. (…and in case you’re wondering, these people are still successful too – but they can actually enjoy it). 

If you’d like to learn more about my life coaching, click here. 

The post Are you living with a sense of purpose? appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.

Early on during the pandemic, my mornings were a rush of activity. The minute I woke up, I’d check my smartphone for emails and social media notifications. Then, I would tend to my family, drink my coffee, and check out a news website, all with the slightly distracting sounds of Cartoon Network playing on the t.v. in the background. If I got up the motivation, I would force myself to go to the garage to do some cardio on the elliptical trainer, while multi-tasking on the phone or by watching Netflix on my tablet. After that, I’d have just enough time to take a quick shower, before settling into helping my son with online schooling. (Oh – and somewhere in there, I actually tried to get some work done)! 

Over the past few months, I fell into a different pattern. I wish I could say it happened intentionally, but to be honest, it changed because (1) I hate the elliptical, and (2) it got too cold to exercise comfortably in the garage. So, I set up a quiet space in my home and started doing yoga.

The sessions were relatively short – anywhere from 10 -20 minutes. I followed them up with some meditation and prayer. It was a small time investment, but it made a massive difference in how I felt throughout my day. Those moments of grounding myself and tapping into my spirituality gave me a sense of peace and presence that I wasn’t experiencing to the same extent with my other, more haphazard and erratic routine. And, even though I have been meditating for years, the discipline of prioritizing it with a set schedule, instead of fitting it in where I could, seems to have made a big difference. As a result, my new morning routine has now become a daily practice (well, almost daily – nobody’s perfect). 

Because of how connected those practices made me feel, I have also become much more intentional about taking a few moments to check in with myself and my spirit throughout the day. For example, last week, I took a moment to close my eyes and deep breathe when I felt a bit frazzled in the five minutes I had between dealing with my son’s zoom-related technical glitches, and facilitating my own online group presentation across the hall. (The topic was resilience – oh, the irony!) Sometimes, I say a short prayer before a coaching call, asking to bring the best of myself to the session so I can best be of service to my client. Other times, I might take a dance break to an inspiring song to get me going when zoom fatigue feels like it’s about to set in. These brief moments of tapping into what’s important and deeply renewing to me on a spiritual level, help me to feel more settled and connected. They also enhance my work performance.

Tapping into Spirituality at Work

I work with a lot of clients who would describe themselves as spiritual. They believe in a higher power, or feel that there’s a deep purpose in their lives – something bigger than themselves that is important to their sense of identity and their place in the world. Still, although this might be something that they draw on in their personal lives, when the focus turns to their professional endeavors, exercising spirituality at work often doesn’t even cross their minds. Therefore, a big part of themselves – that brings them such a sense of meaning and renewal – is completely ignored.

I get it – business is a highly cognitive field. We focus on metrics, logic, goals. Business education is intellectual and “left-brained.” Even topics related to people are often approached academically – focusing on theories, research, and engagement percentiles.  

I also know that if you were to present a slide deck and your justification was, “God told me to do it,” it wouldn’t exactly fly at most companies. Or, if you suggested that you shouldn’t actually do any tangible work on a project because you prayed, and you’re waiting for something to happen, you likely wouldn’t have a job for very long (and FYI, even James 2:14 would take issue with that)! 

I’m all for empirical data. If you’ve read my blog, you know that I cite studies all the time. Our intellect is important. We have brains for a reason. Analyzing data, making logical deductions, developing strategies, critical thinking, and considering different possible paths forward, all play an essential role in coming up with well thought out and defensible approaches.

But here’s the thing – most people who describe themselves as spiritual, say that it’s an important part of their lives. Yet, it’s an aspect of themselves that often gets put by the wayside – being relegated to an hour or two at a service on Sunday mornings, or a quick reading of a spiritual text if they’re not too bleary-eyed before bed. Although they might pray about something in their personal lives, they don’t even think to pray for guidance about business issues – whether it’s coming up with a great idea, having a little help to present effectively in a meeting, or summoning up the strength to deal with a really stressful issue at work.

I’m not one to proselytize (and I would definitely suggest that you don’t do it either in the workplace). So, if you’re not someone who would describe yourself as spiritual, I‘m not suggesting that you need to change your beliefs or initiate a spiritual practice. (I actually don’t even explore the topic of spirituality in sessions with clients, unless they mention that it’s something important to them).

What I am suggesting, however,  is that if your spirituality is deeply important to you, you might want to be intentional about drawing on it as a resource – even in your professional life. Spirituality is deeply personal, so how you approach it will be unique to you. But if it’s something that centers you, gives you a sense of meaning, or bolsters up your sense of courage, then why wouldn’t you tap into it?

A couple of months ago, a client told me that she had been spinning her wheels working on a project with a tight timeline. She was getting more and more frustrated, and feeling more and more stuck. Even though she thought she should take a break, with time ticking away, she didn’t feel that she had the luxury to do so.

Finally, she became fed up with the lack of progress she was making. Exasperated, she took a deep breath, got centered, and recited a prayer that she had tacked up on the bulletin board in her home office. She took a brief walk, then dove back into her work. 

In our session, she recounted how after returning from her 15 minute break, she came up with ideas and noticed details in the work that she had somehow missed before. Her feeling of overwhelm stopped, and her efficiency increased. (For the skeptics: whether it was the break, the prayer, the walk, or the deep breath that did it, does it really matter? The point is that she tapped into a variety of resources that gave her a sense of peace, and she was able to feel less stressed and more effective).

I’ve heard other similar accounts, and I’ve had plenty of similar experiences on a personal level.  Still, my point is not to open a discussion on metaphysics; instead, it’s to encourage you to ensure that the way that you are working and living is aligned with your deeply held values. When you do that, you show up in a more grounded, authentic, and embodied way. 

Whether you choose to pray, meditate, read things that inspire you, go for a mindful walk, put your values into action, feel into your spiritual side, follow an intuitive nudge, write affirmations, or make more room for awe (the feeling of being part of something greater than yourself), the key is to be intentional about drawing on those practices that give you a sense of meaning, strength, and renewal.

So ultimately, the question isn’t do I think there is a place for faith and spirituality at work. The real question is – do you?

The post Is there a place for faith and spirituality at work? appeared first on Patricia Thompson PhD.