What was the environment like when you’ve had deep, meaningful conversations? What set the stage? What factors enabled this moment to happen?
Now, compare that to a crucial meeting. How might you adapt meeting environments so your team can have deep conversations on thorny issues? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell What would happen in your team if you unleashed the power of extroverts?
What about if you unleashed the power of introverts? Which group has the most untapped potential? How might you harness the advantages of both groups? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell When I was a teenager, I won a music competition that gave me a full scholarship to Boston University and multiple solo performances with the Boston Classical Orchestra.
Because I didn’t want to sound like bragging, I didn’t tell my friends. I needed to learn to speak up. Keeping our heads down and doing our job often isn’t enough at work. It’s hard to speak up and advocate for ourselves. So it’s understandable not wanting to brag. However, we will miss opportunities to celebrate, inspire, and deepen relationships. Next time you feel like hiding an accomplishment, ask yourself, how humble are you relative to your coworkers? What might they gain if you share? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell Who treats you with the most empathy, compassion, and kindness?
Many of us are our own worst critics. If a friend treated us this poorly, we wouldn’t be friends anymore. How might you have a healthier relationship with yourself? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell Imagine what life would be like without Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, and Barack Obama? What do they have in common?
They’re all introverts. Yes, we can invite introverts to speak up. We can also ask extroverts and ambiverts to include others in the conversation before communicating their ideas. Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell We met with three tree companies to help with our landscaping.
Our landscaper highly recommended the first company. Because of this, they had our trust. But unfortunately, they took over a week to give an estimate and several weeks to schedule (still waiting). After being frustrated with the wait, we contacted two other companies. They both came out within 48 hours. Both were warm, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. The second sent a proposal 15 minutes after meeting with us and could start work in two weeks. Their proposal was more flexible, better value, and more timely. No wonder they are the most famous tree service in the area. Service matters. How might you delight those you serve? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell Have you ever gone on a long road trip? How did you prepare?
Likely, you took a break somewhere to fill up the gas. Brought snacks along to recharge. Played your favorite music or listened to a fun podcast to pass the time. Long road trips are like challenging work projects. Both can be exhausting. What leads many people to work nonstop without any breaks or fun activities to recharge? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell That makes sense, but …
I hear you, but … Thanks for your thought, but … We all know people who like to point out the potential negatives of any decision. Every hard decision will have risks. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be hard. What happens if we change “but” to “and?” Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell We can thank Anna Jarvis for helping launch Mother’s Day over a hundred years ago in Philadelphia. Her mother promoted friendship and health among women’s groups. Anna honored her mother by wearing a white carnation. Others followed. By 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday.
Honoring mothers every year has made the world brighter. Mother’s Day inspired others to honor fathers. President Nixon made Father’s Day a national holiday in 1972. Taking time to honor our loved ones strengthens our relationships. So now that we know Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are made up, what holidays would you like to create to honor the people and ideas that are important to you? We don’t need a president to start taking action. Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell COVID. Ukraine. Inflation. The list of things that causes stress is constantly increasing.
As we age, the number of activities that bring us joy shrinks. When we were little, running outside was enough to make us smile. How might we think like a child and increase the number of activities that bring us joy? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell Have you ever seen a Catholic mass?
There is a specific sequence of events. The series of prayers, readings, and sermons repeat over every mass. Parts of it require Catholics to stand. Even though most people know when to stand and sit, there is always a delay. Why? It’s scary to be the first. It’s easier to follow others. The same happens at the end of a presentation. People spend thousands of dollars to attend a conference. When the expert asks for any questions, few are willing to raise their hands. However, in private, many will ask their questions. We often hear people recommend that we should lean in and speak up. However, we also know that most don’t. Instead of asking people to lean in, how might leaders proactively get answers to quiet people? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell How might people describe you?
Know what you bring to the table so you can decide where you want to grow. Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell What’s the hardest item on your to-do list?
Likely, those items are hard for most people. So how might you make tackling challenging problems first your superpower? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell Thrilled to have insulators come to help make our home energy efficient. They spent an hour lugging up materials to the attic and sealing holes. Then, before they started blowing in the insulation, I got a call from our general contractor. After that, we had to stop everything.
I mistakenly thought we could do insulation first before AC. But, unfortunately, adding ductwork through insulation is a nightmare. The crew was incredibly understanding and friendly. They understood that things happened that were out of their control and didn’t dwell on them. After lugging everything back, breathing hard, they smiled and said goodbye. How might we learn to handle unexpected changes so graciously? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell Homebuilders often introduce themselves as someone who build high-quality custom homes. But has anyone ever said they build low-quality homes?
Bob was different. He told a story. Bob talked about how he loves his wife and how they have a tradition of spending Sundays together. But, Bob tells all his workers, he does not want to get a call on a Sunday afternoon when he’s at the grill enjoying a beer with his wife. The last thing he wants to do is spend time away from her fixing things that break down. Most builders say the same thing. Bob’s is memorable and believable. How might you tell a story about your work? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell When you were a child, did you ever play the telephone game?
Typically, kids would sit in a circle. First, one person would tell the person to the right a story. Then that person would repeat the story to the next person. This goes on until the final person tells the class their version of the story. It’s funny how little the story resembles the original. Why is this important? Imagine what happens to the story you tell your manager? What does she say to her manager? How do you make sure senior management hears your story? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell For some people, their answer is routinely “nothing much.” For others, there’s always a new experience, goal, or insight.
Which type of person would you rather talk to? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell Crafting a meaningful birthday message to someone near the end of life is hard.
One approach is to spend hours agonizing about the right words. Another is to google inspirational messages. One rarely used approach is to think like a child where we say things straight from the heart, unvarnished. Then, edit where appropriate. Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell What do you do when a person describes surprising, frustrating, inspiring, or annoying events?
How did it feel the last time someone labeled your emotion, empathized, and invited you to say more? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell Have you ever sat at a large round banquet table at a party or wedding? How meaningful were your conversations?
Likely, you spoke to the person to your immediate right and left. It’s hard to speak across the table due to distance, noise, and a bouquet blocking your sight. Large round tables aren’t designed for deep conversations with large groups. Likewise, meetings aren’t designed for deep conversations in large groups. If you’re on Zoom with a dozen people, each person can talk for only 5 minutes before time is up. Likely, even less as senior people and talkers will dominate the conversations. How might you design a more effective meeting? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell How likely will stats about dog-friendliness change your mind if you're scared of dogs?
Instead, what happens if you reflect on what led to your fear of dogs? Then, address the root problem? This approach works when facing the fear of asking for a promotion or raise, applying for a position that you feel unqualified for, and grabbing opportunities that might be life-changing. Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell Remember life before Zoom? Before social media? Before smartphones?
Lifestyles constantly change. Instead of reacting and adapting to the next latest breakthrough, how might you proactively create the change you want in your life? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell How did it feel the last time you took a long road trip?
Usually, after driving for hours, my back tightens up. But, after driving 10 hours to Halifax, I felt surprisingly fresh. How? All thanks to a plushy pillow supporting my back. Sometimes, one small change can mean everything. What’s one small change you might make today? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell What brings you joy?
Playing with your dogs? Laughing with friends? Accomplishing something challenging? How might you gain one joyful moment a week? Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell How strongly do you feel about this?
Before getting into a long drawn-out conversation, it helps to understand how rooted the other side is. Thanks for caring! With gratitude, Anwell |
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