The following is a guest post by Marlene Chism.

Drama in the form of negativity happens for many reasons and not just because of personalities, or because of women bickering and gossiping at the water cooler. Often negativity exists because the structures currently in place do not support the massive changes taking place in the business. In other words the business is growing and changing and there is a need for increased structure to support and manage the change.

Yet another reason for negativity is due to our natural and biological response to change. The brain craves certainty, and when you feel uncertain, the almond shaped structure in the brain called the amygdala releases chemicals into the blood stream that you experience as fear, anxiety and doubt.

What leaders often forget is that employees feel the most uncertainty because they are the last to hear about the changes, and they had very little, if any, input regarding how to implement and navigate through the upcoming changes.

Leaders constantly tell employees to “embrace change” when the very changes they ask them to embrace are changes that threaten their sense of security or well being, at least from their perspective.

Providing consistency while navigating change can improve workplace relationships, increase trust and reduce negativity. Here are four ways to reduce drama by increasing consistency. Click here to continue reading »”4 Ways To Reduce Workplace Negativity By Increasing Consistency”

Like most people, I look forward to that time when we can unplug from our computers and mobile devices in order to unwind, spend time with the family, and recharge my mind and body before we need to prepare ourselves to dive back into the hustle and flow of our workplace.

There are times, though, where that continual push to maintain our productivity through the week takes its toll and we can find ourselves struggling to get out of neutral. This is something that happens to me at times and I know only too well how frustrating these moments can feel, especially when we see that large heap waiting for us in our “To-Do” basket. As such, I want to share some of the strategies I use to recharge my productivity batteries so I could complete my tasks for the week: Click here to continue reading »”6 Tips You Can Use Today To Help Boost Your Productivity”

Like most people, I look forward to the arrival of the weekend as a chance to unwind, spend time with the family, and recharge my mind and body in preparation for the jump into a fresh work week.

There are times, though, where that continual push to maintain our productivity through the week takes its toll and we can find ourselves struggling to get out of neutral. This is something that happens to me at times and I know only too well how frustrating these moments can feel, especially when we see that large heap waiting for us in our “To-Do” basket. As such, I want to share some of the strategies I use to recharge my productivity batteries so I could complete my tasks for the week:

1. Review what you’ve completed so far

In the drive to maintain our level of productivity, it’s a good idea to take some time to review what we’ve completed up to that point. This will help in evaluating whether it’s really necessary to keep pushing to the max or whether we can afford to throttle down our efforts to give ourselves time to catch our breath. As marathon runners know, it’s not about Click here to continue reading »”Need A Boost? Strategies For Recharging Your Productivity”

Last week, I experienced the worst thing that could happen to any of us in this technological, wired age – my computer wouldn’t boot-up completely. After spending a few days trying to figure out what was behind this computer failure – a virus attack, a malfunctioning memory stick, or worse, a dying motherboard – I discovered the real culprit was the power supply unit. A quick trip to my preferred computer parts store (no big box stores for me thanks), and I got my computer back up and running – though with some other glitches that needed additional work in the days after.

Needless to say, this headache created its own share of problems, even though I was able to work off another computer while the other one was down. The biggest one was this urgent feeling that I needed to play catch-up; that since I hadn’t operated at my peak capacity the previous week, I had somehow fallen behind on work and such. Even though I intuitively knew that I had stayed on top of matters, I still couldn’t shake this feeling that I had to keep working so as to keep the beast at bay.

After giving this some thought, I realized what was behind this feeling of anxiety or pressure. Click here to continue reading »”Got A Few Minutes? Why It’s Important to Take That Daily Break”