Thrive at Work

We are living in an unprecedented period of upheaval and change.  We are all still feeling the effects of the financial crisis from a few years ago and a return to how things were before 2008 seems unlikely.  We all want to thrive and be successful so to respond to the current environment we need to be developing skills that allow us to be flexible, adaptable and resilient.

"The Mind Gym" published a paper in August 2011 highlighting 7 essential talents found in a successful manager.  One of these is the ability to look after yourself so that you can continue to grow and remain strong in fast-paced environments.

One of the keys to achieving this balance is to ensure that you look after both your physical and mental wellbeing.  There is plenty of research around that proves that being well physically, supports clear thinking capability and enhances your decision-making skills.  Having good levels of energy and vitality makes you more able to deal with stressful situations.  For companies, having employees with high vitality results in greater productivity and lower absenteeism rates.

Most people say they don't have sufficient time to exercise or eat properly however this is simply not true!  The truth is that people prioritise other things over and above taking time to exercise, think about what they eat, or get some personal "quiet" time to just relax their mind and be calm for a short period each day.  There is no such thing as time management, it is activity management!

A second point that helps us to remain strong and support our personal growth is that we we need our jobs to be fulfilling and hold a promise of career progression.

There is a shift in society towards people demanding that their jobs be more meaningful and many companies are responding to this.  It is estimated that people graduating today will have between 12-15 jobs by the time they are 40!  Companies have to respond to this to retain their key talented employees!

It is not for companies to solve issues for us though, we need to take personal accountability.  We need to make our own jobs even more interesting than they are today.  A way to do this is to focus on your own strengths (likely to be things you enjoy doing too!) and putting yourselves forward for tasks that capitalize on these strengths.  Delegate the things you enjoy doing less.  This is a way to build your career!

Everything starts and ends with the actions you take.  You may have heard of the story of the two frogs sitting on a log...one decides to jump off...how many frogs were left sitting on the log?...2!... as the one that decided to jump off didn't actually take any action and remained sitting there!  Are you going to sit on the log?