SELF IMPROVEMENT AND MOTIVATION

Slowly but surely, non-essential workers are starting to transition back to the workplace. Under the guidance of public health experts, many people are adjusting to the idea of rejoining colleagues with whom they have interacted only virtually for months. For some, the new normal of remote work raises questions: What  is  a workplace? Does it make sense for people to be physically present if the risk of the virus persists? Do people get more work done at home or at the office? What does “engagement” mean if the physical boundaries of work have changed? Employees’ perspectives on returning to the workplace vary widely. While some are eager to trade the Zoom portal for the water cooler, others remain fearful about being around others, despite physical distancing measures and increased sanitization. Much of how an individual feels about returning to the workplace depends on their risk disposition. Much of how an individual feels about returning to the workplace depends on their r...

The Power of Enthusiasm Who is going to sign somebody with three major accidents and surgeries? No one. My career was over. I had just gotten my 3rd major accident and surgeries injury, I could barely walk, and I needed to wait a full week in KL before going home to start rehab. I was alone in my dark (literally) hospital room when my agent called with the most devastating news I’d ever heard up to that point of my life. He said my employer was planning on releasing me. It was no longer a question of  “Who is going to sign me?”  It was a question of “ Who am I?” I had tied my identity to work sports life motivation ever since I was 14. Now it was seemingly over. It would have been easy to resign myself to dark thoughts in the 4 months that ensued, but at the end of the day I chose positivity. Positivity gave me so much  MORE.  It instantly made me the most  enthusiastic  person in the room. Every day in recovery was simply a day closer to joining the life j...

IMPROVE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Here are five ways I’ve seen winning teams improve employee engagement. Use these ideas at your company to boost your team’s productivity. #1 LIMIT MEDIA As a player in the NFL, if your phone goes off during a meeting, you get fined $1500. If they catch you on your phone, $1500. And that penalty can go up if you keep doing it. We all know media is distracting. That’s why some of the most elite performers in the world have the strictest media policies. What is your media policy? No phones in the room? Have you disabled some functions of your company phones? Accessibility to media can kill your team’s productivity. In the NFL, they gave us iPads—minus Internet, camera, and email. We used them for watching films and game plans, and to save trees (no paper handouts). Sure, we would have had a great time taking photos and sending them to each other. Instead, we used the tech for work purposes. And it worked. It kept us focused on the meetings and our goals. Once ...

BRING YOUR TEAM TOGETHER Over the years, I’ve seen  three key ways  that accomplished leaders inspired and pulled their whole team together, gaining focus and function. As a team member, I’ve also experienced how  breaking these three rules can break your team , losing you respect and influence and making your team unproductive.   #1: KNOW THYSELF — AND BE THYSELF In authenticity in a leader can have severe consequences. I learned this lesson working with a coach who was so focused on imitating the success of his mentor that we had no idea who  he  was. Every day he started meetings inauthentically, trying to be someone else. When you don’t know how to be yourself, your team can’t be comfortable with you. Because that coach didn’t know what he stood for, he never had the attention of the team. He took different positions and attitudes every day. His discipline was inconsistent, too. As a result, he lost credibility, he lost our trust, and he lost the team’s...