Huwork

Category: Engagement

  • The importance of a personal Board of Advisors

    This year, I’ve had the privilege of helping facilitate a women’s circle that provided some structure to think through issues and support one another. One of our first sessions centered on the concept of developing one’s own personal BOARD OF ADVISORS. Companies engage Boards to help them make the right decisions, so why don’t we as individuals? A personal Board of Advisors is a group of respected individuals who will help you thrive. I’ve mainly applied this concept for career development, but there’s no reason it couldn’t work for health or general life improvement as well. 

    The central theme to one’s BOA is PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS. There is a reciprocity involved; we are enriching our advisors’ lives in some way, while they are providing support to us.

    The most common question I’m asked about this concept is, “What value can I add to someone who is way ahead of me in their career?”

    Here are a few ways you can help your Board of Advisors:

    • CONNECT: Connecting people is a powerful way to help others. You can introduce them to someone to fill a need they have, or connect them to a resource such as a book or article.

    • INVITE: I have found time and again that as people gain power, they can also become more isolated. You can invite one of your board members to a new restaurant, a group happy hour, or an event you are involved with such as a non-profit fundraiser.

    • BE AN EXPERT: Catalog your own unique expertise, such as social media, knowing the newest restaurants and events, your interest in art, or whatever you are already interested and knowledgeable about. Then, when you ask your advisor what challenges they have going on, you’ll already have a few areas in which you might be able help.

    This is not a science. Your BOA will ebb and flow; but, when you are in a pickle of a situation, it is comforting to know you have people with specific expertise to whom you can turn. My advice: get started this quarter filling out the BOA template, especially the list of 5 people to be on your BOA. Reach out to each one to say hello and subtly gauge their openness to engage in conversations that matter. 

    If you are ready to get started, here is a template to help you build your own Board of Advisors. 

    Reach out if you have any questions.

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn

  • How to channel a higher cause at work

    Looking for a motivation reboot at work or ideas on how to be an inspirational leader? I’d recommend checking out Simon Sinek’s The Infinite Game.  

    Simon takes an opposing view to Milton Friedman, the economist who posited that business’ sole responsibility is making profit. Simon argues that in addition to making profit, organizations should provide broader value to society, namely: 

    • Advance a PURPOSE: offer people a sense of belonging and a feeling that their lives and their work have value beyond the physical work

    • PROTECT people: operate our companies in a way that protects our workforce, our clients, and the work environment.

    • Generate PROFIT: money is fuel for a business to remain viable and to continue advancing the first two priorities

    According to Simon, any leader who wants to adopt this infinite mindset of running a business or team must follow five essential practices:

    1. Advance a JUST CAUSE: find a long-term cause the team can rally around

    2. Build TRUSTING teams: trust is key for engagement and collaboration

    3. STUDY your worthy rivals: keep tabs on your competition to understand the landscape

    4. Prepare for existential FLEXIBILITY: The capacity to initiate an extreme disruption to a business model or a strategic course in order to more effectively advance a just cause. 

    5. Demonstrate the COURAGE to lead: The willingness to take a risk for the good of an unknown future. Just like CVS deciding to stop selling cigarettes, even though they knew it would piss off Wall St. (BTW, the stock price only took a brief dip before recovering and gaining.)

    LEADERS especially must model the behavior they want to see, actively incentivize the kinds of behaviors that build trust, and give people the responsible freedom and the support they need to flourish in their jobs. It is a combination of what we value and how we act that sets the culture of a company. 

    CULTURE = VALUES + BEHAVIOR

    If leaders place an excess of stress on people to meet the numbers, and offer lopsided incentive structures, they risk creating an environment in which near- term performance and resources are prioritized, while long-term performance, trust, psychological safety, and the will of the people decline.

    Exhibiting the QUALITIES of leadership is what makes someone an effective leader. Qualities like honesty, integrity, courage, resiliency, perseverance, judgment and decisiveness. Ideally leaders would measure the inputs and the behaviors, rather than the outcomes.

    It’s very common for people nearing the end of their corporate careers to start foundations or distribute their wealth to charity, working to fulfill a desire to give back and do something more philanthropic. But purpose is not something that we need only find after a successful career. There are ways to infuse higher purpose in our everyday lives and work.

    Questions to ask yourself:

    • Am I just working for the money? 

    • How might I change my mindset at work to fulfill a broader goal I have? E.g,. treating people well, inspiring others to give their best, etc.

    • Should I move on to fulfill my desire to work for a cause bigger than myself?

    I’m here as a resource if you want to talk through your particular situation with a quick 20-min call. Interesting to note: about 50% of my coaching clients who originally wanted help finding a new career, end up renewed and remotivated in their existing role after a few coaching sessions. We look at how they are spending their time, what tasks they excel at, how they might improve their relationships with peers and their boss, and define their unique professional brand, leadership style, and goals.

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn

  • Anguishing over languishing

    From the NY Times to a Professor at Wharton, it seems many people are discussing the term “languishing”. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant defines languishing as “a sense of stagnation and emptiness.” Yikes! That’s no fun, but it’s a feeling that many are experiencing with the pandemic lock downs, resulting social isolation, and the ongoing mental toll of it all.

    Even as I type this, I feel a pit in my stomach as this term rings true for me too. Not all day, every day, but certainly with some regularity.

    Here’s my 1-2-3 coping mechanism to deal with my own up and down languishing state:

    1. AWARENESS: becoming aware of what I am feeling is a necessary first step. In other words, “Name it to tame it!” How can I change things if I don’t know what I need to change? 

    2. FOCUS: it may seem counterintuitive, but taking time to focus on that feeling and acknowledge it can help it dissipate. I especially find it helpful to focus on where in the body I feel that emotion. Then, get curious about the feeling – its qualities, texture, motion, and color. What might this physical feeling need at this moment? As Brené Brown says, if you are disembodied from your emotion, it only grows. Finally, implement some actions. For me, this includes leaving my house twice a day, getting out in nature once a day, and finding ways to connect with one of my peeps daily.

    3. REFINE: alas, there is no “one and done” with many feelings, such as languishing. So  I check in weekly, and ask myself “What will help this week?” Knowing it may look different than the week before, is very helpful.

    Can anyone else relate to this languishing feeling? If so, what are your coping mechanisms?

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn

  • How to take the PULSE of a meeting

    Hallelujah! Warm weather has officially arrived in Denver, and I have a bad case of spring fever.  Zoom meetings definitely seemed more appealing when it was cold out. Whether you are attending a meeting online or (gasp!) in-person, do you sometimes feel you are on a different wavelength than the other participants? That maybe you are zigging, while others are zagging? I recently had this happen when I was zeroing in on the details of an upcoming workshop, while my business partner was looking broadly at the overall structure. In short, it got awkward. 

    I wish I had heard of Linda Liang’s PULSE method, to actively read a room when attending a meeting. I’ll be using her PULSE framework to “size up” the room from now on, and encourage you to as well. Don’t let its simplicity fool you. It’s a powerful, quick framework.

    P= What is the PURPOSE of the meeting/event? Is there an agenda? Is it buzzing, somber, joking, nervous?

    U= What is the UNDERLYING APPROACH? Is it focused on the details or the big picture? People or task oriented? 

    L= Is the meeting more LEADER-LED, with one person mainly talking, or TEAM ORIENTED, with people taking turns and equally contributing?

    S= Is the pace of the meeting SLOW OR FAST? 

    E= What are the EMOTIONS of participants? How are people looking and feeling? Are they quiet or talkative? What is the “tone” of the room, and what does it tell you? 

    To be more effective during meetings, aim to mirror the “style” of what is going on. Clearly, I missed the “U”, or “underlying approach”, part of this framework with my business partner. In hindsight, it would have been helpful to discuss expectations for our discussion and make sure we were aligned. I’ve already found Linda’s PULSE framework uber-helpful. Try it out yourself and let me know if it helps you as well.

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn

  • Using LOVE to connect

    On Friday, HuWork is hosting a round table on Coffee and Conversation: Make Work More Human, to explore what it takes to be a more human-centered organization. We’ll talk about behaviors and practices that are going well in your organization, and things that you’d like to see changed. If you are interested, sign up ASAP as we only have 3 more spots available.

    One tenet of being more human at work involves an emotion people don’t always associate with work: LOVE. By love, I’m referring to our underlying motivation and sense of connection with other human-beings at work. I translate this LOVE at work into three core values: SERVE, LEARN, and CONNECT:

    1. SERVE: This is about our mindset: How can I come from a place of service vs. my own agenda?

    2. LEARN: How would learning something, whether it’s from books, articles, or conversations, increase the value and experience I can provide to others? What can I share with others to spread the love and ease their path? Can I make an introduction or share a resource?

    3. CONNECT: How can I build a more H2H or human-to-human connection with everyone, even people at work? How can I look beyond the task and focus on building a meaningful, reciprocal relationship?

    I invite you to take HuWork’s Human Factor Assessment to highlight the areas where you and your company are shining and think about changes to consider putting in place – whether you are working as a people manager, an individual contributor, or influencing change as an HR leader or consultant.

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn

  • Returning to a new “normal”

    Your organization is probably thinking about returning to the office, using a hybrid approach, or perhaps working from home permanently – all of these bring opportunities to think about new and better ways of working.  

     The 60-30-10 rule for effective teamwork, discovered by researcher J. Richard Hackman, states the following about a team’s success: 

    • 60% depends on prework, or activities before the actual work, 

    • 30%  can be linked to the initial launch (or relaunch) of the team, and

    • Only 10% is dependent on the day-to-day teamwork

    Anytime there is a major change to the team: new location, major project, new team members, I encourage you to hold a brief 60-90 minute launch session with the team. It can even be spread out over two sessions. But it’s critical that every single team member is present.  

    Using the image of a funnel – starting wide, then narrowing down,  include at a minimum in your agenda:

    1. VISION: Everyone must be crystal clear where the team is headed. Discuss where the team fits in with the broader company vision and the team shared goals.

    2. ROLES:  Everyone needs to have a shared understanding of how each person fits in and a frank discussion of potential obstacles.

    3. RESOURCES:  What resources are needed? (information, budget, people, etc.)

    4. NORMS: How will team members interact? What are the communication expectations, such as responses to emails in ”X” hours, process for raising issues, what mistakes are acceptable, what mistakes are unacceptable, etc.

    Use the (re)launch as an opportunity to get people excited, build trust, and bring focus back to the team’s goals.

    For more ideas, please join me on April 23 for Coffee and Conversation: Make Work More Human, to explore what it takes to be a human-centered organization. We’ll talk about behaviors and practices that are going well in your organization, and things that you’d like to see changed. 

    I invite you to take HuWork’s Human Factor Assessment ahead of time to highlight the areas where your company is shining and think about changes to consider putting in place – whether you are working as a people manager, an individual contributor, or influencing change as an HR leader or consultant.

    To join this virtual conversation on Friday, April 23 at 12pm MDT, please click here to register. I will email the Zoom link the day before the event.

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn

  • Manage your sticky situations

    Business management pioneer Peter Drucker’s philosophy was “before you can manage anyone else, you have to manage yourself first.” I come across this so often in leadership coaching sessions, that I refer to it as a person’s “sticky situations.” Sticky situations are ones where you are not showing up as your best self, ones where you feel stuck, and ones that unfortunately repeat themselves. 

    Some sticky situations I have heard from Clients recently include: getting stuck when pitching an idea to senior leadership, not stepping up to make a decision when the boss isn’t in the room, and keeping emotions in check when being asked hard questions about the team’s performance.  

    These sticky situations hold my Clients back from being the leader, team member, and human they have the potential to be. Here’s one process I utilize in Client sessions to get to the other side of these sticky situations:

    1. Identify your most prominent sticky situation 

    2. Identify the opposite situation, where you are “flowing” and able to show up as your best self

    3. Understand the parameters that allow you be your best self

    4.  Recreate those parameters for your sticky situations

    For example, if a sticky situation for you is pitching an idea to senior leadership, think of times when you are able to pitch your idea with full confidence and charisma. For one client, he realized he was able to show up as his best self when he had a prior relationship with the people in the room. He began to reach out to people who were going to be in the meeting ahead of time. A virtual coffee, asking a question on Slack, looking them up on LinkedIn to see if they had common interests or backgrounds. This eased my Client’s tension and freeze response once the meeting came around.

    Learning how to manage your “sticky situations” can have ripple effects, allowing you to be your best self both professionally and personally.

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn

  • Inspiring Others

    in·spi·ra·tion /ˌinspəˈrāSH(ə)n/:  the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something.

    Some days are easier than others to find your own inspiration. If you are in charge of inspiring others to action, it can feel that much more overwhelming. I recently gave a guest lecture at Wharton on the topic of how to inspire employees. 

    Here are my three key takeaways:

    1. CONNECT: find ways to meaningfully connect with your team members one-on-one. Ideally, at least 15 minutes weekly.

    2. ASK: don’t assume to know what motivates and what gets in the way for someone else. Ask each person. Perhaps in the weekly one-on-one mentioned above.

    3. ELEVATE: you can teach skills and knowledge, but you can’t teach a strength. A strength is an activity that you look forward to, feel energized by, and feel proud about afterwards. Focus on each person’s strengths, and you crowd out their weaknesses and elevate their work experience.

    And once you do the above, do it again! As Aristotle said, “Excellence is not just one act but what you repeatedly do.” 

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn

  • Soph-what?

    My older son is a sophomore in high school, but I had never heard of the term sophrology until recently. The word sophrology comes from the Greek words sos (harmonious and serene), phren (consciousness), and logos (the science of or to study). Essentially, sophrology is the science of consciousness in harmony. In practical terms, sophrology includes some mental and physical exercises, like a guided visualization meditation and gentle movement. 

    Even before the pandemic, 83% of Americans stressed over at least one work-related issue. That equates to 8 out of 10 of your coworkers stressing about work! Layer on the pandemic, and it’s no wonder people are experiencing mental health strains. 

    Below is a 2-3 minute visualization exercise that can change your state of mind dramatically. If you want someone to guide you through a meditation, I teach a free 25-minute guided meditation on the first Wednesday of every month that includes a similar visualization. Sign up here.

    Visualizing Happiness Exercise: 

    1. Close your eyes and think of a place, real or imagined, that brings you happiness.

    2. Visualize the sounds, smells, look, and feel of this place.

    3. Inhale and imagine breathing in calm waves of serenity.

    4. Exhale and allow the good feelings to wash over your body.

    Scheduling in sophrology-type practices can mitigate a stress response, attain the calm needed to respond skillfully to others, and help prevent burnout. BUT you must PLAN to do it. It is experiential, so you must participate in the practices, not just read about them! I suggest putting a recurring appointment on your calendar right now to “RECHARGE”. You won’t be sorry.

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn

  • You know BFF, but do you know BIFF?

    Do you find that hostilities are on the rise? Like a pressure cooker, this pandemic has built some tension in relationships. Whether it’s with a roommate or spouse with the increased time spent together, or with your boss or a coworker who always takes a contrarian opinion.

    I’d like to suggest an alternative way to de-escalate tension that a counselor recently shared with me – B.I.F.F:

    – BRIEF: Keep it short. To do this, you may need to pause for a few seconds to collect your thoughts before responding.

    – INFORMATIVE: Use data, information and history instead of emotions or opinions, 

    • Example: “Based on history, this Client seems to value innovation and has been receptive to ideas in the past.”

    – FRIENDLY: Ramp up the empathy and stay friendly in a light way. I’ll admit this is hard for me when I feel attacked, especially when it is about a core value or a part of my identity, but what helps is naming the person with a light humorous name, such as “Contrarian Kelly” and remembering the person’s comments really have nothing to do with me at the end of the day. It is their own perception of the world and their circumstances that leads them to lash out in this way.

    • Examples: “Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.” “I’m glad we have an environment where we are not all expected to think the same.”

     – FIRM: Respectfully stop the back and forth. Find a way to end the conversation in a way that allows you to maintain your respect without completely cutting off the other person.

    • Examples: “We are not going to see eye-to-eye, but I value your friendship and am glad we have lots of other things we can connect over.” “I’d like to sit with your ideas and circle back with you after considering all the variables.”

    To bottom-line it, keep your responses to hostile conversations brief, informative, friendly, and firm. If you try this technique, drop me a note to let me know whether it helped or not.

    Warmly, 

    Bijal

    The intent of these emails is to provide different perspectives, ideas, and insights as you navigate the path forward for yourself, your team, your organization, and your family.

    Click here if you were forwarded this email and would like to sign up to receive my emails. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Bijal Choksi, MA, CHPC, ACC

    bijal@huworkteam.com

    Follow HuWork on LinkedIn