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“It’s not in my job description” is a phrase you’ve probably heard many times as a leader. Whether you’ve asked a team member to cover for someone or take on a last minute assignment, “It’s not in my job description” can be a default response in the workplace.

How do you feel when you hear this? Frustrated? Exhausted? Disappointed?

Getting to a place of understanding and empathizing with your employees when they use this response will help relieve these emotions, and also allow you to communicate and approach them in a more successful way.

Workmare

(n)

1. A nightmare about work.

2. A fear-based dream about your place of employment, roles and responsibilities, co-workers, clients and conflicts.

Ex. I had a workmare last night about a Nerf-gun war at work where the Nerf darts were full of truth serum. When I got hit with a Nerf bullet in my back side, I told my boss he was a bosshole!

I woke up before the end of the dream but I was sure I got fired.

(Click the image to download)

Ahh there are really great moments-- and other times life can feel overwhelming and stressful.

John, a manager wrote: ”I’m just trying to keep up with the pace and not burn my team out," he explained. "But, I’m struggling. At this level, I need more time to learn about the business and I need more time with my team. I feel as though I am not enough or I am not measuring up and that drives me nuts."

His questioning, wanting, doubting, led me to think about  the challenges of having a wealth of information at our fingertips. Feeling sick? Go see Dr. Google. Missed the news? Check Facebook or Twitter. Want to make news? Social media is crowning citizens as trusted news anchors every moment of the day.

While I spend most days fasting from news, stock quotes and sports' scores, the hottest most seductive news of the day always finds me...even when I am not looking. I recognize that there is a beauty to our information age, yet I can also see how information itself can be a seductive addiction that eats up our time and energy and causes us to compare ourselves to others in fascinating ways.

Everyday you set out to meet lofty goals... In your personal life you strive to ‘have a great day,’ meditate, get healthy, be kind to everyone, and be present.

Are you Underperforming? 

The answer is yes.

While your reactive brain may have already told you to disregard the rest of this article, the truth is we are all under-performing. And whether you choose to call it “under-performing”  or “endless untapped potential”, the reality is, we all have a next level, either known or unknown to us.  Before you react (any further:) consider this…

You can’t always motivate everyone at the same time... but you can create an environment that is motivating.

When your work life is busy both stress and tension can rise, bringing the opportunity for conflicts and power struggles to rise with it. It is in these times that we can lose sight of what is important and meaningful as we rush from meeting to meeting or from deadline to deadline.

It's reason for concern, isn’t it?

When it’s super busy and you see people’s frustration and exhaustion grow,  

how do you create an environment that is motivating?

Are you too busy for happiness?

"The greatest success we will achieve will not be money 

or how high we climbed on the corporate ladder,

it will be happiness." ~ Dale Allen

Happiness is often how we define ourselves.

In your own way (usually unconsciously) you continually assess your happiness in all that you do.

The busier we are, our minds get cluttered and we can grow less patient and less focused.

This busy-ness increases the likelihood of being reactive to any stressors - traffic jams, a missed deadline, office/family politics - and less likely to feel happy, productive and effective.