Posted on March 20, 2018
By Nan Russell
It was a dimly lit restaurant. Still she was dressed in pink, and while I admit it’s hard to tell the gender of babies, clothing color is a reliable clue. So, it surprised me when the waitress began playing with my granddaughter, asking “How old is he?”
Twenty minutes later, that same waitress served our dinners into my daughter-in-law’s lap, spilling the contents of her tray as she approached the table. We made light of the occurrence, assisting her with basic cleanup, but the interaction got me thinking.
In today’s world, too many people are “at work” but not “present.” Preoccupied. Disengaged. Daydreaming. Bored. Text Messaging. Socializing. Whatever. Their bodies are somewhere their mind isn’t. They’re easy to spot as they go about their tasks in a robotic dance of just enough-to-get-by-ness.
These disengaged people seem unaware their present actions carve their future opportunities. They’re surprised when (continue reading →)
Posted in: Tips, Winning at Working |
Tagged: being present, best of self, engagement, getting results, Nan Russell, passing time, passion, Winning at Working |
Posted on January 23, 2018
By Nan Russell
After the completion of Walt Disney World, the story goes that someone went up to Mike Vance, Creative Director for Walt Disney Studios and said, “Isn’t it too bad Walt Disney didn’t live to see this?” Without pausing, he replied, “But he did see it, that’s why it’s here.”
If any outside figure influenced my life early on, it was Walt Disney. Maybe it was because when I was five, my favorite uncle took me to a wondrous new place called Disneyland; or because I grew up in Southern California, visiting it every year or two, watching a man’s vision come to life and grow; or because I believed that “when you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are.”
Growing up on the Wonderful World of Disney, I learned how to dream. But as I got older I realized it wasn’t just the dreaming and wishing that made the dreams possible; it was the doing.
Wishing and hoping are poor strategies for making dreams come true, yet that’s (continue reading →)
Posted in: It's Not About Time, Winning at Working |
Tagged: acting and doing, determination, focus, hard work, It's Not About Time, life dreams, making dreams reality, Nan Russell, passion, persistence, time, Winning at Working, wishing and hoping |
Posted on November 15, 2017
By Nan Russell
The man in front of me in the breakfast order line at the food court, in one of the busiest airports in the country, wanted a “full” cup of coffee. He kept raising his voice, yelling at the woman to “fill his cup to the top.” His words peppered with angry comments about her not giving him his “money’s worth.”
His voice was loud; his attitude hostile; his words caustic. Despite how rude he was, she remained calm, professional, and polite throughout the challenging encounter. Even from my close vantage point, I didn’t detect a hint of irritation in her demeanor.
People trekking to their gates paused to see what the commotion was. The upheaval, as it appeared to me, was about a person angry over something other than coffee, and taking whatever it was out on a stranger attempting to fulfill his request.
Maybe he couldn’t control what was happening in his life, but he could control how much coffee he got. Who knows? After the fourth time he shouted at her about not satisfying his request for a “full cup of coffee” and accusing her of “stealing his money” by not giving him what he paid for, she glanced my way. Shooting her an encouraging look, her eyes smiled in return.
I’m sure that in that busy airport, this woman gets her share of “crazy people.” But (continue reading →)
Posted in: Tips, Winning at Working |
Tagged: choice, Compassion, crazy people, grace under pressure, holiday stress, Nan Russell, Nan S. Russell, Winning at Working |
Posted on October 26, 2017
By Nan Russell
I still have the email. It’s been years since a highly placed corporate boss, who had the reputation and approach that things were never quite good enough, sent it to me. He was long on critique and revisions; short on acknowledgement and appreciation.
Anyone else reading his message would deem it ordinary. No flowery words, no glowing adjectives, no verbose flattery or deliberate feel-good rhetoric. It was written in a matter-of-fact, straight-to-the-point style that took three sentences.
Yet its mark was indelible. Not because his appreciation was infrequent, but because it was genuine. While it was an out of the ordinary contribution he acknowledged, the message didn’t come in a signature-pen form letter “from” him via HR, nor was it composed and sent by an executive assistant. It came from him. He took the time to notice, comment, and engage. That simple email reconfirmed my commitment and spurred my enthusiasm.
It doesn’t take much to let someone know they’re valued. So why it is that so few people take the time to do it?
According to an online survey, (continue reading →)
Posted in: Leadership, Trust Inc, Winning at Working |
Tagged: appreciation, communication, contributions, dialogue, genuine, genuine noticing, Nan Russell, noiticing, respect, simpe things, thank you, to be seen, value, what people want, Winning at Working |
Posted on September 18, 2017
By Nan Russell
Twelve minutes before I was to speak to a large group in a hotel ballroom, I was struggling with A/V equipment. With hundreds of presentations under my belt, I’m accustomed to glitches, but no matter what I tried my presentation wouldn’t project.
Hailing the meeting planner, he did his magic and within minutes an A/V tech arrived with another projector. That, too, failed and with five minutes remaining, he began troubleshooting each part of the set-up; I began rearranging my opening to buy more time. There was no need. The projector wasn’t the problem, the cord was. I was up and running with two minutes to spare.
But, this isn’t a story about A/V problems. It’s a story about two kinds of people.
At the end of my session, the technician returned to pack the equipment, putting the defective cord into the box with the projector. Thinking he forgot there was a problem with the cord, I reminded him.
“Yeah, I remember,” he said matter-of-factly. “But every projector has to have a cord. There are two projectors, so I need to put two cords back.” His thinking startled me. Clearly he (continue reading →)
Posted in: Winning at Working |
Tagged: choice, do the right thing, ignoring problems, Nan Russell, other duties as needed, problem solving, two kinds of people, Winning at Working |
Posted on July 16, 2017
By Nan Russell
During The Great Recession, thanks to frequent-flyer points and a vacation club exchange, we spent a week in Hawaii for the cost of a rental car and food. While a fun and relaxing vacation, it was strange to be at an ocean-front Maui resort during peak tourist season, without the tourists. Several restaurants on this forty-acre property were even closed.
The bellman who showed us around told us he’d been working at the resort for 11 years and hadn’t seen anything like it. “I used to work full-time,” he told us. “Now I’m on a rotation with 16 others and lucky to get one day a week. I’m not sure how I can make it, even with unemployment.”
In comparison to that distressed bellman, on the last evening of vacation we chatted with a man who delivered our room service, commenting to him about the empty hotel. “Oh,” he said. “It’s kind of nice. I see this like a mini-vacation. I know it’ll pick up, and if not, I have some other things in the works.”
These were contrasting reactions to the same event. The bellman felt powerless and stressed-out while the room service staffer was calm and taking action. It reminded me of an experiment discussed in Time magazine about stress. In the experiment, (continue reading →)
Posted in: Winning at Working |
Tagged: Nan Russell, powerful, powerless, reduce stress, stress, what you can do, what you control, Winning at Working |
Posted on April 9, 2017
By Nan Russell
It’s a toss-up world. Sometimes what we encounter is truthful, sometimes it’s not; sometimes a picture is real, sometimes manipulated; sometimes a statement or “news” story is factual, sometimes “over-exaggerated,” fabricated, or plagiarized. In this kind of world, trust can seem naïve, gullible, and foolhardy.
Of course, sometimes it is. Not everyone is trustworthy. But, the reality is all people never have been and never will be. From snake-oil salesmen to the seller of the Brooklyn Bridge, there have always been scammers, cheaters, and manipulators. Technology may have changed, but the challenge of knowing how, when, and whom to trust hasn’t. It’s still an essential skill for anyone who wants to be winning at working.
In a complex, changing world with social media influence and a 24/7 connectivity of people, it’s easy for anyone — even the trust-savvy and trust-skilled — to make trust mistakes. However, some are easier to avoid than others.
Three Essential Winning at Working Trust Don’ts:
- Don’t allow the halo effect to extend your trust perimeter. According to The Oxford English Dictionary, a halo effect is: “The tendency of a favorable (or unfavorable) impression created by an individual in one area to influence one’s judgment of him or her in another.” You wouldn’t allow your auto mechanic to do your root canal, so don’t apply the equivalent elsewhere. Just because someone is successful or competent in their role doesn’t mean they’re trustworthy in other roles or areas. Be wary of giving trust-passes stemming from the halo effect.
- Don’t blanket trust or distrust, or extend or withhold trust, based on title, position, or role. Neighborhood priests and test-changing teachers offer headline examples against a trust blanketing approach. A person’s role or status (or race, gender, religion, or community) doesn’t determine trustworthiness. A person at the top of an organization isn’t inherently more or less worthy of trust than someone in an entry position. All leaders, salespeople, construction workers, business owners, doctors, police officers, protestors, students, politicians, neighbors, or friends aren’t the same — i.e. all trustworthy or all not. Trust is about individuals, not groups. Be careful about the trust-blankets you throw.
- Don’t judge only what someone says; judge what they do against what they say. Actions, at least consistent ones, do speak louder than words. But those actions don’t speak in a vacuum. Our words provide the backdrop for how our actions are measured. It’s that alignment between words and actions that creates behavioral integrity, which is a foundation for trust. Don’t give your trust to people whose words and actions are misaligned — who say one thing and do another– or those whose actions demonstrate a belief that their words apply only to others, not themselves. Pay attention to mismatched words and actions, including your own.
(continue reading →)
Posted in: Trust Inc, Winning at Working |
Tagged: behavioral integrity, don't blanket trust, essential trust don'ts, halo effect, Nan Russell, rules of trust, trust mistakes, trust or not trust, Winning at Working |
Posted on February 22, 2017
By Nan Russell
The 40 hour workweek is a myth for the majority of people who work full-time for two reasons. First, sometimes we have to work more, and second, sometimes we want to. When I’m writing a book or working on a new project, I rarely notice the hours. I’m focused, engaged, and challenged. I’m working early, I’m working late, and I’m grabbing every minute I can. But when I have to do something I’m not interested in, it’s different.
It’s not always the number of hours we work that matters, it’s why we’re putting them in. Gallup researchers note: “Highly engaged workers who log well over 40 hours will still have better overall well-being than actively disengaged workers who clock out at 40 hours.”
It’s a myth to assume long hours means less well-being. Just like it’s a myth that we’re working longer hours than ever before, or that this generation is (continue reading →)
Posted in: It's Not About Time, Winning at Working |
Tagged: accomplishing dreams, getting results, It's Not About Time, Nan Russell, next essential skill, self-management, time management, Winning at Working |
Posted on October 24, 2016
By Nan Russell
“He who cannot dance will say: the drum is bad.” Too many people I’ve encountered use a philosophy akin to this African proverb to navigate their work. It’s easier to blame the drum or the boss, the co-worker or the company. Easier to criticize the workload, the training or lack of it, the pay or one’s upbringing. And easier to fault anything and everyone rather than their own actions, choices, and results.
I hear too many creative excuses and too much blaming and finger pointing from people honing the craft of deflecting reflection. To them, it’s always the drum or the drummer, never the dancer. Excuses. Excuses. Excuses. Blame. Blame. Blame.
You’ll recognize them from their mantras: “It’s not (continue reading →)
Posted in: Winning at Working |
Tagged: accountability, blame game, can do attitude, Nan Russell, own it, Winning at Working |
Posted on September 21, 2016
By Nan Russell
When faced with catching a fly ball, Lucy missed again. “The past got in my eyes,” she told Charlie Brown, “I thought I had it, but suddenly I remembered all the others I’d missed.”
I’ve known hundreds of workplace Lucys. People who let their past get in the way of their future; who self-determine what they’re going to do, can do, or might be able to do by what they didn’t do, haven’t done, or even failed at. They stay aligned to their past like a Peanuts comic strip philosophy.
Past-focused people sabotage themselves with yesterday’s mantras that become today’s expectations: “Yeah, we tried that before and it didn’t work;” “I got rejected once already so I’m not going to make that mistake again;” or “No one listens to my ideas.”
What they miss is this: that may have been true yesterday, but (continue reading →)
Posted in: Winning at Working |
Tagged: career growth, future over past, learn from mistakes, Nan Russell, self-development, Winning at Working |
It was a dimly lit restaurant. Still she was dressed in pink, and while I admit it’s hard to tell the gender of babies, clothing color is a reliable clue. So, it surprised me when the waitress began playing with my granddaughter, asking “How old is he?”
