Posted on June 14, 2019
By Nan Russell
I once had a boss who informed me there was no such thing as company politics. At the time, I decided that depended on whether you were the person wielding power or influenced by it.
I’d categorize self-serving antics, sabotaging behaviors, information hoarding, and artful manipulation under the heading of organizational politics. I’d throw in veiled threats, perpetuated mistruths, finger-pointing, and coercion. There’s a long list of behaviors I’ve personally experienced or witnessed in the workplace under the politics label. And I’m sure you can add more.
These negative work cultures are fraught with fear and distrust. Fear you’ll step on a career grenade, lose your job, be labeled a trouble-maker, or relegated to a non-promotable category. Fear you’ll say the wrong thing, fall into project quicksand, find no support, or be kept out of the loop. These soul-depleting cultures trample self-esteem, negate initiative, encourage survival behavior, and diminish motivation.
But I learned in 20 plus years in management something else about company politics. It doesn’t (continue reading →)
Posted in: The Titleless Leader, Trust Inc, Winning at Working |
Tagged: company politics, culture at work, intention, motive, Nan Russell, Nan S. Russell, organizational politics, politics at work, trust, Winning at Working, WorkStuff |
Posted on June 6, 2019
By Nan Russell
Ours wasn’t a big house, but at night my bedroom at the end of the hall seemed a great distance. Plus the windowed door at the foot of my bed, leading to our back yard, appeared as a magical portal for nighttime monster entry. When I was old enough to know there weren’t monsters waiting in my room, I still anguished over the walk to that dark place.
Even into my teens I longed to ask mom or dad or my older brother to walk me to my room and check for monsters. But by then I understood I was responsible to handle them. Lighting the bedroom was step one. That involved a rapid move to the end of the hall, then a quick reach around the door jamb to turn on the light switch. The light transformed my room into one where stuffed animals rested on a pink bedspread, and purple butterflies graced the walls.
I don’t remember when my bedroom monster-hunting ended, but I do know I’ve been battling various monsters most years since. Not the ones who lurk in closets or under beds, but those that impact (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things, Life |
Tagged: aging, beliefs, critic, don't believe everything you think, getting older, gray hair, In the Scheme of Things, mind monsters, Nan Russell, Nan S. Russell, self perception, self worth, shadow thoughts, taming monsters |
Posted on March 12, 2019
By Nan Russell
Some of us started 2019 with a fresh-start mindset. We made New Year’s resolutions with well-intentioned, often passionate, decisions to change or improve something in ourselves or our lives. At this point, 25% of us are still working on our New Year goals, and by year’s end, only 8% will achieve what they set out to accomplish with their resolutions.
I won’t be one of them. I gave up New Year’s resolutions a decade or two ago, not because I don’t want to improve or change, but because I’ve learned making my goals, dreams, and aspirations happen isn’t a once-a-year thing. For me, a fresh start can be any time of year. There’s power in that.
You can start anew toward life dreams, aspirational goals, unsolved problems, or relationship building anytime. The reality is we don’t need a new year to regroup, start fresh, or begin again. We can ignite these resolutions and aspirations any day we choose.
It was Walt Disney who influenced my life early on in that regard. Maybe because when I was (continue reading →)
Posted in: Hitting Your Stride, In the Scheme of Things, Life |
Tagged: acting, choices, determiintion, Doing, focus, goals, hard work, hoping, In the Scheme of Things, life dreams, Nan S. Russell, New Year's Resolutions, passion, persistence, practice, resolutions, results, wishing |
Posted on November 20, 2018
By Nan Russell
While basement cleaning isn’t on my fun-to-do-during-time-off list, growing necessity prevailed during a recent staycation. Space was needed to expand the photo studio for my Etsy vintage shops, but too many boxes of stuff moved too many times, were in the way.
It was during that stuff elimination project I discovered old gratitude journals in a worn box. Every day for years I’d logged five or more things I was grateful for that day. Skimming the pages in dozens of abundance journals, my gratitude statements kindled warm memories of occurrences, kindnesses, and people.
But they sparked something else, too. The last time I saw the journals, I chose not to part with them. Perhaps I thought someday family or friends would read how grateful I was about each of them. But now, I was struck with how silly it seemed to hope they’d find my words. This time, the journals ended up in the recycle bin.
I believed then that gratitude was an inner feeling, a heartfelt expression of appreciation, love, and thankfulness. And it is. It enables us to see the blessings we have, and the positive elements in our life. It’s the kind of gratitude we hold inside with love and thanksgiving and it makes us feel good on several levels.
There’s a second kind of gratitude, the external kind, that’s nice to get and give, too. I first felt its power (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things, Life |
Tagged: but for the grace of, different kinds of gratitude, giving thanks, grateful, gratitude, gratitude of spared sorrow, In the Scheme of Things, Nan Russell, Nan S. Russell, thanksgiving |
Posted on November 14, 2018
By Nan Russell
When young children misbehave, parents, teachers, and caregivers frequently insist on a time-out. Think how much better your workplace would be if you initiated the same approach. No, it’s not for your boss or coworkers, it’s for you.
It’s hard to be amenable to reason or hear a contrary point of view when we’re stubbornly clinging to our position. It’s hard to hear a new idea when the change that’s being suggested will negatively impact us. And it’s hard to offer constructive input when we’re approaching the edge of unreasonableness, backed into a corner or seething with frustration.
When you feel like you’re teetering on the edge or spinning toward unproductive emotions, initiate a time-out. You don’t have to call it that, but take a walk around the building, shut your office door, get a cup of coffee, or suggest the group get back together later to continue the discussion.
People who are winning at working use this approach regularly. They (continue reading →)
Posted in: Winning at Working |
Tagged: anger at work, argue, better, clinging to point of view, conflict, losing perspective, Nan Russell, Nan S. Russell, need time, think about it, time out; time-out; resistance, Winning at Working |
Posted on September 23, 2018
By Nan Russell
Once upon a time, a prince and princess lived in stressful palace, surrounded by a stressful village, inside a stressful land. They knew it was stressful because everyone said it was. Their parents, the king and queen, worked from sunrise to sunset hearing issues from their kingdom, weighing the requests, and appropriating the collective harvest to the people of their land.
The people also worked from sunrise to sunset, doing their assigned tasks, completing their logs, filing their reports, and seeking an audience with the king and queen to request their needed resources. So it went, year after year after year. And the land became known as Stressland.
When the princess and prince grew up and took over the responsibility for the kingdom from their retiring parents, having watched and listened and learned the process for years, it was second nature for them to share responsibilities according to their talents.
But it happened that the young royals grew tired of their inherited routine and began to feel the stress they had only heard spoken of, but never experienced personally. “Enough of this,” said (continue reading →)
Posted in: Winning at Working |
Tagged: efficiency, ideas, Nan S. Russell, productivity, stress, thoughtful questions, time, what are we busy about, winning at working; too busy, workplace stress |
Posted on May 16, 2018
By Nan Russell
I once worked for a boss who was never wrong, never made a mistake or a bad decision. All you had to do was ask him. To his staff he was Teflon-man. Nothing stuck to him and everything came sliding toward us.
Accountability was not a concept he practiced unless things turned out well and then, he claimed the credit. But if they didn’t, he immediately embarked on endeavors to identify someone responsible. Being called to his office typically meant he was looking for information and trying to decide whom to blame.
Justify. Justify. Justify. Like a battle cry, he commissioned reports, graphs, charts and enhanced documentation whenever his boss questioned him. He found it easier to dig his heels into a position than admit he might have been wrong or change his mind. Working for someone I couldn’t respect eventually led me to transfer departments.
But it still baffles me. People do make mistakes, they do trip up sometimes and they do, on occasion, speak or act in error. And while there’s nothing that says we should be happy about it when we do it ourselves, trying to act (continue reading →)
Posted in: Winning at Working |
Tagged: accountable, blame game, finger pointing, fix it, initiative, lack of accountability, mistakes, Nan S. Russell, ownership, success, Winning at Working |
Posted on April 30, 2018
By Nan Russell
The reality is, effective people are highly productive. Part of that stems from enhanced self-managing skills, but a significant contributor is the way these people think about and use their time. They’re judicious and thoughtful about its use.
As Charles Duhigg, author of Smarter Faster Better puts it, “‘Productivity’ means different things to different people, but at it’s core, it’s about thinking a little more deeply about the choices we make every day.”
To that end, here are some time management and productivity tips to spark your thinking about your own time-use. One of my tips happens to be #18.
26 Helpful Time Management Tips and Techniques
Posted in: It's Not About Time, Tips |
Tagged: better results, increase productivity, increased productivity, It's Not About Time, more productive days, Nan S. Russell, time management tips, tips to increase results |
Posted on December 6, 2017
By Nan Russell
That year, Christmas was just another task on my to-do list. No magical feelings of the season took hold; no yuletide cheer; no gleeful joy; no warmth of goodwill; no sense of spirit. It was just more stuff to do. But, it was that Christmas that changed my thinking.
Come back with me a few decades. Somewhere between moving from California to Pennsylvania, starting a new job, buying a house, and juggling childcare logistics in a state where we knew no one, I was neck-deep in life-overload as Christmas approached.
But, I was determined to make it a special one for our family of three since it was our first Christmas away from our families. I used sleep-time to write personalized cards heralding our address change, decorated the house before work, insisted on baking cookies at night, and agonized over the perfect gifts to be bought, wrapped, and mailed to California relatives. As the day approached, my exhaustion took hold, but my festive enthusiasm didn’t.
I was convinced it would all be worthwhile watching our son’s delight opening presents. My husband tried to calm my growing to-do list with common sense which I chose to overlook. I went overboard decorating a house still void of furniture and hunting endlessly for the season’s must-have toys for our only child. Instead of a handful of gifts he had dozens. I visualized how thrilled he’d be with each, convincing myself it was only his delight I sought.
Christmas morning arrived and delight from him was not what I got. Instead of a joyful day (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things, Life |
Tagged: Christmas, gift of time, give the gift of time, how we spend our time, In the Scheme of Things, It's Not About Time, Nan S. Russell, stress at Christmas, the holidays |
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 |
I once had a boss who informed me there was no such thing as company politics. At the time, I decided that depended on whether you were the person wielding power or influenced by it.
