A Good Day at Work

Culturally, we tend to measure productivity in terms of tasks completed - and those tasks are usually  not relational.    First quarter budget completed - check.   Two reviews written and administered.   Check.    Planning session for kick-off meeting.   Check.   Reviewed expenses.  Check.

And if we check all of the boxes - it is meant to translate that we had a good, productive day at work.   And that is true.  To an extent. . .

And. . .  to be successful leaders, we need to re-examine and be more inclusive in our definition of work completed.   What if a really great day included  having (2) one to one conversations with team members - to check in on how they are doing, if they have the resources they need, what their career aspirations might be?  What if we were learning if they have any concerns about their job and what improvements could be made?

What if a really great day included listening to a trusted team member because they were stressed or had things going on in life?  What if we had a stronger understanding that the time spent builds bonds and thereby creates greater work?

And a really great day should include time for the cultivation of relationships between team members and peers so that everyone can enjoy work and contribute more.  We should practice working together to achieve greater things.

The temptation at the end of a long (but good) conversation is "well, now I've got to get back to work."  Or, "Well, that was nice but I didn't get any work done."   Truth is, the examples above are good work (if not great work) that produce positive ROIs in the short and long term.

A good day at work may well be spent in Excel sheets and projects. . .and a great day at work may be spent in building relationships that will yield results for years to come.

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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.