Category Archives: My Work

Blue sees yellow

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I was quite surprised last year after completing one of those ‘colour profiles’ to discover that I am in fact a Blue person and not a Yellow person at all. Blue meaning I’m quite analytical (which I am) and Yellow meaning people’s person (which I really thought I was).

I guess I can’t be both and my Blue is much stronger than my Yellow, yet some days when I sit at my desk and chat to my fellow colleagues, I have to question the analysis. You see, I find that I really am a people’s person and I’m able to “see” what some of my colleagues around me can’t.

While my colleagues walk around the office with their serious faces on and in business mode, in my mind I am often wondering if they aren’t thousands of miles away…

If I look around me, I see:

An artist: She paints the most beautiful paintings. It’s a reflection of her heart and her strong values. She never speaks unkindly about anyone. Ever! But lately I see her face a picture of sadness. I know why and I feel helpless. As long as she knows I am there for her while she is trapped.

 

 

A teacher: I discovered the other day that she teaches Sunday School at her church. You don’t get a greater calling than to teach kids God’s Will. It makes sense now when I watch her at work. She’s a soft-spoken, gentle soul. I see how the stress sometimes gets to her and wears her down.

 

 

A good wife:  She upholds the highest standards both as a mother as well as a wife. Having made the decision not to have children, I somehow love listening to her stories. I also see when she shakes her finger at me when I moan about having family over or my grumpiness about household chores. The respect she shows for her husband, family and her role in the home is honourable.

 

A sunflower: She makes me love this country. She makes me love life. She makes me never want to talk about negative things, only good things. She is a bundle of energy and fun. She has also taught me about work – life balance and to pack up and leave the office in 5 minutes flat. She knows how to work hard and play harder!

 

Wait. I’m analysing aren’t I?  I guess I am Blue.

Choose your attitude

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Last week, someone on Twitter posed the question: do you prefer running in the mornings or the afternoons and why?

Without hesitation, I replied saying, “Definitely afternoon. It gives me time to clear my head after a stressful day”.  I then sat back and thought about it… the question I asked myself was, “Why the stress? What’s going on?”

On the work front, things have never been better. Never before have I had such clear direction as to what my role is and what is required from me. (Thanks Sue).

The stress is coming from those around me, my colleagues and the politics at work.

The facts: I work for a large corporate. Red tape, bureaucracy, processes, and especially politics is always going to form part of the culture of my working environment.  People are busy. They have jobs to do, deliverables that have to be met, outputs with tight deadlines.

What gets to me most is that regardless of the facts, majority of people have become almost institutionalised. They’ve forgotten to greet one another; they’ve forgotten to smile, to laugh, to have fun and even to respect one another. The smallest of issues gets blown out of proportion and they don’t look for solutions, but blame.

Most days I see colleagues walking out the door to go home with heavy shoulders, tired faces and lifeless.What those negative, frustrated, moaning people at work don’t realise is that their attitudes can make or break someone else’s day. That their constant complaining, back-stabbing and negative comments do little but create an environment where it’s a challenge not to get sucked into all the politics but to rise above it and remain positive.

A colleague asked me the other day, “Bron, how do you do it. How do you manage to smile and be so positive with all this going on around you?”

My answer: Well, you just have to. Some things won’t change. Corporate world is the same no matter where you go. But it’s the way you deal with situations and those involved which makes the difference.

… and at least I am able to run off that stress when I get home.

My (simple) tips for surviving the 2012 workplace

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As everyone returns to work after their end of year breaks, they would have realised that very little (if anything at all) has changed in their workplaces. Regardless of New Year’s resolutions, colleagues are still the same, work is still stressful, process still exist. In fact, if you hated your job before going on leave, chances are nothing will be different, besides perhaps your attitude.

But to get through the year, I thought I’d share some of the things I do that have always helped keep me sane and helped me cope at work.

  • I always remember that people I work with sometimes always have different opinions than mine and hey, that’s great. It’s good to see their side once in a while and understand where they are coming from.
  • There will always be that one colleague who I dislike immensely. Someone who gets on my nerves and who tests my patience. It’s not worth allowing that person to take up so much of my time. I try to ignore them. If the “noise” gets too much, I stick my skull candies in my ears and listen to music.
  • Remembering to laugh. It’s not heart surgery (not where I work anyhow). No one is dying! Behind my desk, I have a pin-up wall of funny email jokes and pictures. I’m amazed how many colleagues will stop for a quick chuckle when they walk past my desk. It also reminds me to smile.
  • It’s important to have something uniquely “YOU” to remind you daily of your values and who you are (especially in the corporate jungle). For me, it’s a dog calendar. I like to start my day off by paging to the entry of the day and seeing what dog will be smiling at me all day long. *I smile back*
  • I ensure that I hang around positive people in the office. This is a cheap, easy way to lift my mood and my day. (@hayleym_ please come back soon)
  • On last tip. I keep a tub of sour worms and chewy wine gums in my drawer and pull it out on certain days when the mood in the office is down. I call it my “stress bucket”. As people walk past, they see it and immediately grab one. It’s so funny to watch how everyone goes for the red, black and green ones first! Don’t underestimate the power of a sugar boost!

If all else fails, RUN. I mean, go for a run. Not only is it about finding a balance in life between work and home, but I often use my running to clear my head and to do most of my thinking.

In the end, there is a job that needs to get done. Unfortunately, no one is going to wait around for me when I am having a bad day or feel stressed out. I need to do what I need to do to de-stress and catch up or get left behind. Even if it means hitting the gym or going for a run. Everyone needs to find that something that helps.

Good luck!

Believing in myself will be my greatest challenge in 2012

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Compared to most December holidays, I had quite a lot of spare time to catch up on my reading and DVD watching these past few weeks. An inspirational book by Tim Noakes and watching one of my all-time favourite DVDs documenting the Apollo 13 rescue left me with lots of food for thought as I enter into a new year, filled with many unknowns and challenges.

I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions. However, a very clear message kept coming through when I read Noake’s book and which was confirmed when watching ‘The Race to the Moon: Failure is not an option’ DVD. The message of believing in myself. The message of accomplishing what my mind tells me is impossible.

Self-belief will be my 2012 New Year’s resolution.

In Noake’s book, called “Challenging Beliefs”, he says, “…it is our minds, and especially our perception of what can be, rather than our physical capabilities which ultimately determine the extend to which we succeed.” 

It’s four years since I started running but I aim to make 2012 the year that counts. No more doubting that running is too difficult. No more worrying that everyone else is faster than me. No more putting myself down. This will be the year that I have complete confidence in myself when I line up at the start of the Two Oceans half marathon. This will be the year that I am not overwhelmed with fears of not making the 3 hour cut-off gun. This is the year that I dash pass all those ‘walkers’ and come home with a medal I am proud of.

The Gene Kranz documentary “Failure is not an option” revolves around the team of very young engineers who ran the Mission Control centre in the 60’s and recounts their story of America’s space flight and man’s landing on the moon. But it’s the captivating story of the unexpected disaster that left the Apollo 13 crew lost in space which leaves me breathless. Faced with the unknown and a problem which at first seemed impossible to fix, the team at mission control managed to use their unique expertise and with the knowledge that “failure was not an option” pulled off an amazing rescue.

With the same spirit of those young NASA engineers, 2012 will be the year I rock at my job. I aim to make it known exactly just how skilled I am in my field instead of hiding in the shadows due to lack of confidence. I believe that I am capable of so much more. No more excuses! This is my year to take on new challenges and to shine!  

Bring it!