Making Amends

The nature of being human includes making mistakes, missteps, or misstatements.  I can attest to being quite human then . . . especially lately.  Anyway, it’s important for us to make amends when we do something that has made someone else:

• Work hard to fix your mistake or clean up your mess
• Feel bad because you said something offensive or hurtful (even if unintentionally so)
• Question your integrity or intentions.

It’s important to make amends because it’s in the best interest of healthy and productive relationships to do so.  Whether in your professional or personal life, making amends and owning your mistakes is an act of commitment to relationship.  It says to others that you know your humanness has “gotten in the way” and you’re sorry.  It also says that you are aware of your shortcomings and are willing to look at them and work to overcome them.  Making amends is a powerful action that also builds trust among colleagues, partners and friends.  Mistakes are easier to forgive when there is an attempt to make amends.

Speaking of forgiveness . . . well, there’s another powerful act of commitment to relationship.  When someone with whom you work or are friends with makes a mistake, and he or she attempts to make amends, choose to forgive.  It takes courage to acknowledge one’s own mistakes.  Give the gift of forgiveness in return.  It’s a gift that will release both of you from feelings of resentment or mistrust.  And, it will hasten the return to productivity, grace and ease in the relationship.  Finally, it might make things that much easier for others to forgive you when the time comes that you slip up.  Because, that time will come, you human being.

Making amends includes:

• Being aware that your action(s) have caused hurt or inconvenience for others.
• Owning up to your shortcomings.
• Apologizing to those who have been affected.
• Forgiving yourself and moving on.

Accepting amends from others includes:

• Acknowledging and receiving their apology without judgment.
• Forgiving them and moving on.
• Hoping they’ll do the same for you when you next slip up.

Warmly,

Lynae

Have Fun

The tag line for our business is “Serious Business Made Fun” and we like to make our work fun.  We like to encourage our clients to make work fun too.  Keeping employees engaged remains a tough proposition.  And, there are lots of strategies for doing so.  It’s important to remember and include “having fun” as one of the key strategies for keeping employees engaged.

When we lead one of our Values Discovery Sessions and participants select the values that are most important to them at work, it’s common for one or more people to include “fun” as a core value.  When people are having fun, they’re more productive and light-hearted.  Lots of great results come about when fun is part of the mix.

One of my favorite companies, Zappos.com has made fun an integral part of their culture.  In his book, Delivering Happiness, Zappos CEO talks about how important having fun is to creating productivity, loyalty and outstanding results.  At Zappos, they have cubicle decorating contests, theme parties, celebrations for hitting sales goals, and regularly scheduled pot-lucks and happy hours for everyone to socialize together.  They have an incredibly loyal staff, and as you may know, an unbelievably loyal customer base who makes Zappos a very profitable company.

Building fun into the workplace is simple, but it’s not always easy.  There are lots of reasons to be really serious about process, people, systems and results.  I would argue, however, that it’s important to look beyond the everyday seriousness and seek to inject everyday fun.  The key is to make sure that “fun” is defined in a way that is in alignment with the organization’s vision, mission and values.  That way, “fun” becomes a way to strengthen culture and keep employees focused on the desired outcomes.  Here are some things to consider:

1.      Invite employees to help define the “fun” activities that will fit with the culture.

2.      Build “fun” into the annual strategic planning and budgeting process so it doesn’t get overlooked.

3.      If possible, include customers in the “fun” to deepen their loyalty to the organization.

4.      Document “fun” events and share them organization-wide to reinforce that having fun is valued.

5.      Make sure senior leadership participates in all the “fun”.  It’s incredibly motivating for employees to see their leaders enjoying themselves.

Lynae