The Positive Energy Workplace

While writing CONTAGIOUS YOU* last year, I spent time digging deep into data, science, research, and case studies. I wanted to help bridge the gap people often come to the edge of when tying the IEP leadership work (often seen as the "soft stuff") to tangible business costs and outcomes.

Of course everyone knows that being more present, healthier, clearer, kinder, and trustworthy is a nice to have, but does it really net a financial impact? Is it really good business? After all, people say it is, but I've found that when it comes to learning how to do it — which requires leaning into the "soft stuff" — people often disappear into some version of, "We don't have budget, we don't have time, we've got work to do" or my favorite "Isn't that a little woo woo?"

After having done this work for more than twenty years with a spectrum of organizations, business leaders, humans, and industries, I knew the answer to "Does it really net a financial impact and is it good business and is it worth tending to?" was a HUMONGOUS “YES.”

(So do you, if even only intuitively right now.)

And turning myself into a researcher validated my beliefs. 

CONTAGIOUS CULTURE, CONTAGIOUS YOU...

Who would have thought we’d be in a CONTAGIOUS PANDEMIC just four months after the release of CONTAGIOUS YOU (the follow on to CONTAGIOUS CULTURE)? Or even deeper in that pandemic -- amongst hundreds of other hard things that challenge our energetic and leadership contagiousness and way of being -- just eight months later. Or after I'd written a book call THE LEADER YOU WILL BE...

I'll write another post about the experience of this year with these books, and the divinity and gifts I can see in all of it (now). And in the meantime, I wanted to offer some extra guidance and support in engaging with this work right now as we navigate pandemics, politics, natural disasters, social injustices, massive tension and ambiguity, mental and physical health trauma, upcoming holidays, and more, and as our leadership, self-care, and positively, usefully, and healthy contagiousness become even more important... 

Navigating this year has been tricky -- I know I'm not alone. The range of emotion I experience, almost daily, is like nothing I've ever felt before -- a mix of personal feelings, empathy for what's going on, feeling the collective energy and emotions on our planet right now, and ambiguity galore -- combined with a lack of control of so many big things -- creating an incredible amount of global anxiety. It's a lot. 

As of 9/23 (tomorrow) there are ONE HUNDRED days left in 2020. One hundred days to make the rest of the year mean what you want it to mean for you, to become who you want to become, and to do your very intentional best with.

There is not a lot we can control right now, lots of uncertainty and chaos. And... we can control ourselves, how we show up, the meaning we make of things, how we treat ourselves and others, how we think about things, our rest, our hustle, our choices, and what we do about all of it... with 100 days left in the year (after 9/22), and with a lot of intention, energy, and presence, we can make more meaning out of this time and more space for ourselves, our congruency, and each other. Do you realize how much and what you can do with 100 days?  Especially if you're intentional about them?

I've started this post four separate times this week. Each time I've started, I've gotten distracted. A stressed text from a loved one. Increasing smoke and decreasing air quality from the fires throughout California. Notice of a medical emergency. A news alert on my phone, (almost always followed by getting sucked into social media)...

Whatever the case (and this seems to happen more and more frequently), my previously energized and focused brain, after any of these (or a combination of the above) -- shuts down. And all that "ready to engage, ready to write, ready to whatever, zoom zoom!!" energy goes... kaput.