Are you in a rut? If you dread going to work each day or realize that work is no longer fun, what do you do? As a leader, it’s crucial that you realize that your people watch you closely. If employees sense you have lost your zest for work, their enthusiasm may also diminish. After all, if the leader isn’t passionate about the business, then why should they be? Some leaders try to hide their lost passion from their employees by starting to avoid going to work, or making excuses to spend less time in the office. Other leaders may try to hide by spending more time behind closed doors. All of those actions only make things worse. You’ll still be stuck, and your employees may start to worry about their future.
When you feel “stuck” or in a rut, the best thing to do is change something. When was the last time you and your team had fun? If spontaneity and creativity are missing, it’s time to take action! If weekly meetings have gotten stale, turn the agenda upside down. Start the meeting as if it was just ending and you were reviewing what went well. Then conduct the meeting making sure those positive things actually happen. Bring in toys or wear animal noses during the meeting to loosen things up. If you as the leader are not particularly creative, assign someone else to be the Chief Fun Officer.
Take the first step and start reinventing the joy you used to feel. Tap into your imagination. When you start having fun again, so will your team. You’ll become re-engaged and the results will be amazing.
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- Thomas Hawk / Foter.com / CC BY-NC
Cindy: This is great, I especially like the part about wearing an animal nose to the meeting. At my monthly staff meeting I am going to try this I will let you know how it goes.
I heard the saying once, “If you feel like you are banging your head against a wall, maybe it’s time to turn left!” I think this saying applies to this article. If it’s not working, change. If you aren’t happy, change it by moving in or fixing it. Good suggestions on ways to change it here. Thanks.
I have been experiencing this myself the last year. To help add some fun back, I recommended a few new events this year. My partners agreed to add an after tax season bowling party and it turned out well. We had various small teams competing for a winning team prize as well as top three score prizes. In addition, I assigned a staff in my office to send out trivia questions mid-week during the tax season. The staff seem to enjoy the break mid-week to do something fun. I am still working on my “joy” attitude and I am considering how to change it up this year.