morning thoughts

As I sit here in the quiet morning on my only day off this week, I can't help but think about what this year will bring for me. Opportunities. Goals. Renewed focus. Challenges.

So much of my life is centered around work right now. My schedule feels unpredictable and it makes me crazy. Maybe I need to change my mindset on that and see the slight unpredictableness as an opportunity to practice flexibility instead. It certainly offers more opportunities for collaboration and partnerships.

I also need to learn how to delegate more tasks at work. My biggest problem is that I don't feel as though I can trust those I supervise to get the work done. They're already not meeting goals and deadlines - how can I ask them to do more? They can barely open email - how do I trust that they'll make a beautiful brochure? I'll figure it out, coach, teach, and work towards the goals set for the branch, but it's a daunting task.

I have a renewed focus on my health. Last year was pretty scary for me, with barely being able to move for the second half of it. I saw the housework falling down around me, the dogs and I getting fatter, my garden going wild and a library I had to run from my office instead of next to my coworkers. I had to let go of control over so many things, and I found that those I thought would help... Didn't. It made me realize that I need to plan for when I really am old and infirm. I need to put the mechanisms in place to be sure that things won't fall apart if I'm not able to do them.

So, I'm starting with a few small steps to meet my goals for work, home, and health. i have seen progress with the goals already: my weight is going down, the negative mindset at work isn't so negative, our market share has increased by 2%, we traveled. It's good. I just need to keep the momentum going.

Airen W

01/29/2016 10:21AM

Can I offer suggestion? At work if you need extra help with extra stuff and you don't feel like anyone can do it as well as you, perhaps try a method of encouragement and job well done! Mary Kay Ash was a great motivator and business woman. She took women that thought they'd be stuck in a place of just okay forever to OVER THE TOP SALES WOMEN! Maybe read about how she loved on people to help them perform and achieve more!

Danielle W.

Thanks Airen. Basically, what's happening at work is a cultural change. The previous manager pretty much let staff do whatever they wanted and treat customers poorly. Because there were no expectations, let alone metrics in place to measure them, the branch saw terrible circulation numbers, low gate counts, and worse Yelp reviews. I've been working with these folks for 6 months and the culture is slowly changing. Part of that is training on technology and outreach. The other part is demonstrating what I and our customers expect to see. Mixed in with that are a ton of compliments. We're slowly changing the negative mindset into a positive one and we're seeing an increase in customers. I know it'll come - we're just not there yet as a branch.

Beth

01/29/2016 9:22AM

Good for you! Your positive attitude will take you where you want to go!!

Danielle W. likes this comment.

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