Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

I had lunch with a business colleague the other day, who said, “Everybody in my department wants to change somebody else….”  How many people do you know who simply complain about others … but seem to go nowhere new personally?

One man wants to change his supervisor, and everyday comes to work feeling frustrated. Supervisors ask managers to do a project and come away disappointed with their managers’ results. Managers tell you that supervisors expect the moon … but rarely communicate their wishes clearly. Most communication mishaps end with complaints about how somebody else refuses to change. 

In reality... change begins within the mind of each of us, and it often then invigorate changes in others in a ripple effect. Your brain will rewire for renewal and here are a few tips to get change started for that ripple result in your workplace:  

-- take risks to do things well… even when you feel others miss the excellence.

 -- do one routine in a different way at work today… just for the sake of change. Start by driving a new route to work as a reminder that change starts with something we do in a new way.

-- ask one person you trust to join you for lunch and discuss a plan to improve one small habit together in the office. Make your new approach exciting enough that others might be tempted to join in … but let it be known that it’s you who’s enjoying the change.

That’s enough to stir up a bit of excitement in the most monotonous workplace. Change works best if you start with you and invite others onboard … a step-at-a-time… more because they are inspired and challenged by the change they see in you… than because they think you are trying to change them. What do you think?