I asked a few people why they do it, some said it was fun (not sure how) others said it was for health reason, it is good for the blood flow and the heart and keep you healthy. But the majority said it was the challenge. The challenge of getting up from a warm bed and going out into the cold and getting into a freezing sea. The challenge of going in, in all weathers and the camaraderie they get with other sea swimmers. 

From a work perspective what can we learn from this?  

Well let’s look at how challenging work is for our teams? When I talk to teams of people about work most say they enjoy their work but there not a lot of challenge in it. If you ask the Supervisor or Manager they will often tell you they have too many challenges and the pressure of work never ends. So, we have a disconnect. 

What if we gave our teams more challenging work? Passing on challenges that we need help with. Teams I have worked with always thrive when given challenges. It adds interest to their job role, it gives them something to achieve, they support each other and it builds camaraderie between the team members involved. Some call it delegation, but the work we delegate must be interesting as well as challenging otherwise they will soon figure out that we are dumping work that we don’t want to do. 

If you pass on challenging work to your team, you build their skills, you create a better team environment and you give them the chance to feel fulfilment in their jobs and a great sense of achievement. Doing so, reduces your workload, it upskills your teams and it makes you a more competent and effective leader. 

But we also need to factor in that sometimes it may not work out to our liking, but they can come up with better and faster solutions so give them the encouragement that they need and step back and let them get on with it. 

So why not take the plunge and give your teams a sense of achievement? 

Think about what jobs you could delegate and encourage and support and see what happens – you too might just go for that morning sea swim! 

Many people will tell you they are not negative but think about it, we enjoy gossip and when you think of gossip it’s normally about someone else and what they have done wrong, what about newspapers? They are mostly negative stories – war, deaths, business losses and we enjoy reading them. What about women’s magazines nearly every one of them features articles about what can go wrong with women’s health, they give advice on how to deal with difficult relationships, how to get that amazing man that doesn’t seem to exist. Negativity sells magazines newspapers and keeps conversations fluid. I used to do an exercise when I was teaching people about developing a positive attitude – I got them to make a list of 10 things they didn’t like about the room they were in. Always easy and took just a few minutes, then I changed the question and asked them to list 10 things they liked about the room – always more difficult so it takes time to develop a positive approach but a worthwhile exercise. 

The key is to make sure you are not causing someone damage with false information, yes its tempting to flavor information you have heard to make it more sensational but you are doing someone an injustice and that is not acceptable. How about turning it around and finding something good to say about that person? 

I remember having a conversation with a senior manager in a company I used to work for. At his meetings, he was constantly critical and was doom and gloom about the organisations financial situation. I met with him afterward my first meeting with him and said I thought he was being very negative and was missing an opportunity to motivate and inspire his team. He listened intently and I though that’s good he has got the message. 

At the next meeting he used the same approach – doom and gloom and then said “I know people in this room think I’m being negative but I’m not, I’m being realistic”.  A couple of meetings later he said he didn’t see value in having this meeting as people didn’t have much to say, the problem was that every time someone tried to talk about something positive he would be critical  about what they said. So in the end no one commented and the meeting no longer takes place. It led to a number of problems as people were no longer in the loop as to what was happening. 

There is a lot of value in being positive and looking for inspirational stories as it can motivate people. Research has shown that positive people are more productive and the bottom line is positively impacted as well.

Taking a positive approach and thinking about others has a very positive impact on peoples lives. I was at an airport a week ago and sat having a coffee. I was close to the airlines ticket desk which had just 1 person on duty and a queue of 6 people all demanding assistance from this sole person. I actually felt sorry for her. Them an amazing thing happened, one of the people in the queue who had been helped by the person went and bought a black coffee and a container of milk and went to the desk and said to her I know you have been very busy and working hard but thank you for sorting out my problem and please have a coffee on me. The staff member was shocked – not many people appreciated what she did to sort out problems but this particular person who was a different culture to her did something small but it had an amazing impact. 

A couple of days later I was in a very car park in a major shopping centre. A driver arrived with a baby buggy and was obviously planning to leave, a queue of traffic built up as one driver was hoping to get the parking spot. The driver with the buggy was having great difficulty trying to fold down the buggy and (some of us have been in that situation) obviously was feeling embarrassed about this. Then a middle aged lady in another vehicle jumped out walked over and helped him fold the buggy. A simple gesture but impactful to all of us. 

So think about how you could help a colleague today, the photocopier jams on a colleague – help them out, going for a coffee ask others if they would like one too, someone looking down and unhappy at work, invite them for a coffee and ask if they want to talk about their problem. All small gestures but it will make you feel great and also them, but others who see it too will be impacted.  

Being negative is easy but taking a positive approach takes effort and requires you to do or say something positive – try it and see what happens.

The story of Les Miserables is built around the life of Jean Valjean and was written by Victor Hugo. It’s really about Jean’s life story and how he succeeds through life’s tribulations and challenges. 

It bears a lot of similarity around business life. Firstly, it takes a lot of hard work, patience and persistence to finally get what you want in business, but it’s not always an easy journey. Just as things start to get better for Jean Valjean, he discovers that one of the managers who works for him is not good with his staff and it leads one mother getting fired (unfairly) but that can happen in real life too. How often do we check on staff morale and ensure we don’t have rogue managers? 

Luckily Jean finds out and decided to do something to help, today we call it CSR Corporate Social Responsibility – giving back to the world some off what we have accumulated in life. This is one of the strong themes of the play – giving back to people we meet or know. What do you or your organization do to help people less fortunate that us? 

My daughter works for an excellent US company with an office in Galway Ireland. Each Christmas they put up a traditional tree and on it are various tags. Staff take a tag and on it is an age group and the gift or toy they would really appreciate. The staff member then buys the gift and wraps it up and closer to Christmas the various gifts are distributed through charities in the locality, it is totally voluntary and everyone wants to participate. I found this an excellent way to help others in the community. 

Like some young people today Jean’s start of his journey up the corporate ladder was troublesome, he felt the world owed him a living and he was angry and jealous of what other had. He takes advantage of the kindness of someone who took him under his wing.  But the individual instead of taking revenge on Jean for the wrong that he did to him actually prevented him from getting arrested. Yes, it’s a bit drastic but think about when new people join your organization? How are they made to feel, who looks after them? Do you have a dedicated person (possibly a mentor) to ensure they settle in successfully? Do you ensure they are effectively developed to add value to the job role?

Just like in business, there is an individual that Jean does not get on with, someone who constantly is a thorn in his side. In business that could be a competitor, it could be a difficult boss, it could even be a toxic business partner, but we do meet them and have to deal with them too.  Often, we try aggression, to retaliate, but in the show, Jean shows a different approach and uses kindness to deal with difficult people. Yes, some people believe aggression is the only route but using kindness sets you up as a role model and yes occasionally it may not work, but the reality is we are dealing with human beings and the majority react positively to kindness when it is appropriate. 

As in most people’s lives, Jean has his ups and downs but he did not let the negative situations get him down, you have to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you don’t believe your business will succeed them that’s exactly what will happen. If you believe a project will not be a success them the same result. Look for the positives in all situations, they are there sometimes you have to really look to find them. In the end a positive approach will help you solve problems. 

Jean, gets caught up in the French revolution and there is chaos and uncertainty, how many reorganizations have the same effect and why?  Well in the majority of cases it’s down to a lack of communication. Staff want to know what is happening, why and what the outcome will be. If they don’t get this information is leads to serious demoralization, a dramatic decline in the customer service and staff start to look elsewhere for employment. So while the process is designed to reduce cost, my question would be what will you lose in terms of customer loyalty? How many of your experienced staff will look for jobs with your competitor? What impact will it have on your organizational brand and reputation – those costs will be far greater in the long term. Something many reorganizations do not factor in. So communicate the plan with your staff they won’t like it but they will respect your honesty.

In the end Jean marries off the daughter that he had adopted and ensure she has a good start in life. It was an interesting look into the life of an individual and the trials and tribulations he faced, it’s good for us to do this occasionally and learn from it. One piece of advice I give to participants of my programmes is to read a biography of a famous business person once every 3 months. No, you won’t become this person but you will learn a lot about remaining positive in difficult times and to achieve small objective which them become bigger as you progress. Many biographies are inspirational and they help you to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

If you get the opportunity do go and see the show, its engrossing and spectacular and well worth the time out. Try to find the time to lose yourself for a few hours either in a show a movie or a play and you will feel the value of the time spent and I’m sure your spouse will appreciate it too. 

They miss the commute and people watching. The crazy drivers who only think of themselves. The weird looking passenger on the train. The Buskers they see in the stations and public places, the discussions about last night’s TV.  We miss all of this interaction because it all became a great conversation topic when we met up with our colleagues at work. Also in reverse, the new person who joined the department, the boss ‘s latest idea about motivation, the gossip about work, the journey home, all provided us with conversation when we got home from the office with our spouse, partner or friends. 

All of this interaction has slowly slipped away. Yes, we talk to our spouse, partner, friends while working from home but what is there to discuss about? The latest depressing results of Covid infections, whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher? Who is going to walk the dog? So, while we may be happy at home, is it having a detrimental effect on our wellbeing/mental health? 

So why is Teamwork important? First and foremost, we are social beings. Yes, we can get along with ourselves but long term on our own without social interaction can impact our mental health. This is why solitary confinement is used as punishment for problem prisoners. It is very tough not to be with other people as we need social interaction. There is a percentage of people who thrive on being on their own and that fine. But 90% of people need social interaction so its important to consider its impact.

Teamwork is something that has existed since time began and it’s believed that gave us an advantage over other species. Teamwork allows us collectively, to solve problems that we probably may not have been able to do on our own. Another advantage of Teamwork is that it boosts efficiency as we share the work load, which gets the job done. It also boosts our morale all of which helps our mental health. 

So, what can you do about Teamwork while working from home? Well keep in touch with your colleagues, use WhatsApp or similar communication tools. Why not send messages or comments to let people know you are there and thinking of them?  Better still, call them, (it’s more personal when talking to someone than just reading a message).  Discuss non work issues, but try to avoid Covid discussions (that only leads to depression).   Tell them stories of funny things that have happened – your partners latest attempt to do DIY, your supermarket experience, this will encourage like-minded behaviour and will help your wellbeing/mental health because you are not on your own, your part of the team. 

Why not arrange social meeting outside of work hours? Meet at a coffee shop, a restaurant, or a pub. Try this once a month and keep the team spirit going. The advantages? Well, you can talk about the crazy drivers who only think of themselves. The weird looking passenger on the train. The Buskers you see in the stations and public places, discuss last night TV. It will have a positive impact on your mental health and you will feel you belong!

So, Teamwork is more important now than ever before – enjoy it!