We just got more evidence open plan offices suck, according to science 开放式办公室近些年来越来越盛行，号称能把员工从小隔间里解放出来，打破工作场所层级结构，那么实际效果如何呢？哈佛的两名研究人员对此进行了跟踪调查，结果发现……
For the first time, scientists have measured what actually happens with face-to-face interactions when employees start to work at an open-plan office - and their results show these modern workspaces are not as collaborative as you'd think.
在开放式办公室工作真的能增加面对面交流吗？科学家首次对此展开了研究，结果显示，这种现代办公室并不像你想的那样能够增进合作。
Two researchers from Harvard Business School and Harvard University wanted to empirically test whether removing walls at a real-world workplace really does increase interactions between co-workers.
来自哈佛商学院和哈佛大学的两名研究人员想通过实证检验知道，现实世界中的办公室如果没有了“墙”，是否真的能增进同事间的互动。
\"To our knowledge, no prior study has directly measured the effect on
actual interaction that results from removing spatial boundaries to create an open office environment,\" Ethan S. Bernstein and Stephen Turban write in the paper.
伊桑•S•伯恩斯坦和史蒂芬•图尔班在论文中写道：“据我们所知，没有任何先前的研究曾直接衡量过没有空间边界的开放式办公环境对实际互动的效果。” To that end, they approached two multinational companies that were re-organising their office spaces at the global headquarters, and enlisted small groups of employees for two studies.
为此，他们联系了两家正在重新规划全球总部办公空间的跨国公司，并征募了一小群公司职员来参与两项调查。
For eight weeks before the office redesign and eight weeks afterward, the
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researchers tracked employees' social interactions using sociometric badges, and location using Bluetooth sensors.
在公司重新设计办公室前的8周以及设计完办公室后的8周时间内，研究人员分别用社交计量仪和蓝牙传感器跟踪调查了职员的社交互动情况和互动位置。
This data was analysed together with email and instant messaging info from the company's servers to measure differences in how people were communicating with each other.
研究人员分析了这部分数据以及来自公司服务器的电邮和即时通讯信息，以衡量人们彼此交流的前后差异。
What they found was a pretty staggering difference in face-to-face interactions - but not in the direction you might think.
他们发现，面对面互动的前后差异相当明显，不过也许和你所想的背道而驰。 Across both experiments, employees' social interactions in person
decreased by a crazy 70 percent, while emails saw an uptick by roughly 20 to 50 percent.
在两次试验中，职员面对面的社交互动减少了70%之多，而发送的电邮数量增加了约20%到50%。
So, instead of spending more time \"collaborating\" with co-workers in the sprawling new space where everyone could see them, people got their heads down and tried to preserve their privacy any way they could (hello, huge headphones).
也就是说，在每个人都能看见自己的开阔办公空间里，人们不是花更多时间与同事“合作”，反而是埋头于自己的事情，试图用各种方式保护自己的隐私（比如头戴式大耳机）。
According to these results, it appears that being forced into a more
open-plan environment can make people switch from chatting to others in person to sending an email or using instant messaging instead.
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从结果看来，被迫在更开放的办公环境内工作，会让人们将面对面聊天改为用电子邮箱或即时通讯软件发信息。
As the team notes, it's not automatically a negative thing, but it can certainly change work dynamics in an unexpected way.
研究团队指出，这不一定是坏事，但是肯定会以意想不到的方式改变工作气场。
\"That can have profound consequences for how - and how productively - work gets done,\" the researchers conclude.
研究人员得出结论说：“这对于如何完成以及如何有效地完成工作将产生深远的影响。”
It's really starting to look like this whole open plan shtick needs more
investigation. According to the team, previous studies using surveys have shown that open plan offices can have some negative psychological effects, reducing employee satisfaction, focus, and their feelings of having privacy at work.
看起来开放办公空间的噱头确实值得商榷。研究团队指出，先前的调查显示，开放式办公室会对职员的心理造成负面影响，降低职员满意度、注意力水平和职场私密感。
And don't even get us started on hot-desking. 至于公用办公桌（办公桌轮用制）就更别提了。
You know the pain if you're one of those folks whose management once shook things up by taking away your desk and forcing you to scrounge for space in a \"flexible workspace\" area with weird lighting fixtures and oddly shaped furniture.
如果你曾经被管理层剥夺了固定办公桌，被迫在“灵活办公区”找一张桌子用，忍受诡异的灯具和奇形怪状的桌椅，你将会深知其苦。
Studies have shown that people forced to share workspaces reported
feeling marginalised, experienced more distractions, negative relationships
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and uncooperative behaviour, not to mention feeling like their supervisors were being less supportive.
研究显示，被迫共享办公空间的人报告称感觉受排挤，更容易分心，人际关系不佳，难以和他人合作，且会觉得上司不待见自己。
\"While these [shared workspace] environments can work well for some employees – those who are highly mobile and autonomous, for instance – the research shows that many employees do not work well in these
environments,\" organisational behaviour researcher Libby Sander wrote in The Conversation last year.
组织行为研究员莉比去年在The Conversation网站的文章中写道：“尽管共享办公环境对某些员工可能还行——比如经常走动的自主性强的人——但研究显示，许多员工在这种环境下都无法很好地工作。”
But since companies can save money on walls, doors, and general floor space by cramming us all together, we're not sure if open plan trends are going away any time soon - so it could be worthwhile to hone your skills on how to minimise distractions at work.
不过，因为大家聚在一起工作可以让公司省下墙壁、门和占地面积的钱，我们不确定开放式办公室这股风潮何时才会过去，所以，现在只能磨炼自己的专注技能，尽量不在工作时分神。
The study has been published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
该研究发表在《皇家学会哲学汇刊B辑》上 ==
你摄入的纤维量真的够了吗?
How much fibre do you eat? The answer is: probably not enough. We're now advised to get 30g a day, yet the average Brit only manages 18g. 你的纤维摄入量是多少？答案是：可能还不够多。目前，日建议纤维摄入量为30克，而平均每位英国人只能摄入18克。
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\"Fibre is the forgotten food,\" says This Morning medic Dr Ranj Singh. \"Unlike carbs, protein and fats, it's not seen as important. Fibre has the image of being this bland, boring stuff. But from a medical point of view it's very important. If you don't consume enough, you're missing out on so many health benefits.\"
\"纤维是被遗忘的食物，\"This Morning的Ranj Singh医生说道。\"与碳水化合物、蛋白质和脂肪不同，人们并不是十分重视纤维。纤维给人们的印象是平淡而乏味的。但从医学角度来看，纤维是非常重要的。如果摄入量不足，你就会缺失很多健康益处。\"
When you're eating a high-fibre diet, it's important to drink plenty of water to help food move through your system and avoid getting bunged up.
摄入高纤维饮食时，多喝水以帮助食物通过人体系统、避免堆积也是很重要的。
1. Fibre reduces your cancer risk 1. 纤维降低你的患癌风险
We all know fibre helps get things moving through your system, but that doesn't just reduce your risk of constipation. \"A high-fibre diet is linked with a lower risk of bowel cancer,\" says Dr Ranj. \"The more fibre you eat, the faster everything moves. The hypothesis is that some of the things we excrete can be toxic to us, so keeping them in our gut for longer may contribute to our risk of bowel cancer.\"
我们都知道，纤维有助于身体系统运行顺畅，但这并不会降低你便秘的风险。\"高纤维食物与较低的肠癌风险相关，\"Ranj医生说道。\"摄入的纤维量越多，系统运作的就越快。我们假设一些排泄物对人体是有害的，所以让它们在体内停留的时间过长可能会增加我们患肠癌的风险。\" 2. Fibre helps your heart 2. 纤维有利于心脏健康
'A high-fibre diet cuts the risk of heart disease, and your risk of type 2 diabetes,' says Dr Ranj. It's thought that soluble fibre (fibre that absorbs water, eg oats) helps by reducing levels of 'bad' cholesterol and improving insulin resistance.
'高纤维饮食可降低患心脏病及2型糖尿病的风险，'Ranj医生说道。据说是因
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为可溶性纤维（吸收水分的纤维，比如燕麦）有助于降低'坏'胆固醇水平，提高胰岛素抵抗。
3. Fibre is good for your weight 3. 纤维有利于体重控制
Fibre fills you up, but that's only one way it can help you slim. 'Fibre is good for keeping your blood sugar stable, which definitely curbs cravings,' says Dr Ranj. 'It can also increase the amount of friendly bacteria in your body, and there's growing research to show this can influence metabolism and weight control.'
纤维能让你感到饱腹，但这只是它帮助你瘦下来的一方面。\"纤维有助于保持血糖稳定，绝对能抑制你的馋瘾，\"Ranj医生说道。'纤维还会增加体内有益细菌的数量，且越来越多的研究表明这能影响新陈代谢、控制体重。' How to get enough 如何多吃纤维？
Hitting the daily target and filling the average 12g 'fibre gap' isn't hard to do, says Dr Ranj. 'It's just about making a few simple swaps...'
达到日推荐量，填补12克的平均纤维差距并不难，Ranj医生说道。'只要做一些简单转变就行啦……' At breakfast 早餐
Typical breakfast: Cornflakes (2.1g fibre per 40g) and a glass of apple juice from concentrate (less than 0.5g).
典型早餐：玉米片（每40克含有2.1克纤维）和一杯浓缩苹果汁（低于0.5克） ==
研究表明,喝咖啡或延年益寿
A new study provides more good news for coffee lovers. Drinking coffee is associated with a lower risk of early death - virtually regardless of how much you drink and whether or not it's caffeinated, concludes a paper published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
一项新研究为咖啡爱好者带来了好消息。喝咖啡与更低的早死率风险相关--不管你喝多少，也不管是否含有咖啡因，周一发表于JAMA Internal Medicine
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期刊的一篇文章总结道。
\"We observed an inverse association for coffee drinking with mortality,
including among participants who reported drinking at least one cup per day, up to eight or more cups per day, as well as those drinking filtered, instant and decaffeinated coffee,\" said Dr. Erikka Loftfield, the study's lead
investigator and a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute, in an email to TIME.
\"我们观察到喝咖啡与死亡率呈负相关，包括那些称自己每天至少喝1杯，最多喝8杯或更多杯的受试者，也包括喝那过滤咖啡、速溶咖啡和不含咖啡因的咖啡的受试者，\"该研究的首席研究员、国家癌症研究所的研究员Erikka Loftfield博士在写给《时代》杂志的邮件中说道。
The researchers used data from the UK Biobank study, through which a large group of UK adults completed health questionnaires, underwent physical examinations and provided biological samples. For the current study, the researchers analyzed information provided by about 500,000 people, who answered questions about their coffee consumption, smoking and drinking habits, health history and more. During the study's 10-year follow-up period, around 14,200 of those people died.
研究人员使用英国生物银行（UK Biobank）研究的数据，一大批英国成年人在研究中完成了健康问卷调查、做了体检、并提供了生物样本。对于目前的研究，研究人员分析了大约50万人提供的信息，他们回答了有关喝咖啡、吸烟和饮酒习惯、健康史等方面的问题。后续研究进行了10年，在这段时间内，约有14200人死亡
The researchers found longevity benefits associated with nearly every level and type of coffee consumption. Risk reduction varied slightly depending on how much coffee someone consumed, its caffeine content and whether it was instant or ground. But overall, relative to non-drinkers, those who drank one cup of coffee per day had an 8% lower risk of premature death - a rate that rose slightly as consumption increased, peaking at 16% for those drinking six to seven daily cups, before dipping slightly, to 14%, for those having eight or more cups each day.
研究人员发现，几乎每种水平和类型的咖啡摄入都与长寿益处相关。基于人
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们喝咖啡的量、含咖啡因的程度、是速溶咖啡还是研磨咖啡，风险降低的程度略有不同。但总体而言，相比不喝咖啡的人，那些每天喝一杯咖啡的人过早死亡的风险降低了8%--随着喝咖啡的量的增加，这一比率略有上升，对于那些每天喝六至七杯的人而言，这一比例达到16%，对于那些每天喝八杯或更多杯的人而言，比例略有降低，为14%。
The speed at which a person metabolized caffeine didn't seem to affect longevity, despite prior research that suggested coffee consumption might be related to increased risks of high blood pressure and heart attack among people who metabolize caffeine slowly. But those studies only looked at coffee drinking after disease occurrence and did not examine overall mortality risk, as the current paper did, Loftfield said.
人们代谢咖啡因的速度似乎对寿命没有影响，尽管先前的研究表明，对于代谢咖啡因慢的人而言，喝咖啡与患高血压和心脏病的风险增加有关。但
Loftfield说，这些研究只关注发病后喝咖啡的情况，并没有查看整体的死亡风险，没有做到当前文章所做的事情 ==
大多数人都会有这样的人生憾事
Everyone has regrets, but you always imagine that those regrets revolve around the mistakes that you think you made. Maybe you regret calling off your wedding. Maybe you wish you hadn't married the man you chose.
Maybe you want to quit your job and move to Bali, but you're worried it's the wrong choice.
人人都有遗憾，但你时常想起的却是那些你以为的一己之过所造成的遗憾。也许你会后悔取消了婚礼。也许你希望不曾和自己选择的这个男人结婚。也许你想辞掉工作，搬到巴厘岛生活，但你又怕这是个错误的选择。
We focus so much on the decisions we make in the moment, but a new study published in the journal Emotion indicates that the old adage still rings true: it's not the things you do in life that you regret, it's the things you don't do.
我们太过关注当下所做的决定，但发表在《情感》杂志的一项新研究表明：古老格言还是有道理的：你往往不会因为自己做过的事而后悔，但却会因为
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自己没做过的事情后悔。
In a paper entitled \"The Ideal Road Not Taken,\" Cornell psychologists
identified three elements that make up a person's sense of self. Your actual self consists of qualities that you believe you possess. Your ideal self is made up of the qualities you want to have. Your ought self is the person you feel you should have been, according to your obligations and responsibilities.
在一篇题为《未选择的理想之路》（The Ideal Road Not Taken）的文章中，康奈尔大学的心理学家确定了构成一个人自我意识的三个要素。你的实际自我拥有你确信自己会拥有的那些品质。你的理想自我拥有你希望自己拥有的那些品质。你的本我就是你依据责任和义务觉得自己应该要成为的那种人 In surveying the responses of hundreds of participants in six studies, the researchers found that, when asked to name their single biggest regret in life, 76 percent of participants said it was not fulfilling their ideal self.
研究员在调查数百名受试者（六项研究）的回应时发现：被问及一生中最大的遗憾时，76%的受试者都表示，他们都后悔没有活成自己想要的样子。 This indicates that we might have a flawed attitude toward how to avoid regret. We live in a world in which we are told that we'll have a great life if we follow the rules. So you figure that if you do all of the things that society expects of you-act like a good citizen, get married at the appropriate time, make enough money to pay the bills-that you'll feel happy and fulfilled with your life.
这表明我们在避免自己后悔的态度方面存在缺陷。我们生活在这样的一个世界：他人告诉我们，如果我们遵守规则，就会享受美好生活。所以你认为，如果你能做到这个社会对你期望的事情--比如做一个遵纪守法的市民、在适当年龄结婚、多挣钱付账单--那你的人生就会幸福、美满。
But those are all qualities associated with your ought self, which the study found people have limited regrets about (in part because they actually act on decisions associated with it). But when it comes to your dreams and aspirations, people are more likely to let them just drift by unrealized, and that's what really stings later in life.
但这是与本我相关的品质，研究发现人们对本我少有遗憾（部分原因是，他
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们实际上就是按照本我做相关决定的）。但在梦想和追求方面，人们更有可能不付诸努力实现这些梦想，所以年老时，人们往往会为之后悔 ==
Successful Introverts - Surveys
Born in the Czech Republic, I started my career as a software developer, a nice comfortable job for a technically oriented introvert. Very quickly, because of my ability to communicate well in English and willingness to step up when required, I got to project and people management. To my surprise, a transformation happened. Within a span of a couple of years, I realized that even though I love technology and software development, I enjoy working with people even more. Here I was, an introvert, who hates the spotlight and big stages, who likes to work alone, and I was passionate about working with other people. What more, apparently, I was pretty good at it.
Since then I built, led, coached, and mentored teams in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Romania, Croatia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Philippines, India, and the USA and the passion for meeting people from other cultures, helping them to grow and be successful never left me. I’m sure I did my share of mistakes, and I would like to apologize to all the people who
suffered because of my inexperience as a manager and a leader, but I also had a positive impact on lives of hundreds of other people.
Tapping into my strengths as an introvert, being able to listen, to guide, to approach things in a calm and non-threatening manner, to continually think about ways how to do things better made me who I’m today. An introverted engineering and operations leader passionate about setting up offices, building teams, growing people, solving challenging problems and sharing the experience with others.
The need to share and encourage other introverts to become leaders is what led me to start writing a book to answer a simple question: How can introverts succeed in the corporate world, have great careers, happy lives, and become great leaders?
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The source for the book is the research of psychologists and sociologists, the works of others who came before me, my own experiences, stories of other successful introverts I met, and various surveys.
I’m gathering material, and I would love to hear from you! If you are an introvert, who has a successful career and/or who moved to a leadership role, I would like to ask you to share your experience with me. I prepared a couple of short survey’s that will make it easy for you (use whichever is close to your heart).
Strengths of successful introverts (What strengths introverts have that can help them be successful?)
Blueprint of a successful career (What is required for a successful career?) Strategies for introverted leaders (As an introverted leader what strategies do you use to lead and manage others effectively?)
Note: This is an informal survey, not a scientifically validated tool. The questions are based on the recent understanding of what introversion is and on what leadership qualities yield the best results.
==
Eight Small Things People Use To Judge Your Personality
The human brain is hardwired to judge. This survival mechanism makes it very hard to meet someone without evaluating and interpreting their behavior.
While we tend to think that our judgments are based on the content of
conversations and other obvious behaviors, the research says otherwise. In fact, the majority of our judgments are focused on smaller, subtler things, such as handshakes and body language. We often form complete opinions about people based solely on these behaviors.
We are so good at judging other people’s personalities based on small
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things that, in a University of Kansas study, subjects accurately predicted people’s personality traits, such as extroversion/introversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness, simply by looking at pictures of the shoes they wore.
Our unconscious behaviors have a language of their own, and their words aren’t always kind. These behaviors have likely become an integral part of who you are, and if you don’t spend much time thinking about them, now is a good time to start, because they could be sabotaging your career. How you treat waiters and receptionists. How you treat support staff is so indicative of your makeup that it has become a common interview tactic. By gauging how you interact with support staff on your way in and out of the building, interviewers get a sense for how you treat people in general. Most people act the part when they’re speaking to the hiring manager or other “important” people, but some will pull a Jekyll and Hyde act the moment they walk out the door, treating others with disdain or indifference. Business lunches are another place this comes to light. No matter how nice you are to the people you have lunch with, it’s all for naught if those people witness you behaving badly toward others.
How often you check your phone. There’s nothing more frustrating than someone pulling out their phone mid-conversation. Doing so conveys a lack of respect, attention, listening skills, and willpower. Unless it’s an
emergency, it’s wise to keep your phone holstered. A study from Elon University confirms that pulling out your phone during a conversation lowers both the quality and quantity of face-to-face interactions.
Repetitive, nervous habits. Touching your nails or face or picking at your skin typically indicates that you’re nervous, overwhelmed, and not in control. Research from the University of Michigan suggests that these nervous habits are indicative of a perfectionistic personality, and that perfectionists are more likely to engage in these habits when they’re frustrated or bored. How long you take to ask questions. Have you ever had a conversation with someone where they talked about themselves the entire time? The amount
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of time someone allows to pass before they take an interest in you is a strong personality indicator. People who only talk about themselves tend to be loud, self-absorbed “takers.” People who only ask questions and share little about themselves are usually quiet, humble “givers.” Those who strike a nice balance of give-and-take are reciprocators and good conversationalists.
Your handshake. It’s common for people to associate a weak handshake with a lack of confidence and an overall lackadaisical attitude. A study at the University of Alabama showed that, although it isn’t safe to draw assumptions about someone’s competence based on their handshake, you can accurately identify personality traits. Specifically, the study found that a firm handshake equates with being less shy, less neurotic, and more extroverted.
Tardiness. Showing up late leads people to think that you lack respect and tend to procrastinate, as well as being lazy or disinterested. Contrary to these perceptions, a San Diego State University study by Jeff Conte
revealed that tardiness is typically seen in people who multitask, or are high in relaxed, Type B personality traits. Conte’s study found that Type B individuals are often late because they experience time more slowly than the rest of us. Bottom line here is not to read too much into people showing up late. It’s better to ask what’s behind it than to make assumptions. Handwriting. There are all manner of false stereotypes attempting to relate your handwriting to your personality. For example, people believe that how hard you press down on the paper relates to how uptight you are, the slant of your writing indicates introversion or extroversion, and the
neatness/sloppiness of your writing reveals organizational tendencies. The research is inconclusive at best when it comes to handwriting and
personality. If you have an important letter to write, I’d suggest sticking to the keyboard to keep things neutral.
Eye contact. The key to eye contact is balance. While it’s important to
maintain eye contact, doing so 100% of the time is perceived as aggressive
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and creepy. At the same time, if you only maintain eye contact for a small portion of the conversation, you’ll come across as disinterested, shy, or embarrassed. Studies show that maintaining eye contact for roughly 60% of a conversation strikes the right balance and makes you come across as interested, friendly, and trustworthy. Bringing It All Together
Sometimes the little things in life make a big difference. It’s good to be ready for them, so that you can make a strong impression.
What other behaviors yield insight into people’s personalities? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.
==
A Leader's guide to...toxic personalities
I’m fortunate to have recently been given the opportunity to lead and grow a fantastic team in my new position as Inspire Group’s Auckland Regional Manager. Each day I’m inspired by how they collaborate, approach opportunities and challenges with a growth mindset, and embody the principles of mutual trust, respect, support and care for each other. But I haven’t always been this fortunate in my career. In previous
leadership positions, I’ve encountered individuals who demonstrate very different behaviours. We experience significant emotional tolls when faced with personalities that seem to fundamentally misalign to our values and vision. I’m comfortable admitting that when confronted with these situations in the past, I haven’t always had the appropriate tools or knowledge to manage them effectively. Every week I speak with business leaders who share similar stories and concerns.
So, what is the best way to deal with a ‘toxic personality’? And how can we equip leaders to manage these situations to a desirable outcome with minimal impact on their own (and their team’s) wellbeing? What is a toxic personality?
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Knowledge is power, so identifying the toxic personality is a critical first step. There is a stark distinction between a difficult and a toxic personality. The former is an easier issue to isolate and control, the latter is a more insidious problem which can result in grave repercussions for your organisational culture. Understanding this difference ensures you focus your time and effort on supporting and immunising your team from the toxic behaviours that can have an enduring and damaging impact on their commitment, motivation levels and general wellbeing. Some signs of toxic personalities are:
Highly manipulative actions with destructive intent:
· Unethical, aggressive or secretive behaviours that when challenged are defended or represented as positive.
Patterns of inconsistent moods, behaviours and attitudes to others: · Creating feelings of unease and mistrust. Individuals subjected to such behaviours are unable to relax and engage meaningfully or authentically in professional interactions. Projection:
· Refusal to take ownership of their own feelings and actions, instead opting to accuse others of behaving in a similar way. Selective relationship building and support:
· Intentional exclusion of other team members, or purposefully creating situations that may compromise or expose colleagues in their work. Deflection, dishonesty and lack of accountability:
· Refusal to apologise for any actions that have resulted in a negative outcome. Often taking the opportunity to allocate blame to others. Or finding a means to present themselves as victim rather than perpetrator. In extreme cases, they may also lie or conceal information.
Be an investigative and empathetic leader
Many leaders focus too readily on the consequences of toxic personalities, rather than the catalyst for them. Working compassionately with the
individual to understand what is driving certain actions can help mitigate or
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control negative behaviours. Create space and time for safe coaching conversations to uncover what personal and professional issues may be eliciting certain actions. Provide clear and direct feedback (and
expectations) and offer full support to the individual in their behaviour change.
Maintain focus on solutions
Leaders can counteract negative behaviours through maintaining a positive and solution-focused mindset and empowering their teams to focus their energy in a similar way.
Help others (and yourself) to maintain emotional distance
Leaders need to master supporting their teams to distance themselves from toxic behaviours. This can be achieved by reducing interactions. Either through creating physical boundaries or reassigning project initiatives and meetings to limit exposure to other team members. If this isn’t possible, role modelling the appropriate level of emotional intelligence is key – toxic personalities can have little impact if your response is fact based and rational. Coaching others to manage their emotions in this way is highly effective.
Establish a zero-tolerance culture for toxic behaviours
Retrospectively managing toxic personalities can be challenging. But proactively creating a culture that discourages these behaviours is an important step in avoiding future issues. Leaders can influence workplace culture in a positive way. By acknowledging and celebrating the right behaviours and quickly intervening when the opposite happens. Remove fear by promoting a growth culture – where mistakes are not punished but are used as important steps in learning and development. Create
psychological safety and trust by empowering your teams to collaborate. Toxic behaviours in these environments can be quickly exposed and managed (or managed out of your organisation) more efficiently. Aidan is the Auckland Regional Manager for Inspire Group, an award
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winning learning and leadership design provider that supports
organisations across New Zealand and Australia. To learn more about how we are changing lives through better leadership, contact Aidan on +64 (0) 27 204 8260 / astoate@inspiregroup.co.nz
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Stress Literally Shrinks Your Brain (How To Reverse The Damage)
We all know that living under stressful conditions has serious emotional, even physical, consequences. So why do we have so much trouble taking action to reduce our stress levels and improve our lives?
Researchers at Yale University finally have the answer. They found that stress reduces the volume of grey matter in the areas of the brain responsible for self-control.
So experiencing stress actually makes it more difficult to deal with future stress because it diminishes your ability to take control of the situation, manage your stress and keep things from getting out of control. A vicious cycle if there ever was one.
But don’t be disheartened. It’s not impossible to reduce your stress levels; you just need to make managing stress a higher priority if you want to reverse this effect. The sooner you start managing your stress effectively, the easier it will be to keep unexpected stress from causing damage in the future.
\"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one
thought over another.\" -William James
Luckily, the plasticity of the brain allows it to mold, change, and rebuild damaged areas as you practice new behaviors. So implementing healthy stress-relieving techniques can train your brain to handle stress more
effectively and decrease the likelihood of ill effects from stress in the future. Here are seven strategies to help you fix your brain and keep your stress under control:
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Say No
Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying no is indeed a major challenge for many people. “No” is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, avoid phrases such as “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them. Disconnect
Technology enables constant communication and the expectation that you should be available 24/7. It is extremely difficult to enjoy a stress-free moment outside of work when an email that will change your train of thought and get you thinking (read: stressing) about work can drop onto your phone at any moment.
Taking regular time off the grid helps you to keep your stress under control and to live in the moment. When you make yourself available to your work 24/7, you expose yourself to a constant barrage of stressors. Forcing yourself offline and even—gulp!—turning off your phone gives your body and mind a break. Studies have shown that something as simple as a weekend e-mail break can lower stress levels.
If detaching yourself from work-related communication on weekday evenings is too big a challenge, then how about the weekend? Choose blocks of time where you will cut the cord and go offline. You’ll be amazed by how refreshing these breaks are and how they reduce stress by putting a mental recharge into your weekly schedule.
If you are worried about the negative repercussions of taking this step, try first doing it at times you are unlikely to be contacted—maybe Sunday morning. As you grow more comfortable with this, and as your coworkers begin to accept the time you spend offline, gradually expand the amount of
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time you spend away from technology. Neutralize Toxic People
Dealing with difficult people is frustrating, exhausting, and highly stressful for most. You can control your interactions with toxic people by keeping your feelings in check. When you need to confront a toxic person, approach the situation rationally. Identify your own emotions and don’t allow anger or frustration to fuel the chaos. Also, consider the difficult person’s standpoint and perspective so that you can find solutions and common ground. Even when things completely derail, you can take the toxic person with a grain of salt to avoid letting him or her bring you down. Don’t Hold Grudges
The negative emotions that come with holding onto a grudge are actually a stress response. Just thinking about the event sends your body into
fight-or-flight mode, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat. When the threat is
imminent, this reaction is essential to your survival, but when the threat is ancient history, holding onto that stress wreaks havoc on your body and can have devastating health consequences over time. In fact, researchers at Emory University have shown that holding onto stress contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease. Holding onto a grudge means you’re holding onto stress, and emotionally intelligent people know to avoid this at all costs. Letting go of a grudge not only makes you feel better now but can also improve your health. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a simple, research-supported form of meditation that is an effective way to gain control of unruly thoughts and behaviors. People who practice mindfulness regularly are more focused, even when they are not meditating. It is an excellent technique to help reduce stress because it allows you to reduce the feeling of being out of control. Essentially,
mindfulness helps you stop jumping from one thought to the next, which
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keeps you from ruminating on negative thoughts. Overall, it’s a great way to make it through your busy day in a calm and productive manner. Put Things In Perspective
Our worries often come from our own skewed perception of events. So before you spend too much time dwelling on what your boss said during the last staff meeting, take a minute to put the situation in perspective. If you aren’t sure when you need to do this, try looking for clues that your anxiety may not be proportional to the stressor. If you are thinking in broad
sweeping statements like “Everything is going wrong” or “Nothingwill work out” then you need to reframe the situation. A great way to correct this unproductive thought pattern is to list the specific things that actually are going wrong or not working out. Most likely you will come up with just one or two things—not everything. The key to keeping your cool is to remember that your feelings are exaggerating the situation and the scope of the stressor is much more limited than it might appear. Use Your Support System
It’s tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To be calm and productive you need to recognize your
weaknesses and ask for help when you need it. This means tapping into your support system when a situation is challenging enough for you to feel overwhelmed.
Everyone has someone at work and/or outside work who is on their team, rooting for them, and ready to help them get the best from a difficult
situation. Identify these individuals in your life and make an effort to seek their insights and assistance when you need it. Something as simple as talking about your worries will provide an outlet for your anxiety and stress and supply you with a new perspective on the situation. Most of the time, other people can see a solution that you can’t because they are not as emotionally invested in the situation. Asking for help will mitigate your anxiety and strengthen your relationships with those you rely upon.
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Bringing It All Together
As simple as these strategies may seem, they are difficult to implement when your mind is clouded with stress. Force yourself to attempt them the next time your head is spinning, and you’ll reap the benefits that come with disciplined stress management.
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4 Ways Caffeine Keeps You From Realizing Your Potential
Today's tip for improving your performance is one of the most simple and straightforward methods I’ve provided thus far. For many people, this tip has the potential to have a bigger impact than any other single action. The catch? You have to cut down on caffeine, and as any caffeine drinker can attest, this is easier said than done.
For those who aren't aware, the ability to manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure has a direct link to your
performance. TalentSmart has conducted research with more than a million people, and we’ve found that 90% of top performers are high in emotional intelligence. These individuals are skilled at managing their emotions (even in times of high stress) in order to remain calm and in control. The Good: Isn’t Really Good
Most people start drinking caffeine because it makes them feel more alert and improves their mood. Many studies suggest that caffeine actually improves cognitive task performance (memory, attention span, etc.) in the short-term. Unfortunately, these studies fail to consider the participants’ caffeine habits. New research from Johns Hopkins Medical School shows that performance increases due to caffeine intake are the result of caffeine drinkers experiencing a short-term reversal of caffeine withdrawal. By
controlling for caffeine use in study participants, John Hopkins researchers found that caffeine-related performance improvement is nonexistent without caffeine withdrawal. In essence, coming off caffeine reduces your cognitive performance and has a negative impact on your mood. The only way to get back to normal is to drink caffeine, and when you do drink it, you feel like it’s
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taking you to new heights. In reality, the caffeine is just taking your performance back to normal for a short period. The Bad: Adrenaline
Drinking caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the source of the “fight or flight” response, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat. The fight-or-flight mechanism sidesteps rational thinking in favor of a faster response. This is great when a bear is chasing you, but not so great when you’re responding to a curt email. When caffeine puts your brain and body into this hyper-aroused state, your emotions overrun your behavior. Irritability and anxiety are the most commonly seen emotional effects of caffeine, but caffeine enables all of your emotions to take charge. The negative effects of a caffeine-generated adrenaline surge are not just behavioral. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that large doses of caffeine raise blood pressure, stimulate the heart, and produce rapid shallow breathing, which readers of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 know deprives the brain of the oxygen needed to keep your thinking calm and rational. The Ugly: Sleep
Your self-control, focus, memory, and information processing speed are all reduced when you don’t get enough—or the right kind—of sleep. Your brain is very fickle when it comes to sleep. For you to wake up feeling rested, your brain needs to move through an elaborate series of cycles. You can help this process along and improve the quality of your sleep by reducing your caffeine intake.
Here’s why you’ll want to: caffeine has a six-hour half-life, which means it takes a full twenty-four hours to work its way out of your system. Have a cup of joe at eight a.m., and you’ll still have 25% of the caffeine in your body at eight p.m. Anything you drink after noon will still be at 50% strength at bedtime. Any caffeine in your bloodstream—with the negative effects
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increasing with the dose—makes it harder to fall asleep.
When you do finally fall asleep, the worst is yet to come. Caffeine disrupts the quality of your sleep by reducing rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the deep sleep when your body recuperates. When caffeine disrupts your sleep, you wake up tired the next day. You’re naturally going to be inclined to grab a cup of coffee or an energy drink to try to make yourself feel better. The caffeine produces surges of adrenaline, which further your emotional handicap. Caffeine withdrawal and lack of sleep leave you feeling tired in the afternoon, so you drink more caffeine, which leaves even more of it in your bloodstream at bedtime. Caffeine very quickly creates a vicious cycle.
Withdrawal
Like any stimulant, caffeine is physiologically and psychologically addictive. If you do choose to lower your caffeine intake, you should do so slowly under the guidance of a qualified medical professional. The researchers at Johns Hopkins found that caffeine withdrawal causes headache, fatigue, sleepiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people report feeling flu-like symptoms, depression, and anxiety after reducing intake by as little as one cup a day. Slowly tapering your caffeine dosage each day can greatly reduce these withdrawal symptoms. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world's leading provider of emotional intelligence tests, emotional
intelligence training, and emotional intelligence certification, serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than 150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered by, Newsweek,
BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review.
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My Passion: Success is a Matter of Choice
Have you ever been in a situation in which you thought: “Someone should do something about this”?
If you can see how things can be better, you can change it. That somebody is you.
At your best, you are a powerful force of positive change: driven,
conscientious and highly motivated to make the world a better place. You are ambitious, but your ambition is not self-serving: rather, you feel
personally responsible for making the world a better place. This drive gives you tremendous potential to make a difference.
However, this positive change does not fulfill itself. You have to unleash it.What stands between a good idea and a successful one is consistent relentless execution. You will fight a thousand battles - a thousand
questions that need to be answered. And you don’t even know what these questions are. It’s your choice to make it happen. No one else can decide for you. Some will even try to stop you.
Take that leap of faith. Don’t shy away from ambitious goals. You have the drive to achieve and once you decide what is important to you, you are relentless in turning your ideas into reality.
Curious to learn how to unleash your creative ideas? Join the Fight Club newsletter. We send a monthly email on making ideas happen. Sign up for the newsletter here.
About Sophia Chin, Change Consultant & Co-founder of PERSONNA Sophia helps clients deliver business growth by making their ideas happen. Over the last 10 years, Sophia has helped hundreds of senior leaders
define and pitch their business ideas in large organisations including Apple
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and Grab.
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Change is Hard: Get Over It!
There are signs that something will need to change. Maybe it is clear like declining market share, or more challenging like a shift of your clients’
needs, an industry transformation, a need to shake things up, or the desire for new leadership. Whatever the cause, it likely did not occur suddenly. Embrace it What can you do to prepare yourself for the inevitable?
Eyes wide open and ask questions early on to understand it, and above all remember, it is not personal, it is business. Put yourself in the shoes of the individual promoting this change, why is he/she going in this
direction? Conduct independent research on the factors influencing these changes to validate them, and consider how you could be helpful in the change process. Openly share what you see as some of the obstacles, and seek to help work through them. Bring others along by sharing your view and engaging them in constructive dialogue about the positives of the change. Reject it What if you flatly disagree with the change and see no need for it? If you find yourself in this situation, it might be best to move on and better align your interests to another role/career. Before you do so, take the time to understand it, ask questions and don’t assume it is bad just because it is “change.” It might also be good for the organization, but not great for you personally, that too is a potential outcome. Most of all, know that you have choices and own your decision.
There is no perfect way to handle change, and while this article is more centered on how you can manage it as an individual; here are some tips for organizations:
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1. Communicate – Communicate, Communicate why the change is
occurring – how does it benefit the organization, clients, communities and employees.
2. Share Early & Continuously -- Organizational strategies and directional shifts are a key element of change. It takes time to
embrace and evaluate what it means, so share ideas and objectives early on (even if not fully baked) and provide continuous updates. 3. Be Prepared for Resistance -- In fact, seek out those who are not supportive and listen to their concerns. Provide clarity where necessary.
4. Be Mindful -- Of how it impacts people and their careers. Seek to understand how you can re-tool or re-train people, before assuming they can’t come along. Alleviate unnecessary anxiety.
5. Eliminate Adversaries – If you have addressed the upcoming change effectively and the negative behavior persists, you have an obligation to separate that individual from the organization and from the employees who are embracing the change. Change doesn’t generally happen by accident and it almost always perseveres.
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Do you think it is okay to be emotional at work?
Have you ever been told you are emotional or sensitive in a business
setting? I was, on several occasions. At one organization, I was told that “I was being very sensitive and emotional” when I disagreed with a leader’s comments. In another situation a senior leader said I was being sensitive when I raised some concerns over the behavior of a colleague. In the last case, my response was \"you know what I am, I have a lot going on at
home.\" As I uttered those words I was immediately ashamed they came out of my mouth. My reflex was to agree and provide a reason, rather than stand behind what I said and felt. That incident is what prompted me to write this piece.
My reaction used to me one of, \"If I were a man, would I have been
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referenced that way?\" I thought it was suggesting I had a weakness, that I wasn't as strong as my male peers. That leaders might have wondered if I could make the tough decisions. Well, now I know better and I am flipping how I see it and here is why.
e·mo·tion·al
· arousing or characterized by intense feeling. synonyms: poignant, moving, touching, affecting, powerful, stirring, emotive, heart-rendering, impassioned. Here is a little advice because it is not always easy to respond appropriately when it is said to you.
1. First and foremost, if you are expressing an emotion or reaction that is appropriately placed, DO NOT APOLOGIZE.
2. Don’t jump to if I were a male, would those words be used -- likely not, it would have been called conviction, so move on.
3. Say thank you AND “I am sure you can appreciate how important these qualities are, particularly in our current society where care and concern for others is dominating the talent space.”
4. Re-direct your mind to see that response as a compliment, and a
disadvantage for those who lack the attribute, as they are less likely to be great leaders. You should always be mindful of labels and how they impact you and your career. However, make no mistake -- having empathy, emotion and compassion is a strength. NEVER apologize for having these qualities or using them. Align yourself with leaders and organizations that see it as an attribute.
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Do you have a playbook in working with your manager or colleague? Answer these questions you will be closer. A little insight into me:
1. What are some honest, unfiltered things about you? 2. What drives you nuts?
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3. What are your quirks?
4. How can people earn your respect?
5. What qualities do you value in people who work with you?
6. What are some things that people might misunderstand about you that you should clarify?
7. What is the one thing you know about yourself that gets in your way? A little insight into how I interact with others:
1. How do you coach people to do their best work and develop their talents?
2. What’s the best way to communicate with you?
3. What’s the best way to convince you to do something? 4. How do you like to give feedback? 5. How do you like to get feedback? A little insight into what I give and expect from a peer relationship: 1. How do you engage with peers? 2. What do you expect of them?
3. What should your peers expect from you? Imagine if everyone answered these questions honestly. You could spend more time doing and less time wondering. Try it! ==
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