When was the last time you felt valued?
Appreciated and Understood.
By those at work?
By those at home?
Do you think those around you, in your teams feel valued and appreciated?
Last week was Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. It’s also Mental Health Awareness Month in the US.
There are many things we can do to improve our mental health.
I want to share one idea with you.
It’s a simple idea and yet it’s so rarely done.
There are two parts to it.
Part 1 is understanding and appreciating what you are brilliant at.
Part 2 is having a conversation with those in your team (at home and at work) about what they and you are both brilliant at.
Why
My experience has shown me that as humans we seldom see ourselves as others do.
We seldom appreciate what we are brilliant at doing.
What difference would it make to you if you really understood where you were amazing and the value you could bring to other people?
Wouldn’t that feel good if you knew that?
One of the activities our team runs for people either in workshops or programmes is to get people to ask others who know them well what they are amazing at doing.
Every single time we do this, it helps to bring insight and clarity to each person in the room.
How would that help your mental health if you knew with greater clarity how you make a difference to other people and you had people you know and trust sharing that information with you?
Listening
How powerful would it then be if you could listen to what others are brilliant at and appreciate their strengths?
For both sides to listen to each other.
To appreciate each other?
Would that make you feel more valued?
Would that make those around you feel more valued?
Better Conversations
It’s all about conversations. We have conversations all the time.
Why not have a different conversation, a better conversation with those around?
A conversation that focuses on what you all do well.
Last week, our team ran this exercise for the entire team of 80 people of one amazing organisation in the stunning setting of Oxford University. Here’s the pictures and the words they had to say about it.
At it’s very simplest, you can have these conversations right now.
Ask and share with others what you and they are amazing at doing.
If you’d like us to run this for your team, we’d be delighted to help. The programme is called The Big Bold Goals Leadership Experience.
In the future, we plan to release digital courses so that you can simply and quickly roll these ideas out across your teams.