Where does all the time go? We dash from meeting to meeting, read emails on our phones as we walk down the hallway and outline in our heads the next deliverable that must go out the door.
We get it.
We juggle work and life all day long and it can be pretty taxing. Being pulled in multiple directions takes its toll.
We’ve found a great way to reset, to take a minute to do something that makes us feel good and ultimately be more productive.
Have you ever considered the benefits of simply helping a co-worker or teammate?
A helping hand versus responsibility
We believe strongly that as leaders we are here to make our teams successful. A large part of our jobs has been to clear the path to make our teams successful. We don’t consider this helping them - this is our responsibility and we plan, organize and strategize to meet that end. It’s part of our daily work.
Offering a helping hand to those who don’t work for you is something altogether different - it's outside your responsibility.
Offering help to a co-worker or teammate does not need to be monumental or heroic. When you walk off to the coffee bar, ask your teammates if you can get them anything. If you see a peer struggling with a project - offer to help. It could be as simple as offering to type up the notes from the meeting you just attended or talking through why the project has stalled.
If you see a team has been burning the midnight oil, bring in a treat or some super charged espresso. We’re both partial to Blue Star Donuts and they turn up often when we work together.
Offering to help feels good!
A simple helping gesture pays off in spades
Helping others makes you happier and ultimately more productive. We have all been caught up in the fray of a stressful busy day at work. Sadly it happens more often than not.
Stepping out of the daily tempest and embracing the act of helping others allows you to reset, take stock and ultimately be more productive. When you offer to help you show initiative, confidence and capacity - all of these are positive characteristics.
And when you take a moment to help, to jump in when it is really needed, others see it and it causes a chain reaction. The effect can ripple through your workplace after which you’re not nose down in your phones or plastered to your monitors – you’re actually helping each other.
Anyone who tells you that you cannot make a difference in the workplace is simply wrong.
Anyone who suggests that helping others in the workplace is foolish is insecure.
Be the change you want to see and feel good doing it!