The Spark | Self-awareness, energy and reflection
Welcome to our inaugural ‘thing-we-are-not-calling-a-newsletter-because-that-sounds-boring’ (as you may already know, at People Mastery we don’t like boring).
I know I’m not alone in feeling like the year has launched at warp speed, and time is a priceless commodity for all of us. With that in mind, we are aiming to deliver the ‘truffle’ of non-newsletters: rare and small but highly valuable, specially curated, bite-sized morsels that you can consume as quickly or slowly as you like.
We hope it gives you a little spark of inspiration or insight, and we’d love to hear your comments or feedback so please drop us a line anytime.
I appreciate that you are likely in the thick of budgeting right now, planning for the fresh year to come. I also hope you are taking time to reflect on your many accomplishments.
My wish for you is that you feel energised and excited about the journey ahead.
Anna x
Insight
I’ve been feeling depleted lately - lethargic and low - and I’ve been struggling to put any credit back into my ‘energy bank account’.
I’ve felt at times that energetically I’ve nothing left to offer my team or my family, and so I’ve been trying different ways to recharge my battery. My wonderful friends stepped in but even a girly weekend away could not deliver the jump start I needed.
I like to think I know myself pretty well: I like variety, I love learning, I like inventing and experiencing new things. And yet I hadn’t been making time for those things due to some significant challenges at home.
As well as enlisting some professional support to help me get back on track I decided to extend an upcoming work trip to Melbourne and record the audiobook version of ‘on your marks, get set... LEAD!’ (Variety? Tick. Learning? BIG tick. Inventing and experiencing new things? Tick.)
The result?
After three audiobook recording sessions + evenings on my own, two theatre visits, a walk in the Botanical Gardens and early morning Zumba sessions (don’t laugh!) - all completely alone - I feel REINVIGORATED! I feel like I went to Melbourne and found myself again. What a relief!
My surprise reflection?
Turns out that, even more than variety, learning and inventing new things, what I actually needed was ‘time with me’.
Questions for reflection
Here are 3 questions for you to ponder. You might also like to ask them of your team:
How are your energy levels right now?
What do you really need right now to fill your ‘energy bank account’?
How might you make that happen?
Wise words
“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.”
Development Toolkit
Are you and your team energised by your work?
If you haven’t yet heard of the 6 Types of Working Genius profile created by Patrick Lencioni, you’re in for a treat! This ground-breaking new tool (20% personality / 80% productivity) is ideal for executive and leadership teams (actually, any team!).
It identifies each team member’s areas of working genius, competence, and frustration, and enables them to play to their strengths and be more energised, productive, effective and deeply satisfied at work.
Now that we’ve delivered our 2-hour Working Genius Workshop to several of our fabulous clients, we love it even more for shining a new light on how to take teams to higher levels of engagement and productivity.
Check out the website here, try the Working Genius Podcast, or book in a chat with me for more info on how we can support you to implement this tool in your team.
Good Read
Harry S Truman said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers!” and I couldn’t agree more.
In each edition I will share a book I’m reading and how I’ve found it useful. First up is:
52 ways to walk; The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time by Annabel Streets.
Annabel provides scientific evidence on how different types of walking benefit the body and mind, in bite-sized, concise chunks.
An illuminating and enjoyable read, there is one walk for each week of the year. I’ve started appreciating how important walking is and how I might ‘tweak’ my regular walk to gain even more benefit. Fascinating!
A thing of beauty
With reflection in mind, here’s a pic from my favourite walk on our property.
