Lessons from my one year old son...

The power of pulling faces...

My son has been poorly for the first time in his early existence. It's nothing serious, just a viral bout passing around and he was back to his lively self a week later, as if nothing had ever happened.

However, as a new parent, it was strange to see how he reacted and, from that, my own actions. Throughout his illness, I was fretting with worry and pulled too many anxious faces for my son to comprehend, which in turn made him aware that there was something wrong. Yes, he felt physically drained from throwing up but he became aware that if he looked a little sad, or perhaps cried a little Daddy would come running, pick him up and make sure he was all right. This unexpected attention drew more interesting faces from Daddy and even more hugs and attention. It quickly became obvious that my own actions had started a ripple effect.

It's made me think more about how I react to things at the office, and how my reactions to other people's actions might inadvertently create the wrong effect.

A recent excellent google report by Julia Rozovsky, Analyst, Google People Operations, had this to say...

"Turns out, we’re all reluctant to engage in behaviours that could negatively influence how others perceive our competence, awareness, and positivity. Although this kind of self-protection is a natural strategy in the workplace, it is detrimental to effective teamwork. On the flip side, the safer team members feel with one another, the more likely they are to admit mistakes, to partner, and to take on new roles. And it affects pretty much every important dimension we look at for employees"

"Psychological safety was far and away from the most important of the five dynamics we found -- it’s the underpinning of the other four."

So, quite simply put, be careful of sending the wrong messages at work as it will certainly affect the team around you, and probably much more than you even realise. Try to foster a supportive network for the team around you, and great things will happen. Simple, when you think about it.

For more about my executive coaching, I’m currently offering a free 45-minute consultation, which can be booked here