Editor's Note: With his Classic post, Derek Irvine reminds us that there can be tremendous value in taking a breath and pressing the pause button this week.
If you are an avid follower of the HR (or probably any other) blogosphere this time of year, you are no doubt weary of the “resolutions” posts, the “anti-resolutions” posts, and even the “anti-anti-resolutions” posts. Not to fear! This is not any of those types of posts.
But… I do want to talk about why I think there can be immense value in this type of resolution-making activity. We can take a closer look at the benefits and appeal of the process, instead of casting it all off wholesale as a temporary blip in otherwise stubborn habits. It just so happens that New Year’s offers some of the most illustrative examples of the process, if not necessarily the expected results.
The Opportunity to Press Pause
Whether it is the holiday itself or just marking the end of the year, New Year’s resolutions offer a chance for all of us to press pause on the otherwise constant and busy stream of our lives. We can step back and actually think about everything that has happened. The projects we have completed at work, the number of billable hours or sales completed, the relationships we have built with customers, the gains in our professional development, the beginning of the WorkHuman movement. Often the result of such retrospection and reflection is staggering. A year is a very long time in business (more so now than ever).
So you’re probably still asking yourself, what do we gain by looking back?
In addition to some amount of “where have I been,” pauses also offer the opportunity to reflect on “where am I now” and “where do I want to go.” If we think about our professional lives, the interrelationships between these questions is really about creating self-awareness, performance, and opportunity. These are the same principles behind everything from mindfulness to leadership and high-potential development. It turns out most activities that require improvement also require a pause that allow us to establish goals and develop plans.
Pressing Pause More Often
If it is so powerful, why wait for some arbitrary marker? What if we create a habit of pausing, instead of waiting around for the New Year’s holiday or that dreaded semiannual performance review?
This is an inherent value of a culture of social recognition, in helping to create habits out of pressing pause. It allows everyone in the organization to take a pause from overwhelming day-to-day activity and think about performance. But where resolutions are often focused on the self, recognition is focused too on the relationships of those around us. Who has helped us when we really needed it? Who has gone above and beyond their normal role to contribute to the team? Who has excelled at building client relationships?
This helps us to be grateful for those who have helped us develop skills or achieve success, and provides valuable feedback to those same people about how their behavior has had a positive influence on those around them. Recognition allows us to rise above the steady stream of work, to press pause, and take the time to recognize and be recognized. In the end, everyone has the opportunity to become more strategic and values-aligned, paying attention to what really matters.
How are you able to press pause at work? How has the recognition of others helped you to see where your own opportunities for improvement lie?
As Globoforce’s Executive Vice President of Client Strategy and Consulting, Derek Irvine is an internationally minded management professional with over 20 years of experience helping global companies set a higher ambition for global strategic employee recognition, leading workshops, strategy meetings and industry sessions around the world. He is a leader in the WorkHumanmovement and the co-author of "The Power of Thanks" and his articles on fostering and managing a culture of appreciation through strategic recognition have been published in Businessweek, Workspan and HR Management. Derek splits his time between Dublin and Boston. Follow Derek on Twitter at @DerekIrvine.elationships with each other? Is it a truly human workplace? What would you like your workplace to be?
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