In fact, I’m going to double-dare you.
You know the mental image associated with my 24-hour clock exercise. One of the takeaways from that exercise includes the recognition that each of you probably spends more time at work with the people you supervise than you spend with members of your own families or with people in your “private social circle”.
Behaviors you “act out” and even those you don’t act out (it will make sense to you later) actually shape your “legacy over time”. Why do I say that? Well, the people you supervise are spending the same ratio of their conscious and awake time…with you as well.
Both groups can just continue to go through the motions of what they call “work”. And, if they choose to do that, it will all too often continue to be “unfulfilling” drudgery: Just “showing up” and “going through the motions”.
How would you like “work” to be different? It can be. But if you want “work” to be different, you have to “dare to go first”. For example:
You have to say GOOD MORNING or GOOD AFTERNOON first.
You have to know enough about them to know they have kids on a sports team or in the play at school..and ask how it went.
You have to tell the new hire that you are glad they are part of the team…and make it safe for other coworkers to do the same.
You have to set Standards of Respect for how people treat each other and be a role model.
Simply put, you have to create a workplace culture that you would enjoy coming to every day. Enjoy coming to, more than you even do right now. That’s all.
I double dare you to go for it.