Where did the fun person go?
© The Bees Knees Photo
I had a mini leadership crisis recently. I came to the painful realization that I am NOT FUN ANYMORE!
I used to perform freaking cleaning rap parodies at team meetings. At one point I had a DJ spinning live music in our office and we had dance parties regularly. I used to play pranks on people. I used to belly laugh, and often. I used to celebrate small moments.
But now? Now I get down to business, and quick. I talk about results. I talk about goals. I talk more about failures and lessons learned than I do victories. And now I’m sitting here thinking, what happened to fun Kristen?! Where the heck did she go?!
Please don’t tell me I’m the only one.
Business has a way of hardening us if we allow it to. We have to remember not to take it so dang seriously. As leaders, we set the tone for those around us. And if we aren’t having fun at work, how the heck can our people have fun? If we aren’t stopping to celebrate success, will anyone else?
I’m injecting more fun and celebration into my days pronto, and here’s how I’ll be doing it. If you’re wondering where “fun” you went as well, maybe these ideas will help you get your mojo back:
When people laugh in meetings, I’m going to take the time to crack up instead of moving on with the agenda
I will start dance parties when we achieve something great, even if I am the only one dancing
I will spend more time reminding others of how far we’ve come and how much there is to celebrate about our journey—no more focusing only on how far we have left to go
I will recognize people for small moments and actions, and not just the big ones
Debriefing conversations will not only include our failures, but also our successes and wins
Before team meetings, I will think about how to bring more joy into the agenda
I will think about how to make people laugh over email (email can be so boring, right?!)
I will laugh at myself and often
I’ll listen to my favorite music while I work
If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear ‘em! We could all use more joy in our lives.
Big hugs and lots of laughs,
