Have you ever wanted to improve the well-being of yourself and your team? Well, here are three tips to help you.
First, keeping a business Gratitude Diary. [visual]
At JBS, we meet as a leadership team on Friday with my business partner and practice manager to reflect over the past week on all the good things that have happened within our business, and we document this using a simple spreadsheet, covering the following:
- What are the good things that have happened in our business?
- Who has helped JBS — a team member, a supplier or a client?
- What have we learned — did we do any training; did we pick up a tip from someone?
- When were we kind to ourselves — did we take some time out for a walk or a laugh?
- And in Monday’s weekly team meeting, whom will we thank? It could be a team member, a client or a supplier.
Here are five reasons why you would keep a Gratitude Diary:
- It helps increase productivity.
- It improves self-esteem.
- It helps you sleep better.
- It makes you happier.
- It reduces stress.
It’s great to also keep a personal Gratitude Diary for all of the same reasons; this one is best kept on a daily basis. [visual]
The second tool we are using is the Wheel of Life. This is something that team members fill in by themselves on a monthly basis. It starts by looking at: Are you “at cause,” or are you “at effect?” [visual]
- Are you “at cause” by creating great energy (being in control and making it happen)?
- Or are you “at effect” and letting what is going on around you and other people really effect you (feeling the victim and wondering why this is happening to you)?
By taking the time to consider how you are reacting to situations, life, business or the environment around you, it can really help change your mindset to a positive one rather than an “I can’t cope” one. [visual]
How do you rate on a scale of 1 to 10 with your:
- Work relationships
- Health
- Finances — business or personal
- Client service and relationships
- Confidence
- Personal well-being (Are you actively exercising, meditating and taking time out?)
- Team energy
Checking in on a monthly basis with each team member really helps see progression and also helps highlight those periods when someone — and it could be you — might need some coaching, mentoring or assistance.
My final tip is flexible working conditions. I live 65 km from my office, which on a good day, and leaving before 5 a.m., is a one-hour drive, and on a bad day could take me two hours to get home. So I listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts. [visual]
But at JBS, we also preach having the team work from home. This usually occurs on Wednesdays and Fridays, with more than half the team doing this.
Our Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays are then usually packed with client appointments and team meetings. It means that our IT needs to be 100 percent with security and efficiency.
We use Office 365 Microsoft Teams and Zoom for video meetings and awesome communications.
Doing this ensures that our team members get to use the time that is normally spent traveling to go for a walk, spend time with their pets and family, pick up their kids from school and generally feel better about themselves and their job.
It’s amazing the additional productivity you get.
I hope that you have gained some insight into how implementing these three tips can help you in both your business and personal life.
Arming you and your team with the skills and tools like the Gratitude Diary and Wheel of Life, along with flexible working conditions, can help ensure you have a great workplace.
Jenny Brown, CFP, FChFP, is an 11-year MDRT member with two Court of the Table and five Top of the Table qualifications. She is the founder and CEO of JBS Financial Strategists and was named the 2013 Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) Financial Adviser of the Year. She works with business owners and those transitioning through to retirement.
