I’m on a plane with my third-grade son, traveling to Washington D.C. He is taking a math test beside me. We are headed up to our nation’s capital for a work conference I have, and he and my dad are along for the ride. He’s coming to actually see some of the things he’s been learning in school about government and democracy. With the trip being counted as a “field trip” for him instead of an absence, the schoolwork, including tests he’s missing, come with us. He is to complete them and return them for grading the Monday after we arrive
We’ve all seen someone there before. We’ve most likely also been there before ourselves. One of the most, if not the most knowledgeable and experienced person in the room. The one that can do the task or assignment with his or her eyes closed. Possibly the smartest person in the room. But somehow, they are also the most disinterested person in the room. Whether this disengagement comes from boredom or burnout, you can’t be sure, but it is obvious they’d rather be anywhere doing anything other than what they are really good at doing. You need them to do it,
I watched my friend resist the urge to buckle her toddler into her stroller. She could have done it well and much quicker than her little one, but she took a deep breath and said, “Ok, you buckle yourself in just like I showed you.” The precious little girl smiled up at her and said, “Okay mommy!” with pure joy. The same was true with my five-year-old who has wanted so badly to put her hair up in a ponytail holder by herself. I walked out to the car the other day and she beamed with pride. While waiting
The last three books about workplace effectiveness I’ve read have all discussed it. Two of our clients are having lots of trouble with it. It is what research shows us leads to team success more than any other factor. It is the concept of psychological safety. According to Amy Edmondson, a lead researcher on the topic, “Psychological safety is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.” And according to research conducted by Google: Following the success of Google’s Project Oxygen research where the People Analytics team studied what makes a great
I’m the mother of three boys. Two teenagers and one about to hit that “preteen” stage. Most days I want to bang my head against the wall. I feel like I need a support group for moms of teens. I miss when they were little and hung on my every word. Now I’m lucky if I can get them to take the earbuds out long enough to hear anything I say. We recently went on vacation and I forced them to put their phones away and engage in conversation with me. That request got me dirty looks and eye rolls.