Don’t let fear lead to anger, because that leads to…well, you probably know the rest. (James Pond on Unsplash)

Happy May 4th, also known by some fans as Star Wars Day!

Maybe some of you have been spending some time in a galaxy far, far away to escape the constant drumbeat of Covid-19 news. Or, perhaps you’ve had a bad feeling about this whole pandemic situation and you’re looking for advice on managing some difficult emotions. 

Let’s talk through a few classic Star Wars scenes and see how we can improve our own emotional intelligence.

Episode I: Trust Your Gut

Ever had a hire you just didn’t feel good about? Maybe you sat on a panel and had some misgivings about the candidate, but got overruled or persuaded by other members of the team? Yoda can relate.

In the first Star Wars episode (actually the fourth film produced), the ancient Jedi master didn’t think training young Anakin Skywalker was a good idea. And I’m not sure we needed Force powers to know why. Still, Yoda was convinced by Obi-Wan Kenobi’s persistence and, well, fans know how that turned out.

The lesson: Trust your instincts! Those gut feelings actually come from your brain, according to physician and entrepreneur Dr. Brady Salcido. They are “an instinctual response from your brain to protect you from making what it perceives to be the wrong decision.” 

“Your brain creates a mental map based on every experience that you’ve ever had and everything you have ever learned to create the foundation for which your brain makes decisions,” he adds.

So, the next time you have a bad feeling about a decision, don’t be afraid to say your gut told you so. 

Episode VI: Practise Empathy

Our triumphant hero stands victorious over his enemy. With one final blow of his lightsaber, Luke Skywalker can defeat the evil Darth Vader and…well, we never find out what he would have done next because, instead, Luke tosses away his weapon. In his opponent’s weakest moment, Luke shows empathy.

In that moment, Luke didn’t see an evil monster: he saw what he could have — or possibly was even about to — become. He saw someone whose good motivations had been manipulated to the point of (almost) no return. 

The lesson: There’s a story behind every situation. Anakin, the man who would become Vader, was ostracized by his peers. He kept secrets and ultimately confided in the wrong person who controlled him through his shame and brokenness. As media theorist Douglas Rushoff explains in a 2019 TED blog, “teams should be based on common hopes, needs, strengths and vulnerabilities” rather than shame.

Is your workplace an open space where employees can share freely? Or do you reward those who have “no issues” and keep their problems to themselves? 

Episode VIII: I Flew Halfway Across The Galaxy For This?

At the conclusion of Episode VII, the Force-sensitive scavenger-turned-resistance fighter Rey finds Master Skywalker, holds out his lightsaber to him, and prepares to ask him for help. 

At the beginning of Episode VIII, Luke takes the lightsaber, tosses it over his shoulder and walks past a stunned Rey. She spends much of the rest of the movie trying to convince him to train her and rejoin the fight against evil.

When we talk about employee engagement, we use terms like actively and passively engaged or disengaged. When employees are passively engaged, they may be sitting on the sidelines and giving minimal effort — like Luke in this case. He’s not sabotaging their enterprise, but he’s not helping it, either. Luke checks off most of the boxes on this list of employee disengagement signs.

At first, Rey tries to force him to help. When that doesn’t work, she switches tactics and, eventually, convinces him to open up a little bit. She listens to his story about how he got to where he was. Spoiler alert: Luke ends up saving the day again by the end of the movie.

The lesson: No one comes to work wanting to do a bad job. Luke had, like many top performers, become quietly disengaged because he no longer believed in the work he was doing. It took someone else asking some questions and helping him to think through who he was and what he was doing for him to regain his senses. 

If you or a teammate are experiencing something similar, this article might help.

Would you like to develop your team’s communication abilities and become more emotionally intelligent? No science fiction involved, we promise. DYNAMIX® assessments help you develop self-awareness and a greater understanding of those around you both at work and in your home life. Check out the DYNAMIX courses on our website.

Did you find any of these resources helpful? Let us know at training@algonquincollege.com! 

Until next time, may the Force be with you. Always.

When your normal routine is disrupted, it’s natural to need some extra support. Here are a few helpful resources. (Emma Simpson on Unsplash)

Mentally, physically and probably in other ways, too, the majority of Canadians are feeling worse as a result of Covid-19, according to a new Angus Reid poll.

It is easy to see why. As psychology researcher Benjamin Rosser put it in a 2018 article, “when we struggle to cope with the experience of uncertainty, our minds may worry and come up with an increasing number of frightening possibilities.” 

We are worried about ourselves, our jobs, our families and loved ones, how long life will continue like this, and even what we will find (or fail to find) on supermarket shelves. 

However, the pandemic has also shone a light on the strong mental health support we have available to us as Canadians. Hopefully, this conversation around the impact of stressful circumstances such as a pandemic will continue to erode the stigma surrounding mental health concerns. After all, as we see from both the Angus Reid poll and other research, it is both normal and common to be experiencing distress as a result of Covid-19.

We want to take a moment today to highlight some of the great supports that are available:

• The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has created an FAQ page if you’re unsure of where to start in your search for support.
  
• Ottawa Public Health has gathered up several local resources organized by topic on its website. Importantly, they offer a guide for employers. If you believe someone you know could require hospitalization as a result of worsening mental health, make sure to bookmark this page.
  
• Your workplace may offer benefits to support counselling or related services. Some employers also offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which offer short-term, solutions-focused counselling. Ask your manager or HR representative for details on your organization’s specific offerings.
  
• Sadly, one of the most rapidly growing problems as a result of Covid-19 has been domestic abuse. Some regions of Canada are showing a 20 to 30 percent increase in cases. The Ottawa Police website has pages regarding Violence Against Women and more info on the Partner Assault unit page, as well.
• The Canadian Women’s Foundation has implemented a signal for help program for women and girls stuck in domestic violence situations. If you see someone raise her hand with her thumb tucked, and she proceeds to close her fingers over her thumb, it is a call for help. 
• If you’re sitting at your desk and feel like you need a breather, taking a walk outside or stretching can help. If you need to keep working or can’t leave your desk, consider using a smartphone and computer app such as Calm.

Did you find any of these resources helpful? Are there any you or your team are relying on to help get through these challenging times? Let us know at training@algonquincollege.com.

Covid-19 is having some negative effects on businesses you might think would be thriving. (iStock)

If I were to ask you what drink Starbucks is best known for, what beverage comes to mind?

Does it change your thinking at all if I tell you that Starbucks serves nearly 530 million litres of milk — or about 2.2 billion cups — each year? That’s enough to give a cup of milk to every man, woman and child in the Americas, with enough left over to give a cup to every European citizen, too! 

While Starbucks is currently exploring milk alternatives, it is clear the coffee giant is no bit player in the dairy market.

Now, if I were to ask you what business McDonalds is in, what would you say?

What if I told you the Golden Arches has a total of 38,695 restaurants across 119 countries, and two-thirds of those (and growing) are franchised? Importantly, the blog Wall Street Survivor claims “the company keeps about 82% of the revenue generated by franchisees, compared with only about 16% of the revenue from its company-operated locations.” 

McDonalds may sell burgers and fries, but its real bread and butter is actually real estate. It owns the land those restaurants sit on and makes its money from its tenants.

Finally, what business are funeral homes in?

If you answer providing cremations, burials and other methods for dealing with the deceased, you’re partly correct. But consider this article from Forbes, which notes funeral homes might charge around $3,000 for a cremation with urn but closer to $20,000 for a tombstone, burial, reception and other extras. Funeral homes are, therefore, in the events business. An industry you might think is flourishing during the Covid-19 pandemic is actually struggling mightily.

What is the point of these stories?

Understanding your business requires careful consideration of questions around: 

• What your product is and who consumes it
• How and when you make money
• What factors contribute to — or take away from — your success

Another example of this phenomenon is the news industry, which is also struggling during Covid-19. People are reading, listening and watching more as they remain indoors but, because the economy is taking such a hit and the news is generally grim out there, fewer advertisers are buying space or airtime right now. And it’s selling advertising, not creating content for consumers, that’s the real business of news organizations.

Interested in learning more about leadership and strategy? Contact us about our three-level Foundational Leadership Program or a custom offering for your organization.

It’s hard to think outside the box if you never leave it, argues Nilofer Merchant in a classic TED Talk.

Ever had a meeting that changed your life?

Strategist, innovator and best-selling author Nilofer Merchant was introduced to the idea of walking meetings a few years ago. In this short TED Talk, she explains how a chance stroll became an opportunity to revisit an idea we take for granted: that meetings have to be seated.

Now, in noting the importance of fresh air, a caveat: if you decide to incorporate the great outdoors into your work routine during this Covid-19 era, we ask that you will follow the directions of your local health agency to ensure adequate spacing with other individuals.

Make sure you look up from your phone every now and then, too — particularly at crosswalks!

Back to Merchant and her two key points:

1. Health and work do not have to be at odds. Find ways to meet your health and work goals at the same time, such as through walking meetings.
2. Fresh air leads to fresh thinking. Think outside the box by getting outside the box.

Note as well that Merchant says seated meetings are something we all do and take for granted, much like smoking in previous generations. We don’t believe she is saying sitting is as unhealthy as smoking — merely that it is not great for your long-term health.

If you need to stretch your legs and you live near The Glebe or Old Ottawa South, the Queen Elizabeth Parkway is now closed to non-emergency vehicles while the NCC conducts a Covid-19 pilot project to help those in densely populated areas to relieve any cabin fever symptoms.

Have any other tips for making your workday healthier? Let us know at training@algonquincollege.com.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Are you the kind of person who plans shopping trips in advance to minimize time on the road (especially right now)? Do you drive your car until the gas is nearly empty to avoid unnecessary pit stops? Do you dislike seeing empty space on your digital calendar?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re already using lean thinking.

The idea behind lean began on Toyota’s assembly lines in the 1930s and gradually made its way into other factories, as well as health care and even education. But what drives lean decision-making?

When you buy a lean cut of meat at a grocery store, you’re saving money by not paying for “fat” or “waste.” Why pay for something you’re not going to use, right?

It’s the same sort of idea when applying lean principles in your work environment: you’re reducing or eliminating the waste in your processes that isn’t delivering value to your team. It  can amount to big changes, such as upgrading old software, or smaller modifications, as in rearranging some furniture.

We’re lightly scratching the surface today, as there are many books, courses, certifications and other resources out there that dive deeper into the value of lean principles. However, there is a key point I want you to take away from this brief overview.

Some of you are probably thinking back to the origins of lean and wondering if this will turn your place of work into some sort of assembly line. Instead, I want you to think about what a leaner approach to business might mean for your teammates and their job satisfaction.

Most of us don’t like doing repetitive, manual tasks. I’m sure we all have a list of passion projects and other backburner items we’d like to spend more time and effort on — if only we had the time!

Done right, freeing up time for higher-value projects is the sort of thing lean is meant to enable. Beyond controlling costs or getting more work out of your team members, lean is about focusing your efforts where they matter most.

No one wants to come to work and do a job they don’t feel is meaningful. Yet, one of the key contributors to the 70% disengagement rate in Canadian workplaces is the disconnect between an employee’s work and the overall success of the company. If you or your teammates are feeling frustrated by clunky or ineffective ways of doing your work, you might want to pick up a book or check out a video on lean.

If that whets your appetite and you want to learn more about implementing lean practices in your organization, please reach out to us at training@algonquincollege.com.

Photo by JC Gellidon on Unsplash

Has your video call been compromised?

Ever given a presentation and started hearing some heckling or jeering from the crowd? Some users of the video conferencing platform Zoom have been experiencing the online equivalent in recent weeks.

Zoom has risen in popularity due to the need for a quick, easy, affordable and reliable video solution during the lockdown over COVID-19.

Unfortunately, we pay a price for quick, easy and affordable.

Zoom’s security claims were discovered to be overstated, and many meeting organizers have found their video chats flooded with inappropriate images, sounds, and words. There’s even a name for this new phenomenon: “Zoombombing.”

Several publications have offered simple steps to secure your Zoom meetings, and there are other platforms you could consider using, including Skype and Google Hangouts. What I want to focus on instead is what you do after you’ve been Zoombombed.

If it happens to you, hopefully you were on the call with someone who understands and the topic of your conversation was not sensitive. Still, step one should be to secure the Zoom meeting or shift the meeting to another medium.

(Tip: When you schedule a meeting, Zoom gives you the option to include a password. And, a new feature requires the meeting host to admit participants, as a further precaution.)

Next, you will want to apologize to the participants of the call and explain what just happened. You will also want to communicate a plan to ensure it does not happen again (see the tips above).

Finally, you’ll need to consider what, if any, sensitive information may have been compromised. It’s possible the trolls did not listen to or record any of your conversation or download any of your documents. But it is possible they did.

This may be where you need to engage law enforcement or information security professionals, depending on the severity of the situation. There have already been arrests related to Zoombombing.

As we increase our reliance on digital tools, it’s important we back them up by the right security. Are your organization’s IT and information privacy professionals ready for the challenge?

If you have questions about training around information security, or other topics, please reach out to us.

Top up your mug and let’s explore some of the internet’s best resources to help your business through COVID-19.

Hand sanitizer? Check. Toilet paper? Stocked up. Now that you’ve taken care of personal needs, it’s time to “COVID-proof” your business operations. 

After the year that was March 2020, and the torrent of COVID-19 information since, you might be saying to yourself, “I don’t know what I don’t know.” 

You might have concerns about whether your business can stay open, how to keep staff and clients safe, whether you might need to let employees go, and how to pay your bills. 

Some of you may have the opposite problem: you’re busier than ever and not sure how to keep up with demand. Or, you’re struggling to integrate new technologies into your processes. 

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Hicks Morley LLP have compiled a concise, 14-page guide with an overview of many key COVID-19 business issues. Keep an eye out for upcoming Ottawa Board of Trade webinars, too.

Just the facts, ma’am

Kudos to Carleton University professor Jennifer Robson. The former political staffer turned academic has put out a plain-English guide to key COVID-19 benefits, particularly from an employee/citizen perspective. 

Keeping the lights on

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is offering templates and tools to assist with business continuity. While not every document on the page might relate to your specific situation, these may spark some conversation or thinking among your team to help you prepare for the unexpected.

Managing remote workers

Is the world of remote work new to you and your team? Harvard Business Review has prepared an article addressing some common questions about the now-widespread practice. 

Industry analyst Josh Bersin has also summarized 10 quick lessons from a webcast he hosted with top HR leaders from around the world. If you want to take more of a high-level view of COVID-19 and the workplace, read more on his blog.

The Ottawa Police have also issued some tips to help keep your property safe if your offices or stores are closed for an extended period of time. 

Staying connected and engaged

Human contact is crucial to our well-being. And, as much as we love our families, it’s nice to see other friendly faces now and again, too.

Psychologists we spoke to said not to strictly rely on just our phones and email during this time of physical distancing. Turn on that web camera for your meetings! Here’s some advice if you have never participated in a video call.

You can use video for more than work. Our team at Algonquin College Corporate Training hosts an end-of-day, 4:30 team video call in which conversations around office matters and COVID-19 are strictly banned. We’ll even introduce an amusing theme to help us maintain our connection to one another.

Our sister team at Algonquin College Cooperative Education does something similar: a virtual lunchroom in which team members can recreate a group meal around a “shared table.”