Wundamail Blog

You’re having a good day. You’re meeting deadlines and the project you’ve been working on is progressing well. You’re enjoying your work, as you plough through your to-do list. It feels great to strike a line through each task, you feel you’re achieving.

Creating, building and maintaining a team can be a stressful enough task for leaders. So many factors play into the dynamic of the team, and the mood can change in the blink of an eye.

We are not robots. Well, I’m certainly not a robot, though I guess you may be. But what I mean is, we’re not meant to be robots. We don’t have to work like robots, behave like robots, or live like robots. Which is just as well, because we’re not robots.

The benefits of remote working are clear and obvious. We know the story. For the worker, it offers a more flexible way of working, a better work-life balance, less disruption and distraction, and an increased sense of autonomy. As long as their managers and coworkers are supportive, and the communication is kept open and regular, remote working can be a force for good.

I once owned a restaurant and bar with a function suite attached. We hosted private functions for customers. Family occasions, business networking events, meetings, private dining events. That kind of thing. Our challenge was not only to work closely with the client in advance of the event, but to deliver the perfect function on the day, providing the very best service no matter what the event. In that respect, we were much like our competitors. But we wanted more.

I’ve been trying to think of a proverb. A suitable tale in a single neat sentence, to describe a thought. It needs to sound wise, as though handed down through the centuries, gaining some sort of wisdom momentum as it went. I need it to convey my thoughts on a particular subject. The thing is, it doesn’t exist. There is no proverb for this situation, no received historic wisdom or message. Not for this. And I'm not the person to write one. Which is exactly my point.

We all know about the productivity gap. The primary focus of most business is how to boost and maintain productivity. We constantly look for ways to improve, to do our jobs better, quicker, and with the best possible outcomes.

Everyone likes to be liked. It’s in us, a strong driving force in how we live, how we act, and importantly, in how we work. We want to be told that what we’re doing is right, and that our peers and bosses think we’re doing it right. We need to feel appreciated and valued in what we do, especially in work. Its simple really, when we think we’re working well, we work harder and better.

How was your day? Did you do the things you wanted to do? See the people you wanted to see? Did it live up to what you wanted it to when you set out this morning? Did you achieve what was needed? What others expected of you? In fact, come to think of it, did you do manage to do what you expected of yourself?

Sometimes its tough to be a member of a team. Especially if you feel that a colleague doesn’t have the same focus on the job as you do. Its hard to maintain your commitment to a task or the business if those around you lack that same commitment.