Earlier this year, we were actively hiring and desperately needed team members who could start immediately with little guidance; we wanted to balance out the hires we’d have to actively train with those who would could jump right in and get to work. The easiest way to achieve this was to recruit a former employee back to Actualize Consulting.

The first possibility who crossed my mind was someone I knew would be a perfect match for our project needs. Someone who would not only succeed but also shine. Long story short, this Star Player welcomed the opportunity to come back to Actualize. Why?

At Actualize, we strive to operate by the 9 principles we’ve outlined in Culture Infusion, and we know that’s what has made us so successful in our employee relations. A foundational part of what fuels our culture is our desire to lead with intention and the knowledge that we can only lead effectively once we have reflected inwardly.


Through that reflection, we’ve seen how much our working and professional life can improve from simple changes like prioritizing personal wellness. We insist that our employees find themselves and their passion, and we support their aspirations and recognize the need for a work/life balance.
 
Also, even though most of our employees work remotely, our team is still our family and we encourage team connection whenever we can through wellness weeks, retreats, competitions, community service, and more.

These healthy habits have had a domino effect, leading to more positive changes and improving the way we communicate and handle conflict. And as we’ve taken a step back from the office politics and our personal egos, we’ve become more apt to take accountability and use empathy and active listening in our day-to-day lives.

All of this stems from one underlying theme: We are successful because we care.  


If you are interested in creating a sought-after workplace, here are 3 good places to start, all of which were key reasons our star player returned to Actualize:

1. Lead by example. You as a leader are the model your employees and team members follow. If you don’t follow your own advice, how can you expect others to trust you? This trust will go two ways: not only can your employees count on you but you can also count on your employees, fueling efficiency.
   
   “Things get done more quickly and efficiently here,” our Star Player said. “Both at the project-level and operationally, benefitting clients and employees. I feel I am able to make a bigger impact because they [our leaders] trust us and give us freedom to do our jobs—allowing us to truly go above and beyond with our clients.”

 

1. Encourage a healthy work/life balance. We cannot be fully present if our tanks are only half-full. We all become more effective once we are truly refreshed. Remind your employees that it’s okay to set boundaries and, after finding an appropriate stopping place, to say no to obligations affecting their mental health.

For our Star Player, this balance was extremely important: “Based on my proven track record, I was offered a lot of flexibility. I am able to work from home, part-time, and do not need to travel.”

1. Give appreciation. Why is it that we are more likely to bring light to negative things than positive ones? Next time you note a job well done, be sure to say it. Everyone likes to receive positive feedback, and we are more likely to produce good work if we know we are appreciated. Referencing our culture of appreciation, our Star Player said, “I missed the relationships I had built on the team and the quality of our folks. There’s a lot of talent on the team and a lot of willingness for knowledge-sharing.”

 
A big reason our team is so willing to share their skills is because we give them a safe space to do so, and we show them the appreciation they deserve.
 
This story is a testament to how the principles in Culture Infusion have not only kept our turnover rate to less than one percent for the last three years but also made the company attractive enough for former team members to return.


Do you want to learn more about working with me to enhance your organizational culture? Email me today.

Do you ever feel like you can’t take off work? Or at least like you can never totally unplug from the office? I’ve been there, and I know the feeling. All too well.

In our company, each of us wears many hats, and we check in regularly to keep things running smoothly. In the past, we tended to check in even during vacation; nothing kept us totally away from the office.

Thankfully, that has changed. We’ve finally learned how to support each other in fully unplugging and taking real vacations. With the strategies below, we all feel fully covered and are able to take time off to be with our loved ones and care for ourselves.

• Ensure coverage. A few days before scheduled vacation, walk through all open items and ensure appropriate coverage. This way, nothing falls through the cracks when you are out. And equally important, having coverage in place frees you from feeling a need to check in.
• Compile one update email. Once a team member goes on vacation, start an email to send them upon their return. This will allow you to organize ideas and tasks and to summarize updates for them. When your colleague returns, they will find everything in one blessed email rather than having to wade through the usual swamp of messages. Also, if they are tempted to check in before returning, they will not see any emails they “think” they must respond to.
• Do not copy on emails. If you were going to copy the person on any emails, don’t. Simply add your comments to the above list of updates.
• Automated out-of-office email. Make a policy to have an out-of-office automated response that includes appropriate contacts. Personally, I include a recent tip I’ve written or an article I’ve contributed to such as “Why Employee Vacations Pay Off.”

The above strategy is super simple and extremely powerful in creating and maintaining a thriving organizational culture where team members feel supported. It wonderfully illustrates four of the nine transformative principles in my book Culture Infusion: provide intentional leadership, prioritize personal wellness, insist on a healthy work/life balance, and encourage team connection.

When my grandmother passed away recently, I was beyond thankful to have our time-away strategy in place. And when Lori, my newest hire, wrote the following after returning from vacation, I was overjoyed:
“As a new team member at Actualize Consulting, I didn’t know what to expect on my first day back from vacation, but I knew ‘re-entry’ was a real thing. I opened the welcome back email from my manager (Kerry Wekelo), and I was presented with a warm welcome and a list summarizing updates from the past week along with projects to attend to. I’ve read Kerry’s tips in articles and in her book Culture Infusion, but now I was experiencing and internalizing one of her actionable tips on a deeper level. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I felt a sense of calm come over me and ground itself in my core (which is the best most centered type of calm).”

This is powerful stuff. What would it take for your company to help its team members unplug and re-energize? 

​It was time for a trip to go see my grandmother in her final stage of life.

Arriving at the JetBlue counter, I ask if they can add my TSA precheck. I’m met by a blank stare, followed by, “I’m sorry. You are at the wrong airport.”

Wrong airport?! I return an equally blank stare.
Taking a deep breathe to calm myself, I watch my mind processing the options like an analytics program processing a complex set of parameters. I choose the “pay the change fee and fly out of the wrong airport” option since I know that frantically trying to get to the right airport in time for my flight would not bode well for my mental state. I am proud of making that small decision to stay, even while distraught with the original mistake that resulted from not supporting my own mental state.

I wonder if you also know what you should be doing to prioritize your mental health, your personal wellness, but then watch life take over while all your knowing goes by the wayside. You lose your identity being your kids’ personal chauffeur, handling aging family members’ affairs, and falling prey to work’s increasing demand to be plugged in at all hours.

In my life, falling back into old patterns of being often means letting busy-is-better suck me way too easily into its stress-filled vortex. Busy is my choice of drug as it comforts me by keeping me from facing the grief of my grandmother’s transition, the sadness of the constant gun shootings in schools, the uncertainty of our nation.

I type mental health statistics into the Google search engine, and find I am not alone in my distress. According to the latest “Stress in America: The State of Our Nation” survey, the most common sources of stress are:

• 63%: The Future of Our Nation
• 62%: Money
• 61%: Work
• 57%: Current Political Climate
• 51%: Violence and Crime

With so many of us experiencing the high stress of life’s challenges and current events, it’s critical that we take time to make ourselves our first priority. Our personal health and careers depend on it.

Eight years ago, I made it a priority to focus on my mental health and personal wellness. At the time, I was successful at work by many definitions of word. But I was not leading our organization to our best potential. In 2010, with our company’s turnover rate at 33%, I knew that even in the midst of financial gain, those numbers did not represent true success. Over time and with the support of our CEO, I was able to integrate mental health and wellness practices into the rest of the organization. This resulted in six daily principles that have given our company the space to create and maintain a thriving organizational culture—a culture that has led our company to drop to less than 1% turnover from 2016 to the present.

The six principles are:
1.Breathe: Use Your Breath to Self-Soothe
In times of stress, we can turn to our breath. It is free, accessible to us at any time, and a powerful antidote to anxiety and the physical symptoms of stress. This, in turn, can clear our minds and help us make better choices. If I had not taken the time to simply breathe at the wrong airport, for instance, I may have made the mistake of trying to get to my original flight.
 
2.Move: Utilize Movement as a Tool to Shift Your Mood
Movement is another way to care for your own well-being. When I cannot easily access the answer to conflict or when a team member, friend, or loved one comes to me in a state of confusion, my go-to response is to encourage them to take a walk or move in some fashion to clear the mind. From experience, I know that the best ideas don’t generally come from sitting in front of a computer or endlessly rehashing an issue. When I take the time to move is when the answers magically surface.
 
3.Nourish: Check In with Your Emotions before You Make Food Choices
It has taken me years to realize that during emotional turbulence, focusing on healthy and balanced food choices will support a healthy mental state. Now, I simply pause before making an unhealthy choice, and I ask myself what the underlying unmet need is—what is it that’s turning me to my comfort foods of ice cream and cookies?

The shift in my approach is not in depriving myself of the emotional eating; it’s simply in bringing awareness to it. And in that process, sometimes I still eat ice cream for dinner with the awareness that my food choice is because I am upset or stressed. But most of the time, I pivot to a more balanced healthy choice of protein and fruits and vegetables. The key is allowing the healthy choice to at least be placed on the mind’s table.

4.Communicate: Listen to Understand
One of the most vital aspects of success in our personal and professional relationships is communication—the thread that connects us together. We are often so focused on talking that we forget to listen to others first. We miss out when we don’t listen, because taking time to listen sparks creativity and boosts esteem.

5.Challenge: Pause to Pivot to a Positive Possibility
Years ago, I started using the 3P Method as a guideline for handling conflict, and now I encourage others to think through these steps when negative emotions arise. This works because I recognize there are always going to be challenges. If you take a moment to allow the feelings with the intention of moving to the positive, it saves energy by not spinning into the negative.

6.Routine: Do Something that Inspires You Each Day
One of the first questions I ask when faced with my own personal stress or someone coming to me in distress is, ““What are you doing that inspires you each day?” Then I encourage making a list and completing one activity each day that the person loves. When I’m feeling down or stressed is often when I’m forgetting to focus on my inspirations such as cooking and spending time with my kids. Having this downtime from work supports my success.
​
Keep Moving Forward
It takes diligence and awareness to stay on track to be our best personally and professionally. I must continually remind myself of these six principles to find the balance that supports my well-being. Each time I stop focusing on the principles, I too easily fall off the wagon of self-care and find myself not moving forward. When I stop using these tools, I make silly mistakes, forge ahead with less-than-best business decisions, and stop giving the gift of focusing on my loved ones with my presence.

The good news is that the tools are always there at my disposal. Because of them, I know what feels best, my standards for quality of relationships and work product are higher, and I can always choose to keep moving forward.