It's what you do outside of the office that counts

Often times what we do as leaders outside of the office is just as important as what we do in the office.

Important and productive things we do outside of the office are activities such as developing relationships and taking time to grow from reflection.

Developing relationships are often heard to do inside of the office. Human resource laws make it difficult for most people to truly express themselves, and it holds many people back from building authentic relationships.

The bottom line is that relationships are strong when people spend time with each other both inside and outside of the office. Think about the three people you consider to have the best relationships with in your office. I would be willing to bet you often spend time outside of the office with them going to events, BBQs, watching the Sunday football games, or attending your kids sporting events together.

When staff people are outside of the office they can be a little more free flowing and have fun, crack jokes, and make fun with each other in ways that help them bond.

The best ways to foster this interaction is to take everyone to dinner, go on a team building retreat, or go on a volunteer service project (which is naturally my favorite).

Taking time to reflect on experiences is an extremely important activity, not just for the entire team, but for the leader. John Maxwell has stated many times that, “Reflection turns experience into insight.”

I’ve heard several stories of Albert Einstein always sleeping with a notepad and pen on his nightstand so he was prepared to write down ideas and thoughts when we woke up. Einstein knew that his mind was continuing to think and process ideas, even while he was sleeping and he wanted to always be ready for them when he woke up in the middle of the night.

Thinking and reflecting allows you to learn from your mistakes so that you can avoid them in the future. It helps you improve your performance in the future so you might actually experience some new problems that you didn’t have before.

One of my favorite activities that I do every week is to go to Starbucks (thanks Jason for the gift card) with nothing but my journal, a legal pad of paper and a pen. And for anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours I will just sit, think, sip on my coffee, write and think some more.

I go with no agenda or specific topics to think and write about. All I do is sit and think and write about whatever is on my mind.

Learning and growing outside of the office is one of my favorite things to do. It’s what energizes me and gives me fresh ideas.

So remember, sometimes it's what you do outside of the office that counts!

Comments

[ravi kumar]

Great article , thanks

[Christopher Scott]

Thanks Ravi, glad you were able to learn and grow!

[Red Ring of Death]

Thinking and reflecting allows you to learn from your mistakes so that you can avoid them in the future indeed.