How often do you allow yourself time to play?
How often do you find yourself belly-laughing?
If you’re like me, you love to belly laugh, but you probably don’t get to laugh often enough!
I invite you to listen to this 20 minute Ted Talk. In it, Dr. Stuart Brown explains the neuroscience behind why it’s so important to give yourself…and your team… time to play.
https://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_play_is_more_than_just_fun?language=en
This Ted Talk really resonated with me.
Why? Because I’ve always been a Work Hard/ Play Hard kind of girl. I’m one of the lucky ones, though; I’ve always enjoyed my job as a leader of a sales team for a national builder. But if I’m honest with myself, between working full time and raising kids, I’ve always “worked” more than I “played.”
In fact, I’ve observed friends who’ve done really well in business, and I’ve secretly admired their weekend bicycle trips, evening golf-outings, and their regular beach get-aways. I’ve often wondered how can they find the time to play so much? I was often “too busy” going to swim meets and dance recitals with my kids.
In this TED talk, Dr. Brown explains the brain science behind why PLAY is vital to our sanity and overall good health. He challenges us to blur the lines between work and play by infusing play in our every day lives and to find the enjoyment in everything we do…even and especially in our work.
The speaker, Dr. Stuart Brown is a lifelong student and a practicing doctor of psychiatry and clinical research. He founded the National Institute of Play.
My biggest take aways….
It’s not just natural to want to “play,” but it’s healthy. It’s important to blur the lines between work and play and find enjoyment in our work and balance in our lives.Playing and belly-laughing makes me smarter and more creative!
On a personal note….this is why I started my coaching business. While I always enjoyed my job, my favorite part was coaching sales people and sales managers to be more effective so they could be more successful AND live a more balanced life. So now I get to do that full time!
4 ways to take these ideas into your organization:
Start your meetings with a humorous story, a joke, or a fun, interactive game.Demonstrate to your team that it’s ok to be silly and laugh; wear something playful like a fun hat, or a silly shirt…you don’t always have to be dressed perfectly professional.Encourage your team members to take their days off and have fun. Ask them what they like to do in their spare time. Create a culture where it’s ok to take time off and play. When possible, host fun days or fun outings where the team gets to play with one another. This promotes better relationships, more creativity and fosters greater engagement. Right now, due to Covid restrictions, consider offering social meetups via zoom where you play board games, or take a fun cooking class together, or have a zoom cocktail party.
These are all ways to infuse fun in your everyday work-life and keep the team engaged and having fun together.
If you like this and think others would enjoy it, please share.
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For more guidance on coaching your sales team and developing the systems to create rockstars,
Kathy Tucker Coaching & Consulting is a boutique sales and leadership training company specializing in helping builders and real estate companies develop top producing sales teams and brilliant sales leaders who foster a healthy, high-performance sales culture.
After over 25 years leading top-producing sales teams with the nation’s leading homebuilders, Kathy saw many sales leaders being under-trained or burning out, or wanting to get to the next level of their career but not knowing how to do it. So she started her coaching business to help sales managers learn the systems and skills to take their performance to the next level and THRIVE in the role of the sales leader.
Kathy offers:
Virtual Sales Training Workshops, 1:1 Coaching for Sales Professionals and Sales Leaders, and her Signature Leadership Program: 9 Steps to Leading a Rock Star Sales Team.
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