By Kathrin Köster

JOY – A WOW-Factor!

Two days ago, I talked to Claire who shared the following story with me:

“I was so happy. I exceeded the budget figures. Together with my team, I was better than the forecast in a very difficult market. I went into Annett’s office – who is my boss – to share the breaking news, and guess what her reaction was? Annett briefly interrupted her conversation with Michael, a colleague, barely looked up and mumbled: ‘Oh, ok!’ Then, she continued to talk with Michael. I wanted to say more to highlight how unexpected this positive result was, but I swallowed my words and returned to my desk. I felt like I had hit a wall…”

Joy turned into disappointment within a blink of an eye. Why?

Annett was distracted and not in the mood of listening to Claire. She could not take in the good news. She was not switched on with all senses. Otherwise, she would have picked up the positive feeling Claire brought into the room. Annett missed the opportunity to receive and even reinforce Claire’s positive energy and sharing her joy.

Instead, her absent-mindedness or ‘absent-heartness’ transformed joy into something negative.

JOY is FREE ENERGY. Sharing joy boosts the motivation of all team members. It’s a real WOW-factor for great team work. It requires openness from both sides – the ‘sender’ and the ‘receiver’.

So, what about a new habit for tomorrow?

Share joy – and ENJOY tuning into the joy of your team members!

It’s easy, just needs awareness and mutual encouragement. Check it out.