If You Don’t Know How to Make Work Fun
I’ll never forget the day my wife said our family was more peaceful without me. The kids were still home and I was always upset about something.
Tragically, life was better without me.
Mot leadership:
Mot was the god of death, infertility, and drought for ancient West Semitic peoples. When Mot ruled, the land languished.
Do people wish you would go away? Choose vitality!
Vibrant work:
#1. Make work fun.
If you don’t know how to make work fun, ask someone who does.
One team I work with has a person who loves fun. She’d love to tell you how to have fun!
Designate a Chief Fun Officer for the month. Their job is to plan one act of fun a week. (This will only work if you haven’t already sucked the life out of everyone.)
- Change a routine. Do something unplanned.
- Have cake for no reason.
- Create and lead a clap-moment. Clapping, even if it feels weird, makes people feel good.
#2. Engage in banter.
Caring leaders build vibrant workplaces. At the beginning of the week, ask, “What did you do for fun this weekend?” It’s too broad to ask, “How was the weekend?”
#3. Ask, “What could I do that would help you enjoy work?”
You might not know what holds teams back. Ask them.
Don’t do people’s jobs for them. Just help them enjoy their job.
- Eliminate stupid stuff. What are you doing that hinders rather than helps? Evaluate systems, processes, and paperwork.
- Explain what matters. Give people ‘one thing’ to prioritize today.
- Get your hands dirty once in awhile. It’s not smart to do people’s jobs for them, but it’s encouraging if you occasionally lend a hand.
- Minimize gossip by over-communicating. When people don’t have enough information, they make it up.
How might leaders energize rather than drain teams?
Nerf guns.
Nice!
I find that humility blends beautifully into making work fun. When leaders can laugh at themselves it takes the natural boss tension down a notch. Pretty soon others chime in with humbling stories from time to time and everyone gets to know each other on a more personal basis. Humility, it’s not just for breakfast on Sunday’s anymore!
Love it Brian. Thanks for adding your insight. Being real is more fun and less stressful. 🙂
Like #3.
For me, stuff like #1 is demotivating and #2 just seems contrived unless one is doing it naturally anyway. But it’s important to many people, so while those needs aren’t very productive, failing to address them will result in much more loss of productivity. And you cannot just grin and bear it because that will be obvious too.
Thanks Douglas. Your focus on being real is the essential component to everything we do.
I suppose there’s something to be said for getting out of comfort zone. That means doing things that feel awkward, even fake. The question is does the new behavior reflect the heart, even if it feels awkward.
These are really practical
Thanks Mimi…
Boy, Dan, did you ever hit “home” with this post: “Family life is more peaceful without me.” Right or wrong, I’m a believer that our professional and personal lives are enjoined: We bring our personal lives to work with us, and take our professional lives back home with us. So we better learn how to have fun and get along well with others by focusing on healthy relationships by supporting, listening, respecting, encouraging, accepting, trusting, and negotiating differences–both at work and home. When we think of ourselves less and focus on our contributions more, we keep at bay all the relationship killers like criticizing, blaming, judging, complaining, nagging, threatening, and disbelieving. Great post, Dan. Thank you.
Thanks Rick. Brilliant observations. Be who you are at work and at home. Be a person who enjoys fun.
Most people realize that leadership skills are relevant in home, community, church, and work.
Cheers
Dan, each of your posts is even better than the previous one! I was blessed (sometimes cursed) to work in advertising agencies most of my life. Some creative directors were more adept at having fun and being spontaneous. On one occasion, my favorite creative director allowed us to have our Monday morning creative team meeting UNDER the conference room table…because a few members had experienced stressful weekends and said they felt like hiding. The angst and stress of the forthcoming hectic week dissipated. Rick makes an excellent point about enjoying fun at home, as well. If my sis and I are experiencing extreme stress, we go get ice cream or go someplace fun/free, then take a two-mile walk when we get home.
Hey Williams…Awesome story.
It seems that FUN like other aspects of culture building has a lot to do with our leaders.
I love how the creative director “went with”. It reminds me of improv.
Thanks again for sharing your story.
“How might leaders energize rather than drain teams?” Permit employees to let natural personality, their ideas, opinion to show, have their say during discussion(s), laugh, scream & shout, let off steam (not too loudly though) – let’s people get to know each other, what makes each tick, be productive, work together to reach a goal, solve an issue, communicate. BE A TEAM in spirit, not only in structure, on paper, no alienating of team members.
Great stuff Thinker. There’s real energy and fun in being real.
I can’t help but think about real leaders … We have to be real if we want others to be real.
Powerful ideas. Thanks again.
As an addition, respect each other with maturity and as equals.
Play the adult version of “Hungy, Hungy Hippo”, it’s hilarious!
Loved this… “Create and lead a clap-moment. Clapping, even if it feels weird, makes people feel good.” I’ve done this with “fake” laughing, but it works too. And yes, I’ve done the laughing exercise all by myself…and it brings my vibe up. All of a sudden what was boring work, is now done with a chuckle, a knowing smirk, and little grin as I poke fun at myself…getting my work done with a smile.