From www.helpothers.org, used with permission.

• Take flowers to work and share them with coworkers.
• Write a note to the boss of someone who has helped you, praising the employee.
• Leave enough money in the vending machine for the next person to get a free treat. (Tape the change
   and a Smile card* tag to the machine)
• Have a food drive, ask employees to bring nonperishable food items to donate to food bank.
• Get to work before others and leave a piece of candy, brownie, fruit, flower, etc. at every desk attached
   with a Smile card.
• Leave a cake or other food item in a central area anonymously with a Thank-You note.
• Appreciate a co-worker by giving them a gift of service. For example, instead of a tie for birthday or
   Christmas, make a contribution to sponsor a cataract surgery in a developing country. Attach a note
   explaining how their gift affects someone else’s life.
• Gather a group of your colleagues and take them to a fundraiser.
• Email an article about an act of kindness to your group every week.
• Give your manager or co-worker a thought-provoking book.
• Print an inspiring story and put it on your work bulletin board.
• Buy a cup of coffee or snack for someone who’s having a long day.

*Smile Cards are markers of a newfangled game of tag, where “you’re it” because someone has done something nice for you. Then it’s your turn to do something nice for someone else and, in the process, pass the card along. 

Helpothers.org is a portal dedicated to small acts of kindness. There you will find inspirational stories & articles documenting acts of kindness, downloadable Smile card designs and much more!  www.helpothers.org

A recent DesignArounds poll asked learning professionals to identify their most pressing current challenge. No surprises here. 100% reported ‘time‘. Given today’s business climate and economic pressures, it’s no wonder that the training function – like every other function – is being challenged to do more with less. Fewer people. Scaled-back budgets. And a reduced investment of learning time.

Netbook computers with expanded capacity that can fit into your pocket and coin-sized mp3 players holding thousands of songs have established the expectation that good things (and a lot of them) come in small packages. Is it any wonder that organizations expect training to follow suit?

So, what can learning and development professionals do to respond?

Become a ruthless editor: Cut Through the Clutter
Today’s learning professionals must develop the ability to ruthlessly eliminate the non-essential, lay out the ‘critical path’ to new knowledge and skills and delete all else. Eliminating the ‘nice to knows’ allows the available time to be focused on ‘need to know’ information.

Revisit knowledge acquisition: Leverage Multimedia
Current applications allow for the quick and inexpensive development of multimedia presentations that can deliver considerable content in an efficient and engaging fashion. Transform group discussion and discovery exercises into tidy learning objects that can be used in a variety of ways.

Think beyond the event: Quickly Develop Self-Sufficiency
Let’s be honest: compressed timeframes can only accomplish so much. Leave learners with tools and resources that extend their ability to perform where it really matters: on the job. Memorable models, powerful job aids, online resource libraries turn the entire workplace into a training room.

Re-conceive materials: Order up a Combo
Re-thinking training deliverables for greater efficiency can support shorter timeframes. Look for each element and activity to do double – even triple – duty. Get creative. Even name tents can carry critical content.

Re-train the trainer: Change up the Tempo
Among the greatest challenges facing classroom trainers is replacing the previously leisurely learning rhythms with today’s crisper cadence. Comfortable patterns of extended discussions, getting-to-know you exercises, and storytelling must be confronted and adjusted.

These strategies can help to deliver results – even in today’s hurry-up world.

Written by Karen Voloshin and Julie Winkle Giulioni of DesignArounds. DesignArounds designs, develops and delivers training that works in today’s dynamic and pressure-packed workplace. For more information, visit www.designarounds.com.

A positive side to stress? Sounds strange, doesn’t it? But think about it. Isn’t some level of stress an important factor in meeting any goal? Don’t most people need that edge of energy that comes with working hard to meet challenges and overcome obstacles?

Stress can, under the right circumstances, be a gift. It can motivate us, and focus our efforts. The people who are most successful in life tend to be those that bounce back quickly from stress and adversity; they learn from their mistakes and move on, rather than feel victimized. However, when we experience too much of it, stress can also be detrimental to our health and to our overall success at work and at home.

The key is to find the right level of stress, and that’s where good leadership comes in. If they want to build their staff’s capability, good leaders don’t try to completely eliminate stress from a project, an assignment or the environment. Effective leaders understand that setting and achieving goals involves stress in some form, and that the stress involved in setting and reaching for goals often draws out the best of people’s talents.

Here are some guidelines that can help managers and coaches “get the best out of stress” for their teams. Remember, though, it’s about finding the right balance between energizing stress and stress that becomes counterproductive and potentially harmful.  

1) Make sure you are able to recognize signs of stress and identify their causes.

• How do you typically learn what events, situations and conditions are creating stress for your employees?
• What factors in your department or work group tend to produce the most stress for people? Are these acknowledged and discussed openly?

2) Recognize that each person has a different capacity for dealing with stress — some are better at it than others.

• When coaching employees, are there specific behaviors or areas of skill development you can recommend for those that need to reduce their level of stress, such as improved time management, better planning, being more assertive, etc?

3) Help employees recognize that there are productive forms of stress.

• Do you ever hear stress discussed in positive terms? How can you help employees see that, in many cases, stressful situations and challenges aren’t altogether negative because they serve to make us stronger?
• What methods have you developed for managing your own stress? What past experiences have made you better able to survive new challenges? Have you shared these with your staff?

4) Attempt to raise the stress level up a notch, but only when and where it will be constructive.

• Can you think of situations in your work environment where a bit more pressure might be useful? What are they? What makes you think that raising the stress level just a notch might be useful?
• How can you assess whether or not your employees have sufficient resiliency to thrive on additional stress before adding more pressure to the situation?

When acknowledged and handled well — especially with the proper guidance and coaching — employees will see that stress can build resilience as well as confidence and the ability to deal with challenging circumstances.

Excerpted in part from the Leader’s Guide for the CRM Learning program, Stress is a Gift.

Need help in this area? Stress is a Gift uses a poignant example from nature to illustrate how stressors are essential to any living thing’s ability to survive and grow.