What behaviour choices are you making?

We’ve all had that colleague or boss that we rolled our eyes about, or who made our blood boil.

I know I have.

We can be quick to blame, and quick to condemn the poor behaviours of others. Because we notice them, experience them, get emotionally tangled, and react to them.

We’re human, so we feel, judge, gossip and spit feathers.

But by being so distracted by the behaviours of others, we can forget to look at ourselves to assess if we’re in a glass house, throwing stones.

Perhaps we should first look to ourselves and ask ourselves how WE show up, how people experience US, and what impact WE have on the team dynamics.

Basically, “what sort of teammate am I?”

Am I that person who just doesn’t engage with others and really doesn’t care about the work I’m doing? The person everyone wishes would either just engage, or leave if they dislike it so much.

Or maybe I’m the person who is always cheerful and chatty, I’m everyone’s buddy, easy to get on with, but I don’t actually get much work done or, if I do, it’s riddled with errors and I’m missing deadlines. So I’m fun and friendly, but totally unreliable.

Perhaps I’m the person who thinks I’m an island, I keep to myself, get work done but I never bother telling anyone else what I’m doing, if I’ve made an error, or if I’ve finished a piece of work that someone else is waiting for? So I end up being micromanaged for progress and chased for updates? Rather arrogant and unaccountable.

Or maybe I’m the person who is positive, gets on with people, enjoys my work and does it to the best of my ability, meets deadlines, asks for help if I need it, admits mistakes, learns, supports my colleagues, shows initiative, shares my knowledge and communicates regularly and effectively? Responsible, accountable, trustworthy, kind and caring.

I know which I’d rather be, how I’d like to show up. Not just for my colleagues, but for myself.

It’s not about our environment, or our colleagues, and the choices they’re making. It’s about the choices we make about ourselves, how we bring ourselves to work, who we’re being, and what we do when we get there.

Which one are you?

What impact do you have in the way you show up?

If you want to figure out what the real you looks like so you can take that person to work, get in touch.