In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, Brandon Laws sits down with kindness and positivity expert Neal Nybo. The two discuss Neal’s latest book, Workplace Positivity Guide and Workbook, and how incorporating micro-actions can be the catalyst for monumental change at work.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Neal Nybo is a positivity expert with a decades-long track record for helping businesses infuse genuine kindness and compassion into the workplace. He is a highly sought-after motivational speaker and the best-selling author of several books, including Workplace Positivity Guide and Workbook: 30 Micro-Actions to Eliminate Negativity Wherever You Work.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
A GOOD START
To start off the discussion on micro-actions, Neal Nybo talked about his partner, Nicole Phillips, the long-time host of the NPR Kindness Podcast. He said, “This is one of hers actually: her point is that we often go through life thinking things without being aware that we’re thinking them.” Instead, we should endeavor to develop a third-person perspective on our own ideas and thoughts so that we can see them for what they really are. This self-reflection helps us decipher how much of our thinking is actually made up of “knee-jerk reactions and worst-case scenarios” and adjust accordingly.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
A Positive Approach
“I have four steps that anyone can walk through to become a positivity superstar or rockstar, and the first one is ‘decide to be different.’ […] This is not ‘decide to make a difference.’ See, as a manager, we could say, ‘I’m gonna make a difference, and I am gonna direct all of my direct reports — the people I supervise — we’re gonna start doing some micro-actions every day.’ Well, you know what that is for them? That’s not an act of kindness. It’s a new responsibility. […] I invite people to decide to be different.”
Finding a Fresh Perspective
“I’ve got some issues I’m working on, and I’m gonna ask this person to hold me accountable, which sounds like a really hard thing or a really big thing. All it means is that if you catch me doing something that I’ve said I don’t want to do, let me know. I’ll tell you how simple this is. I actually put a post-it note on two people’s door frames in their offices that were next to mine, and I said, ‘I’m really working on this kind of communication,’ and maybe it was being sarcastic. And I said to them, ‘Would you do me a favor and just put a checkmark on this Post-it note when you see me being sarcastic?’ […] That’s an example of a very simple accountability partner.”
Escaping Gossip
“One of our micro-actions actually addresses [gossip] specifically. It’s to develop an escape plan. […] One of the examples that Nicole gives is that she literally removed herself from a meeting. So she was having lunch with a number of people and somebody came up who knew the group and just started talking about somebody else who wasn’t there. And Nicole just said, ‘Excuse me. I’m gonna go to the restroom.’ And then she hung out until the person left. What happened was when she got back, […] all the people at the table said, ‘Oh, we’re so sorry. You know, we know exactly what happened there, and we apologize.’”
Getting Curious
“It’s a great practice to want to ask questions rather than making statements. We have stories that we generate within us very quickly. Some of them we grew up with, and some of them were instilled in us by our parents. We have stories, and we revert to them very quickly. Becoming curious is a specific way to interrupt that story and genuinely ask yourself, ‘I wonder why they said that. I wonder what’s going on.’ If you just go with this micro-action of developing curiosity, it puts a roadblock into that assumption.”
Technology and Gratitude
“One of the very first things I do in a presentation with a group, no matter how large or small, is I say, ‘We’re talking about positivity today. Let’s do this: get out your phone and go through your recent texts. Just find one person that you think is positive that you could send a text to and say, ‘Hey, I’m in a seminar on positivity, and I thought of you.’ That’s it. Just text that to somebody.’ And everybody gets out their phones, and they all text. And then I say, ‘Now, this is what I want you to do. Leave your phone on.’ And around the room phones start dinging, and I love it.”
It’s Gotta Be Genuine
“If you’re doing some of those other internal micro-actions. If you’re being curious, if you’re offering people the benefit of the doubt, offering them grace, thinking about what you’re thinking about — all of that can bring you to the place where smiling is a natural reaction. […] So if you smile, there’s a very good chance they’ll smile. And as I say, it’s not designed to be manipulative, but being genuine about it just makes everything more positive.”
LEARN MORE
Head over to Neal’s website and check out his resources, including a free download of an excerpt from his book, Workplace Positivity Guide and Workbook: 30 Micro-Actions to Eliminate Negativity Wherever You Work.