HOW TO WORK BETTER TOGETHER: YOUR CREATIVE RESILIENCE

HOW TO WORK BETTER TOGETHER:

YOUR CREATIVE RESILIENCE

How to Work Better Together: Your Creative Resilience Copyright © 2020 Monica H. Kang. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication shall be reproduced, transmitted, or sold in whole or in part in any form without prior written consent of the author, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law. Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the author’s copyright and is illegal and punishable by law. All trademarks and registered trademarks appearing in this guide are the property of their respective owners.

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InnovatorsBox® PO Box 73231 Washington, DC 20056-32321 info@innovatorsbox.com innovatorsbox.com +1 (213) 300 0201 The opinions are expressed by the Author.

Written by: Monica H. Kang

InnovatorsBox®is on a mission to unlock creativity for all.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 04 INTRO: Your Creative Resillience 05 How to Work Better Together 06 Step One | Kindness 07 Step Two | Self-Awareness 08 Step Three | Curiosity and Empathy 09 Step Four | Mindfulness 10 Step Five | Relationships 11 In Conclusion 12 Helpful Links

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YOUR CREATIVE RESILIENCE COVID-19 has changed the way we work and live. While it has added incredible emotional burdens, stress, and anxiety, it has also presented us with powerful new ways to collaborate, connect, and create. Which version are you living today? The choice is yours.

I want to help you manifest abundance instead of being overtaken by fear.

I’ve created this step-by-step toolkit that will strengthen your mindset and build creative resilience as you navigate the changing workplace.

To best manifest your abundance mindset, you must believe it, practice it, and reflect on it. Like good health, you cannot earn this overnight. I encourage you to use these prompts as a fiveday challenge, integrate them into your daily routine, or have an accountability partner who can reflect with you on your journey of creative resilience. In the end, you have the power to see abundance even when it may seem to be lacking. I cannot wait for you to experience that every day.

Be courageous innovators. You got this.

Monica H. Kang Founder & CEO, InnovatorsBox®

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HOW TO WORK BETTER TOGETHER Here are steps you can take to build creative resilience and live - and work- with an abundance mindset.

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STEP ONE: KINDNESS ASSUME KINDNESS. PRACTICE KINDNESS. THE CHALLENGE

Now that we are communicating online during COVID-19, there is increased miscommunication and the potential for hurtful conversations due to the lack of tone of voice and non-verbal gestures. Even the nicest person can hurt people online or contribute to spreading negativity. As Dr. Art Markman says humans tend to act differently online: “The further away from face-to-face, the real-time dialogue you get, the harder it is to communicate.”

THE OPPORTUNITY

At the end of the day, we are all human - you and your readers. You can’t control how others respond, but you can control how you respond. If each of us took the time to pause, assume good intention, and consider how the receiver will feel when you comment, how would communication change? Kindness is also contagious and it’s up to us to help spread it faster than our fear. One thoughtful message from one person can inspire us to be kinder to the next person. Imagine what can happen if we all made the effort to be kinder each time we spoke, wrote to someone, or inserted a comment online?

ACTIONS

Words are powerful. They can break us and mend us. The next time you want to react or say something, how can you take a moment to pause? Be kind, assume kindness, and pause before reacting. Same rule applies when you speak to yourself. We are often the harshest critic to our own selves. How can we be kinder to ourselves as we practice more kindness to others?

RESOURCES

Read my articles on LinkedIn and on Forbes on how to pause before reacting and how to communicate more thoughtfully.1

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STEP TWO: SELF-AWARENESS IDENTIFYING HOW YOUR REALLY FEEL THE CHALLENGE

Most of us are so busy doing that we are not spending enough time thinking about how we are living as a human being. We became a hamster on a wheel that forgot why we got on the wheel in the first place! Even in the wake of COVID-19, some of us answered our daily greetings as “I am fine” out of habit even when things are not fine. We stopped learning about who we are, how we feel, and what we really want.

THE OPPORTUNITY

COVID-19 has disrupted our lives but it has also provided us a great opportunity to pause, reflect, and reset. As we spend more time alone, with loved ones, and online, we have been given the time and the space to wonder - and to face - what we really want in life and to question what we are truly living (and working) for. The more you get to know what makes you you, you may realize how special and enriching your life is and what more you want to accomplish.

ACTIONS

Journaling is a powerful way to reflect and get to know yourself. Block 10 minutes a day to get to know yourself by asking this simple question, “How are you really feeling today?” Take the time to process how and why you are feeling the way you do. Be curious. Be understanding. Be compassionate. Explore what immediate solutions are available to heal any wounds and if there aren’t any apparent solutions explore why it feels that way. Decide how to communicate how you feel, who you want to talk to, and how you want to take action. And enjoy the journey of getting to know yourself.

RESOURCES

Use our free Innovation Worksheets as a guide to get to build your awareness.2

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STEP THREE: CURIOSITY & EMPATHY MANIFESTING UNDERSTANDING AND BEING UNDERSTOOD THE CHALLENGE

We feel anxious and reactive when we are stressed and in pain. During the pandemic, all of us are going through emotions or situations at any given time. This means we can further inflict wounds on one another without even realizing it. Dr. Guy Winch articulates this well in that most adults are unaware of the deep wounds we inflict at one another every day. So we become full of unhealed wounds. Unlike physical wounds, we lack the emotional first aid to know how to heal and to support others. How can we change this?

THE OPPORTUNITY

While individual experiences vary, the deep pain COVID-19 has caused also gives us a powerful global shared experience. It gives us opportunities to learn how to relate, understand, and empathize with people who may, or may not, be like us. It gives us the opportunity to understand our colleagues and friends more personally and deeply as we see them on video calls while they embrace their crying child or barking dogs. To empathize with others and yourself better, try starting with curiosity. Curiosity can lead to new insights. When we see things from an eye of curiosity, the challenges that feel like obstacles can become interesting data points and insights. Curiosity puts us in a learning mindset and drives us to explore and reach a higher level of understanding.

ACTIONS

In the end, we all want two things: to be understood and to understand. We also want to be appreciated and valued.

How can we do more of that as we collaborate online even in the face of obstacles, uncertainty, and stress? To transform my reaction into curiosity, I keep a few phrases close to me.

I noticed, ____. I wonder,_____.

I hear you. I resonate with you.

How can I support you better?

Thank you for sharing that. I know it wasn’t easy.

These phrases help me stay curious and empathize with others better. By thinking like a detective I wonder why I feel anxious instead of letting my anxiousness dictate how I feel. I transform my reactions into learning moments by shifting my thinking mindfully.

RESOURCES

Read more on how to connect emotionally when working together using our EQ Guide.3 Parents Guide4 can also help parents stay creative and help non-parents learn how to support parent colleagues when working together.

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STEP FOUR: MINDFULNESS FROM BURNOUT TO RECHARGING YOUR CREATIVE TANK THE CHALLENGE

Our culture of overworking and burning out has gotten worse with COVID-19. In August 2020 a survey from FlexJobs and Mental Health America (MNA) found that 75% of workers are experiencing burnout and 40% of them say it is a direct result of the pandemic. We are working more hours, the line between work and life has become fuzzier, the uncertainty of reopening safely is stressful, and front line workers are risking their lives every day to serve others.

This is a lot. It’s understandable why we experience endless exhaustion, feel overwhelmed, and our minds won’t stop racing. What do you do with all of this?

THE OPPORTUNITY

Even before the pandemic, most of us knew we needed better routines to take care of our minds and health. As Americans, I relate to the joke “I need a vacation from a vacation.” Rest hasn’t been incorporated enough into our daily lives. Our vacations can end up feeling like a task where we have to do certain things instead of truly feeling recharged. We can change this by incorporating mindfulness and self-care routines including exercise, sleeping, and nutrition. Since most of us are in one location now, building new routines during COVID-19 is an opportunity to make lasting changes to our mindfulness and self-care practices. Self-care is a deliberate proactive practice that helps us refuel our energy and body. Taking care of your mind and energy means you’ll become more refreshed, energized, curious, and creative at home—and work. You’ll be more present and able to notice the difference in the food you are eating, uncover why you may feel tired, or discover why you feel excited about something, or someone.

You’ll notice the breeze when you first walk out of your home and will be able to articulate what you are grateful for that refuels each day. By learning how to be more present to enjoy these moments and details, we can show up as a better creative and collaborator.

ACTIONS

How exciting it is to redesign your days in order to feel recharged? To incorporate daily self-care and mindfulness routines you have to first be aware of what makes you happy and recharged. Write down five things that you like to do for self-care and mindfulness. Look at your calendar to see when you can incorporate these things regularly into your routine. Set monthly intentions on how you want to manifest your care routines. Journal to document your journey and hold yourself accountable. I like to use Notes to write down my moments of gratitude and to track my self-care activities so I can remember how I felt recharged. I also like to build in moments of “presence” such as remembering how it feels to walk outside or bite into a meal and truly savor the taste. It makes every experience more enriching. And certainly more aware as I walk into meetings and conversations to actively listen and be present to ideate and collaborate more intentionally.

RESOURCES

Join our Mindset and Rethinking Facilitation course to strengthen your mindset and active listening skills. Programs will be available in Fall 2020. Visit www.rethinkfacilitation.com or email learning@innovatorsbox.com to learn more.

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STEP FIVE: RELATIONSHIPS INTENTIONALLY SURROUNDING YOURSELF THE CHALLENGE

Social isolation during the pandemic spiked loneliness as it decreased our opportunity to meet people and spur random conversations. We find our social circles closing up and our outlet to newness decreasing. There is no waiting in line for coffee or bathroom conversations. There is no passing by your office conversation. Even in weekly team meetings, casual hellos before the meeting feel weird as you can’t have more than one conversation in a group without talking over one another. So we’ve started talking less. This exacerbates the loneliness epidemic that existed before the pandemic. Is it possible to build new and strengthen existing meaningful relationships while social distancing?

THE OPPORTUNITY

Physical distance does not mean we need to socially distance. Now more than ever we need each other and to connect more deeply. Research like the 80-year-old Harvard Grant Study, the world’s longest study of human behavior, proves that what makes people happy and healthy is the love we share with our close relationships, not money or fame. So why are we not investing more time and effort to strengthen relationships? The key is how you choose to intentionally spend your time and engage in connecting. As “How are you?” changed from small talk to emotional check-in, more people are willing to talk about feelings, be vulnerable, and even open up to strangers as we share our struggles and wins together. We’re also more reachable since we are online at home instead of traveling or sitting in meetings. Yet the key is how you intentionally spend time and with whom you spend it. Are you surrounding yourself with optimistic and curious-minded individuals? Or are you spending more time with people who are complaining? How are you making time to connect with new people as well as connect with close friends? It’s up to us to make deep connection moments into lasting meaningful relationships. A meaningful relationship is a two-way street of give and take. You have to be grounded and willing to be vulnerable to build that kind of relationship.

ACTIONS

If you want to change, change how you spend your day. Actively declutter your surroundings to make time for close friends and new friends in your life. Look at your social media feed, inbox, and calendar. Who are you spending the most time with and how is that making you feel? We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. If we want more creativity and happiness, we need to intentionally show up to online places that ignite us. Who helps bring out the best version of yourself and challenges you to open up? How are you supporting others? Every action you take is your choice. You can proactively choose where and how to spend your time and energy in order to build more enriching relationships. This is why I loved welcoming 100+ innovators from 30+ countries at our online Innovators Meetups via InnovatorsBox. We shared our fears, hopes, and reflections. It reminded us we are not alone.

It grounded us to know how we can do so much more by intentionally connecting together. Time is always given equally but we always decide how to use it. Choose to invest wisely.

RESOURCES

Join us at our upcoming events and stay engaged by joining our Innovators Membership. Learn more at www.innovatorsbox.com.

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In Conclusion | Practicing Gratitude and Acceptance Journal how your journey is going. At times I wake up feeling anxious. I take a deep breath and recite my gratitude. Each morning during exercise I list all my gratitudes and marinate my thoughts on them. I may have no power to change what happens during this pandemic but by changing how I think I can change how I feel. Suddenly the day feels more adventurous and exciting. It helps me show up more intentionally, actively listen to what others and my needs are, and be curious about uncertainty instead of being reactionary. Fear, anxiety, and stress are there but they are no longer my main drivers. I manifest abundance because I proactively make decisions to be resilient, curious, and creative. And so can you.

I hope these five steps can help you move through this pandemic with an abundance mindset, an ability to strengthen your creative mind, and to communicate with compassion. Kindness is contagious. Let’s pass it on faster than fear.

I’m grateful you are here, being you, today.

Sincerely, Monica Kang

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Links 1

Visit my LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/monicakang and Forbes page at http://bit.ly/MonicaForbes.

2

Visit www.innovatorsbox.com/free-worksheets.

3

Find our EQ Guide here: bit.ly/EQOnline

4

Find our Parents Guide here: bit.ly/ParentsCreativity

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