Sometimes the Workplace Needs Goggles and a Water Gun

Meet Joey.  He’s six years old and is pretty special.  He’s my nephew.  We recently had our 2^nd Annual Nephew Weekend at Aunt Kay Kay’s (that’s me).

Our weekend included everything from a trip to the zoo, swimming, fishing and even hunting for Batman’s Cave (it’s in Nashville in case you’re curious).  Our days started early and went non-stop until bedtime was no longer an option.  And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

You know, a lot can be learned from a 6 year old.  And as usual, after spending time with this little guy all weekend it made me think about possible lessons for our workplace.

#1  Pack as much into a day as possible.
The moment Joey’s eyes opened each morning he was ready to go…let’s play, let’s go outside, let’s do something!  Not a minute was wasted.  I wonder, in our workplaces, how often do we really approach the day in this same way?  More than likely a few routines that don’t exactly produce results have found their way into our day.  We’re human and that’s normal.  The real question is:  how often are those routines the norm versus a day filled with intentional activities?

#2   Super Heroes can exist.
My nephew loves Batman and he’s convinced the Bat Cave is somewhere near my street.  So each night we explored the “clues” on my street to discover where Batman might be.  His imagination fueled hours of entertainment.  Do we let our creativity, innovation or imagination come alive at work?  Why not? and what if? are still great games.  Why can’t we play them in our workplace?  Who knows, that next great idea may just be a clue away?

#3  You can learn a lot if you stop talking.
I love conversations with my nephew.  Now granted, sometimes I can’t quite follow the entire conversation but they’re still great.  It’s funny, it just takes one question sometimes and I can learn all kinds of fun facts:  his favorite part of school (playing with his friends), the last time he got in trouble (recently) and his latest girlfriend (too many to list).  I stop talking and just let him talk.  In our daily interactions with our team, how often are we just listening?  It’s a skill and one that takes time to develop.  Who knows what we are missing because we haven’t given our employees the opportunity to teach us.

We’re already talking about next year’s Nephew Weekend.  I love the tradition we are creating.  And the next eleven months will almost give me time to rest up!  Get your goggles out and experience your workplace this week like a six year old.

What other lessons can you share?  We – and our readers – would love to hear from you.