How are you showing up?

As a kid, that nursery rhyme was always the reminder for me to work hard, to seek improvement and get my better best.

All very noble and virtuous.

But how do you do that when you’re still getting over the ‘flu, you need to get home on time to meet the plumber who is going to fix the hot water system which blew up this morning and your boss just plonked an “urgent” document for your attention on your desk?

Let’s face it; our lives are incredibly complex, complicated and busy. Finding a way to juggle everything can be tough, even without the ‘flu.

Is there be a way to deal with all of life’s little foibles and still manage to get our work done to a level we are happy with?

Think back to the last time you were in that wonderful state of ‘flow’, when what ever you were working on came together beautifully and easily, where time and other worries appeared inconsequential.

How did you feel?

Good? Motivated? Rewarded?

While we can all have the occasional ‘bad hair’ day, how we show up is a choice that we can determine using our conscious awareness and is influenced by those around us.

The happiest workplaces are those where people feel safe, secure and valued. Having a boss or manager who treats you as a human being counts for far more than the money you receive in your pay packet.

At the Neurobusiness conference in Manchester last week, Phil Jones, Managing Director of Brother UK shared how he has devised ways for the company to nurture and reward staff not only doing their job well but to notice when it is someone’s birthday, or when they have recently become a new parent. It’s often the smallest gestures of goodwill that can mean to the most, and trigger the brain’s reward system with that little extra squirt of dopamine.

When we feel rewarded we not only feel happier, our mood is elevated, we are able to learn and retain more information and our performance rises. Plus we feel more capable of dealing with all those other things that crop up.

Under Phil Jones leadership, Brother UK has been named a Times Top 100 place to work and an Investors in People “Gold” workplace.

Phil is clearly someone who walks their talk, so no wonder his staff enjoy being part of the team. He is energetic, passionate and committed to his purpose and it shows.

Knowing what really motivates people to show up at their best, to do their work and do it well is why choosing to incorporate the brain science into the workplace makes perfect business sense.

How do you choose to show up to work?

Is your workplace orientated to provide the human touch?

What steps can you put in place to ensure everyone at your workplace is turning up to get their better best?