I hope you enjoy a Blog I wrote today.  The Social Media platform of LinkedIn published it early this afternoon at:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/grab-bag-reach-%22jo-ann%22-m.-radja.  Here it is for you to read:

“Is a Grab Bag a REACH?

We’ve all experienced being a member of a holiday grab bag at the office.  Often times we opened a package and received what we wanted; othertimes, we did not.   Personally, I like to be surprised because the grab bag is really a sharing event:

*  Price is limited –

*  Ingenuity comes into play –

*  Shopping time to research where to find the item –

*  We allow someone else into our lives to learn about us –

*  We learn a bit about the other person –

*  Our unconscious bias tugs at us if we are disappointed how our request was interpreted –

*  We may have lost sight about what the grab bag was really all about; and

*  The culture of your team or department may also strongly influence whether grab bags are even permitted at the office. 

Engagement and appreciation is what everyone strives for in an office. This time of year offers options and opportunities for creativity if your office grab bag has lost its luster or meaning.   Even if grab bags don’t happen at your place of work, there is a cultural office tradition during this holiday season.  Since every employee benefits by at least one day off for during this holiday season we share equally in the culture of the holiday. 

What can you do to reach out to someone to include them in your office culture tradition?  How open are you to understand why it may be important for another employee not to participate in the office tradition?   What form of engagement or appreciation are you expecting during this holiday season?

As You Choose Who You Want to be Known As during this holiday season, consider reaching out to understand – to engage – to appreciate someone else at the office and it will come back to you, when you least expect it.

Have a great career week!

‘Jo Ann’ M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent”

http://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/