Troika

Above is a picture of me attending a great presentation given at Full Sail University in marketing. The presentation was given by current employees of Troika, if you wish to learn more about the company you can visit them at Troika.tv.

Happiness Sparks Creativity

Throughout my personal career I have discovered numerous management techniques that individuals use inside a work place.  These methods range from micromanagement to positive reinforcement models. It is my personal belief that if you are in a management position creating a positive atmosphere for your employees will make you and your team more successful in nature. Giving employees a residence to feel the freedom and joy of happiness helps trigger creativity, while unlocking doors of comfort and endless potential.

To illustrate these theories I have found a great TED talk that reveals how the psychology of happiness and the functions of the brain can effect an individual’s personal interpretation of any given situation, to help create a patterned consequence.  Shawn Achor gives supported evidence to back his theory of happiness.

Watch Video Here

 Now that we have watched the video I want to discuss how some of his techniques can be applied in a management approach. For example, Shawn discusses how happiness releases dopamine into the brain making it easier for an individual to process incoming data and intake that data to create an innovative approach to any given situation. Knowing this key element as a manager can give you the upper hand in people management. I would also like to point out if you feel at anytime you or any of your employees or co-workers ever feel the need to create happiness in your workplace, all you have to do is construct a more positive viewpoint on everyday circumstances. You can do this by completing daily or weekly exercises, which includes writing lists of positive details that enhance your love for your work. You can also surround yourself with opportunities to do service for other individuals in the work place or reliving optimistic experiences you encountered within the last 24 hours. Doing these steps continually will release dopamine into the brain relieving menial stresses and leave feelings of happiness and creativity.

I have also applied these techniques within my work environment recently and seen the outcome to be accurate.  I had heard that two of my close coworkers were thinking of transferring departments due to upper management degrading attitudes. Because I wanted to create happiness in my workplace, I decided to decorate their cubicles to let them know others appreciate them and the hard work they do. By doing this it gave them a feeling of necessity to the team and discharged a happy atmosphere at work that day. In fact, productivity was much higher then it had been all week. I strongly believe it was due to the attitude of each individual. When they were happy at work, their approach to work was ecstatic and pleasurable. 

If you would like to learn more techniques for people management or leadership you can check out classes given by the Disney Institute, which helps demonstrate and support the idea of happiness and creativity wrapped up into attitude making each individual a team member for success.