The telltale signs of when things are going well

I caught up with my team from work earlier today and I found the conversation got really interesting when we started discussing the telltale signs of when things were going well, and when they were not going so well.

If we are attune to our own behaviour and that of our colleagues as well as the early telltale signs of performance, then we can intervene much earlier whenever things are getting off track.

A colleague performing extremely well may start to exhibit too much pride or too much self-interest and may only need a slight adjustment to ensure their high performance is improved and sustained.

Some of the telltale signs the team identified include:

Signs things are going well:

• Starting early
• Being well prepared
• Staying calm
• Helping out
• Smiling and laughing
• Having fun

Signs things are not going so well:

• Trying to keep up or catch up by working too late too often
• Interrupting and pushing a point of view
• Getting too loud rather than listening and learning
• Being close minded and missing things that would normally be noticed
• Becoming tense rather than relaxing and connecting with people
• Less eye contact 
• Getting too quiet, ignoring or excluding
• Anything involving avoiding the truth

When you are aware of these telltale signs then you can recognise them and begin to adjust earlier, to the benefit of everyone involved.

I discovered this is also a good discussion to have at home with your family and children.

The things I learn at work can more often than not be used in your home life. You care about your colleagues, clients and family and you show you care by what you do and say.

So do you recognise the telltale signs for you and the people you care about?

For further information please contact:

Robert Dunne, Director, Commercial Sales +61 (0) 418 888 840 [email protected]