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he majority of law firms that I consult with share that they understand the instrumental benefits that a diverse workforce brings to growing their practice, at the same time, there is still a low percentages of diversity within attorneys, especially at the partner levels.
Whether your small business gathers for simple festivities or a large team pot-roast, it is a wonderful idea to utilize the holiday season to increase employee engagement, interpersonal communication, and overall office morale.
Incorporate some of these fantastic holiday party ideas for your next company function!
Want to increase diversity and cultural awareness in your workplace? Here is a fun idea. Simply print out a large map of the world and place it on the floor. Throughout the activity, a leader asks a series of interactive, geography-oriented questions, prompting co-workers to travel to different places on the world map.
Question examples include:
Where are you spending the holidays?
Where is your dream place to travel during the winter season?
What holiday traditions would you like to learn more about?
Have fun with the questions and create your own. Use this interactive game to learn more about your team members, their diverse cultures, and holiday experiences!
Love spending your winters cozied up on the couch watching your favorite HGTV shows? Bring the fun to your office holiday party with this entertaining game. Purchase (or make) a few gingerbread house kits for your co-workers. Divide the office into teams and race to create the most intricately designed gingerbread house. (This is great for large and small workplaces as teams of 3-4 can easily decorate a whole gingerbread house together while in larger offices, bigger groups can work on individual aspects of the home (Example: two individuals work on the walls while another three work on the roof) and put together their final product in the final seconds.) These activities spur moments of teamwork and insight creativity in the workplace.
At the end of the hectic house-building time period, line up the newly created gingerbread homes for judging. Encourage each team to present their creations in the style of an HGTV House Hunters reel. This funny and imaginative presentation is sure to bring a few smiles to your teammate’s faces. After each group has spoken, present a “SOLD” sticker or a similar award to the best home!
If your workplace is looking for something more glamorous this season, consider a New Years themed function. With glitter and fancy outfits, this event wouldn’t be complete without some resolutions! Use this opportunity to highlight office objectives and individual goals for the upcoming year with a New Years Vision Board. If there is a large end goal in the upcoming future, make that the centerpiece of your vision board and utilize the room around it for your team’s gameplan. Create a cork board with enough space for everyone’s aspirations and encourage your team members to create and decorate sheets of paper with their future professional ambitions.
Once everyone has finalized their goal statements, begin placing each objective on the cork board. This can be followed with a short conversation about individual goals!
Bonus: Use a string to connect similar goals, encouraging teamwork and increased conversation in the upcoming year. By literally and metaphorically intertwining objectives, this activity will bring your team closer!
Does your office have a competitive drive? Try out a holiday trivia night featuring seasonal traditions from around the world! Assemble your work force into groups and keep track of points as you quiz them on the origins of Hanukkah, Tibetan holiday traditions, and the world’s Christmas delicacies. Through this activity, your office will grow more inclusive, learning more about diversity and culture.
Unsure where to find fun Holiday facts? Use links like these:
While this last activity does not require immense audience participation like the previous few, creating a presentation that showcases the years achievements will surely increase morale in the workplace. The slideshow should highlight the companies achievements, individual successes, and fun moments from throughout the year. Feel free to edit in some holiday music and include funny pictures for some laughs in the crowd!
As the end of the year approaches, these activities provide a wonderful way to learn more about your team, form strong team bonds, and acknowledge the achievements of the past year. Make good use of this time to show your appreciation for your co-workers, and have a happy holiday season!
When I first moved to the US, one of the first phrases I heard that stuck with me was every eagle needs a push. Something about this phrase spoke to me, and it was later that I discovered the story behind it and even a book written about it.
In the world of eagles, mama eagles build their nests at the tops of mountains to hatch and grow their eaglets. These young eagles grow in treacherous conditions, shrouded in mountain mist, foliage, and other wildlife while their mama stays nearby to protect them.
However, when it is finally time for them to learn how to spread their wings and learn how to fly, the mama eagle gathers her squawking eaglets, and one by one, with no warning, she pushes them off the mountain!
Now, you may be thinking, how cruel of the mother! But in reality, the initial push – as challenging, terrifying, and risky as it may be – is exactly what these eaglets need to develop sinewy, strong wing muscles and take flight.
In my coaching work, I meet people everyday that have been metaphorically trapped on their own mountaintops for many, many, many years, and they have not yet mustered the courage needed to build their wings and fly. They are haunted by fear, which results in them losing themselves and missing out on opportunities. Whether it’s through our own will or with the help of a coach, we need to push ourselves into the unknown.
For those of us in leadership roles, this lesson applies toward the teams we lead as well. Our team will thrive as long as we continue to push and challenge them into uncharted territory. As leaders, we need to be like the mama eagle. Imagine how scared she must feel when she pushes her babies off the mountain. She has to put immense trust in their capability to soar because it is the only way to empower them to discover their potential.
It may be frightening, but in the end, there is no greater feeling than the unbridled sensation of growth, so why not take the leap?
In this blog, Dima shares three unconventional ways that she has used to manage her fear of public speaking.
Let’s stop judging ourselves and asking for instant gratification, and instead let’s realize that building something meaningful and long-lasting does take time. By knowing this, we will find ourselves more motivated and willing to put in the work everyday.
In this blog Dima shares five tips that she found helpful in her journey. She hopes they inspire you to find what works for you in your own journey
Lets learn from Myra, a 7 year old. She tells herself that she will win, and she does. Her attitude and positive thinking is what many of us need in order to continue to win in our lives.
In the workplace, many people lose touch with who they are in order to belong and have job security. But, what companies need more of is innovation, creative ideas, and differentiating themselves in the market. This does not happen if the employees seek to act normal and lose themselves.
It is so crucial that we open our minds, become aware of our own biases, and realize how they are impacting our perceptions of others. Most importantly we must continue to be intentional on a daily bases to eliminate these biases.
We need to be intentional in using words that do not lower our value. The next time you catch yourself apologizing for no reason, take a moment, think, and rather than saying “sorry”, simply state the facts.
Survey results with the top factors that are important for engaging the Millennials at work.
Each generation has its unique characteristics, this blog lists that main qualities per generation.
Four reasons for why Millennials leave their jobs—none of which deal with compensation—and it’s critical for employers to be aware of these reasons in order to address them.
This video series will help you deliver effective and interesting presentations with tips for facing fear and engaging your audience.
Mistakes in the workplace can often feel like failures, but they are rarely as bad as we perceive and often make great learning opportunities.
Take what you have learned from part one and two of this professional branding series and use these tools to put it into action.
These 3 steps will help you discover more about yourself, your strengths, your passion, and your brand than you ever knew before.
How do colleagues see you? What value do you bring to your team? If you aren't sure, it's time to begin considering ways you can better define your professional brand.
