Leading Archives - Rocket Station Careers

6 Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Season while Flying Solo

Rocket Station
February 8, 2021
1:45 pm
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Ah, to be single or simply on your own during Valentines can be woeful for some, for others, it is a day to celebrate singlehood and catch up with all those romcoms airing during the month of hearts. We believe that there is no such thing as love without self-love. No matter your relationship status, or if you are simply alone this season due to the pandemic, we have interesting activities you can use to develop you and your relationships.

For ladies, have Virtual Galentines Movie Nights

Kick off the month of hearts scheduling movie nights with your girls while at home. You can have Watch Together events on Netflix and different online platforms. The ladies you celebrate Galentines movie nights with do not have to be single, they can be ladies in an LDR relationship or other women who just want to catch up with old friends. I suggest whipping up some wine and bubbly while you’re at it to keep the spirit of Galentines alive!

Plan a Workout Regimen

Alone on Valentines? No problem! Keep the month of hearts filled with endorphins to boost positivity the entire season. Have a work-out schedule that works for you and do this with an activity that you like. Is it full-body Pilates? Do you like indoor cycling? Or maybe some hardcore home work-outs to buff up your physique? The possibilities are endless. Researchers state that there are plenty of hormones the brain releases when it comes to love, and endorphins is one of them! Endorphins are the “happy hormones” responsible for lifting one’s mood and eliminating stress. Get those dumb bells, booty bands and sneakers ready!

Journal or do Crafts with Interesting Prompts

Invest in your alone time by writing down your thoughts on paper with interesting journal prompts or by boosting your creativity by crafting something new. Studies show that journaling about what you are grateful for and keeping a diary about your day can help release anxieties and lessen stress. Creativity also boosts the mind’s ability to remain focused at a certain task at hand, it also aids you in developing your perspective of design and beauty. For the season of hearts, remember that you are safe in the pages of your journals and sketchbooks.

Plan Game Night

Game night can be enjoyed alone, or with the company of friends. For people who love to play console games, flying solo with pizza and a drink of choice would be the perfect way to cap off Valentines. For others, a little co-op wouldn’t hurt. If you aren’t a gamer yourself, trusty, old-fashioned card games usually do the trick. Have a Zoom call with your friends and have an online poker game. If you’re not feeling too competitive, some ice breaker card decks can be utilized to build rapport with your friends.

Virtual Cook Off or Bake Off

Valentines is about all the sweetness love can bring; so why not share that in baking your own sweets and sending it over as a blind taste test among friends? Best cookie/chocolate truffle/cake wins! This can also be applied to cooking dishes. Have everyone cook their best dish that reminds them of romance and send it over to friends. The winner will be decided by blind taste test!

Send Love Letters to Loved Ones

While all the above-mentioned activities may seem fun, nothing can replace the old-fashioned way of expressing love and affection other than letters written in long-hand to loved ones. When you write to people and tell them how much you love them, how much you appreciate them, and how grateful you are for them, research says your relationship with this person improves. It improves regardless of who gives or receives the gesture. It’s a win-win, mutually beneficial endeavor. Pick up that pen and start writing away if you want to improve or build a relationship with someone.

This February, Rocket Station places emphasis on the relationships that build us. Be it with our significant others, our families, our work mates, or ourselves; we pay tribute to the connections that make us who we are. For more interesting tidbits and articles, feel free to sign up in our newsletter.

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Filling the Void: Leading with Empathy while working from home

Rocket Station
February 1, 2021
5:49 pm
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When in elementary school, I remembered having favorite teachers, and they were all different in their own way. Back then, I couldn’t find common ground as to why I liked them so much in spite of their differences. One favorite teacher had a particularly good knack of making everything fun and exciting. Another favorite was so detailed and knowledgeable in her subject you could almost see the information radiating from her mind.

My most favorite teacher was an old man who patiently taught us TLE classes and would never tire of answering our questions; even the nonsensical ones. No matter how different they were, there was something about them collectively that had me wanting to connect with them more as a child.

Is there a secret sauce to leading? Is there a way to let people migrate at your influence? As I grew older and worked with different mentors, slowly discovered the singular factor that made them all respected, loved, and productive educators: EMPATHY.

I remembered that despite their differences, they commonly shared an innate sense of compassion and willingness to understand the plights of their students. They did this in their own unique way, and for some reason, the students responded in large numbers. Now, imagine the impact this would have on adults in a workplace set up.

What is Empathy, really?

Empathy is the unique ability to utterly understand the situations and life stories of others as if you were to live it yourself. Empathy is the act of being so emotionally aware; you can feel emotional energies emanating from people and how it affects their behavior and their perception. It is, more succinctly, being able to understand the needs of others. Empathy is a powerful trait that helps you see perspectives that are different from your own and therefore, as a leader, enables you to make more holistic decisions.

Why is Empathy Important at Work?

Having an environment that pushes empathy allows people to feel that they are in an environment that is safe and open for positive feedback. It helps peoplen respond better to constructive criticism, and encourages collaboration. Empathy allows us freedom to make mistakes because we know we will not be unreasonably blamed for them. It encourages an atmosphere of acceptance and shared humanity. Most importantly, empathy, when used with leadership, can act as a conduit for motivation and efficient needs assessment.

Leadership and Empathy

The importance of empathic leadership cannot be overstated enough, especially nowadays where people are all isolated and many are working from home. Having a leader that acts as an overall head giving the most direct and clear orders is not enough to develop positive team culture. One needs to really connect and build relationships with their team in a way that is authentic. Leading with empathy boosts overall team satisfaction by virtue of motivating people based on needs that must be met. Empathic leaders become catalysts for change. They are aware of the needs of their team. They are usually the firstm people to know if there is something wrong with one of their team members. They can explore and respond to the problems team members face in a way that is proactive, thus finding more solutions. Being an empathic leader also garners respect and admiration from those they lead.

How does one become more empathic?

One of the key traits of expressing empathy is learning how to listen actively. earn to understand the perceptions and thought processes of others by truly being interested in them and what their needs are at work, without bias. Be vigilant about your goal in expressing empathy. Take moments to step back, reassess yourself and understand whether you are truly listening, absorbing, and understanding the person you are conversing with. Learning how to understand people at a deeper level takes time and practice. The more you practice, the more natural you become at it.

In a nutshell

Empathy in the workplace as in life is one of the fundamental tools people need to connect. This February, Rocket Station focuses on the topic of building and nurturing relationships. How else better to contribute to this topic other than leading with empathy? If you like our articles and want to read more, feel free to subscribe and get the freshest insights from our blog.