Standing Up

This week I have been approached by several people who informed me that there are other people starting to stand at their desks like I do (something I’ve done for over a year now). Today I am analyzing the situation to see what kind of leadership lessons might be gleaned from it.

When I began standing at my desk, I was in a rather closed-off part of a fairly small building with very little traffic. The past eight months, however, I have spent in a new location that has fairly high visibility and a good amount of traffic. Not only is my desk right next to a major pathway through my floor of the building, my head sticks up over the cubicle walls a bit, so it is fairly obvious that I am doing something different from everyone else. Here are a few observations I feel may be valuable and/or applicable for other situations:

• When you do something different, people notice. This may sound tremendously obvious, but how many of us purposefully stay under the radar by not standing out? Is that a good thing? Different takes a lot of forms and fashions, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It is fun and rewarding to be different in a good way.
• People are interested in the difference. I cannot count the number of people who have stopped and asked me about standing up at work. I get to enthusiastically tell them about the health benefits and how it’s not as painful as they think. Some of these folks are the very ones that are trying it out for themselves. Many of them walk away seemingly unaffected by the conversation. It will be interesting to see how those people change as this practice catches on.
• People will follow your lead in making a difference if they perceive value in it. All of the folks I know of who have tried standing at their desks seem to have an interest in improving their health. Perhaps they even place more value on their health than on any perceived discomfort from standing. I’m sure there are a lot more factors that go into one’s decision on whether or not to stand at work, but I can’t help but think that seeing me stand day after day while staying positive and upbeat helps to drive their initiative and resolve.
• Adoption of change is not quick. This also seems like a statement right out of Captain Obvious’ book, but it is extremely important for us all to remember. Countless projects and initiatives are abandoned prematurely due to low adoption rates. Although I have been standing at work for over a year, I am just now seeing people giving it a serious try. If I were to make an active effort in communicating to more people about the value of standing, adoption would probably go up. It is worth noting here that adoption cannot be attained by implementation alone.

~ John

Stepping Away

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I’ve always told inquiring minds that one of the benefits of having a standing workstation is that my body forces me to take breaks. Otherwise, I am inclined to work straight though breaks with little regard for my mental or physical health. Over the years I have learned the value of taking breaks. It may seem rather counter intuitive, but we are actually more productive when we take breaks than if we try to work nonstop. Whether we are doing manual or mental labor, we are always more refreshed and more focused upon returning from a time of rest and renewal.
While there is a raft of research to support what I have mentioned so far, I think there is another, more serious side effect of non-broken work…unhappiness. I stepped outside today for a breath of fresh air and sat at our company’s nice patio area just outside our cafeteria. As I sat there for a moment I became very aware that I was alone, surrounded by dozens of empty chairs and tables. As I reflected on my trip down to the patio, I recalled that I had also passed an empty break room, two or three empty sitting areas that were arranged nicely for conversation, and a sea of empty seats in our dining area. I made another observation today as well. Whenever I walk through the building, I make it a point to make eye contact and smile at passersby. While my smile is sometimes reciprocated, I’ve noticed that there are very few people already wearing one. There is, however, one commonality among those on whom I consistently see smiles…it is those people who have just talked with someone else. All of these things I’ve mentioned raise some very important questions.

• What would happen to our organizations if more people were having conversations in those empty places I passed? More innovation?
• What kind of response would be evoked if more conversation-friendly areas were introduced to the workspace? More smiles?
• What are we missing out on when we chain ourselves to our desks or conference rooms in the name of getting more “work” done? A chance to learn something new or make new discoveries?

I have a feeling I already know the answers to these questions. After all, some of the most successful companies in the world have met these questions head on and have reaped the benefits. I know I work for a great company. I also know I would like to see more smiling faces. What can we do to make that number go up right where we are right now?

Hoping to make a difference,
John