Joy moments at work are one key to career thriving and happiness

This week, Heather spent time reflecting on her one-year anniversary of joining the PeopleSense Team. Here’s what she wanted to share:

It’s almost surreal to be celebrating an entire year with PeopleSense Consulting. It’s been a year full of learning sparked by my first experience with Everything DiSC® at a workshop with PeopleSense founder, Robin Eichert.

When Robin and I met, we were immediately attracted to one another’s energy and skill sets, which happen to complement each other nicely. I was also energized by the DiSC framework right away and knew it fit in incredibly well with my curiosity about developing effective workplace strategies.

A surprise along the way

While these pieces clearly aligned from the start, there was one aspect of my role with PeopleSense that I was not so sure about—facilitation. As a fairly reserved person who likes to have a plan, speaking in front of large groups didn’t strike me as something I would enjoy.

But surprisingly, facilitation has actually brought me more joy moments in the last year than I ever could have anticipated. It’s that feeling of being able to respond to someone in real time with an insight that enhances their understanding or leads to a completely new idea.

Being so immersed in the Everything DiSC materials makes coaching and facilitating fun because of the powerful outcomes. Helping others achieve better results by enhancing relationships is a natural fit for me.

The gift in giving back

One of the most rewarding experiences of the year was the Graceful Giving management development series Robin and I facilitated for a group of six non-profit managers from across the country.

The program was our way of giving back to the non-profit leaders who work so hard for our communities. Witnessing the remarkable level of vulnerability and commitment the members of the Graceful Giving cohort brought to the table was phenomenal.

At the conclusion of the series, we were honored to receive really positive feedback, including this: “Robin and Heather are extremely warm and accepting facilitators! I felt very comfortable sharing with them, and they always got excited about everyone’s answers.”

It was also powerful to hear this from another member at the end of our sessions: “What I’m taking away from this program will allow me to lead my organization with greater self-awareness and insight.” Talk about a joy moment!

Why joy is the key

Joy moments are something that’s been brought up throughout my graduate program in Human Dimensions of Organizations at the University of Texas at UT Austin this past year. (It’s definitely been wild undertaking a career shift and new degree program at the same time!)

In the workplace, it’s key to actively look for these joy moments, as well as moments of gratitude. Because if you’re missing the good stuff, you’re missing out on the fuel you need to continue doing meaningful work.

I’m looking forward to many more years of meaningful work with PeopleSense Consulting. This is just the beginning. But wow am I grateful it’s been a beginning filled with so many amazing joy moments.  Finding work that feels like a calling is energizing.  My self-awareness journey led me here.

I hope if you’re reading this that your self-awareness journey leads you somewhere just as profound. If you’re curious about how Everything DiSC can help you define some of your natural tendencies and understand yourself better, I’d be excited to talk more.