A novel way to be more productive at work

We all know that it is important to keep fit. We hear it all the time from our friends, co-workers and through all forms of media. If none of these have motivated you, here is a new reason. Being active during your work day can actually make you more productive at work! I am serious!

According to a study performed by Jim McKenna, from the University of Bristol, being physically active during the workday can help you to feel more productive, less irritable and more tolerant of your co-workers.

Here at BluEra we take fitness to heart with our intense bootcamp twice a week led by Tyler McRae, of KIN-etics Personal Training. Many on our team have their own personal fitness routine also.

I found this article to be quite interesting and I hope you will to. Check it out…

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

BluEarth Renewables – Lead, Project Development – West

 

 

 

BluEarth Renewables is a private company focused on commercial-scale renewable energy development. As an independent renewable power producer, their goal is to build, own, and operate sustainable wind, water, and solar generation projects across North America. Their goals in the next five to seven years are: to acquire and build $1 billion of projects on-time and on-budget and have projects in their pipeline for future growth that, when built, will have a total capital cost of $1 billion.

Reporting to the VP, Project Development, this newly created role will work closely with BluEarth’s functional groups (Technology & Engineering, Regulatory & Communications, and Finance) to steward Western-based projects currently in various stages of development. The Lead is accountable for direct, hands-on project management, leadership, and oversight of renewable energy projects to ensure their successful execution

Please click here for more information.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

Leadership Series: Learning Agility

Mac Van Wielingen and Julian Barling explore learning agility in this video.  How open are you to learning?  How do you bring what you have learnt to life, bridging the knowing and doing gap?   Please share your thoughts and feelings with us.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

Nature and the Enneagram

Featured below is an excerpt from a recent blog by BluEra’s Catherine Bell on the Enneagram in Business website. In the blog, Catherine highlights the link between nature, the concept of being being present and the Enneagram. In the full blog (available here) Ginger Lapid-Bogda goes on to explain how each of the 9 Enneagram types views conservationism.

Recently, I got to spend time with Brian and Dee Keating discussing a travel bucket list. Brian is a nature conservationist (click here for information, and some amazing videos). During our discussion, I posed the following questions of them:

Question | What is the most important issue facing our planet? 
Brian and Dee | The most important issue facing the planet (is) our need for clean water, and the fact (that) the majority of (the world’s) water is unusable to us. Roughly 1% of the world’s water is potable.

Catherine | To me, water represents going with the flow of life and the source of life! We are mainly composed of water. It is vital for our existence. As well, water moves in the path of least resistance, and has the ability to wear stones out. Water can also take the form of liquid, solid, to a vapour, which speaks to me of metamorphosis and recycling. How can we grow and change, and recycle more naturally?

Question | What can we learn from nature?
Dee and Brian felt that our ability to be in the here and now, not in the busy-ness of our lives, is a key learning from nature. They commented how we often run around without really being present to the nature around us, whether it be a sparrow, a squirrel, or a blade of grass. I found this profound. How many things do we not really experience that are really amazing?

Here are some questions for all of us to consider:
How can we take this knowledge into business?
How can we be more like water and nature?
How can we apply this to the Enneagram?

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

Newalta – Manager, Human Resources, Compensation

Newalta is a leader in delivering industrial waste management and environmental services to customers across Canada. Newalta has 80 facilities nationally, over 2,000 people and a market capitalization of over $500 million.  Currently, Newalta is also delivering onsite services at numerous customer plants and operations as well as oil and gas drilling locations.

Newalta’s success is based on attention to detail and prudent management – the skills that guide the way.  A team that is willing to try new ideas and test innovative solutions is the force behind it all. Newalta is based in Calgary, Alberta. With Facilities and Onsite divisions, Newalta’s services span the country coast to coast.   Newalta delivers “single-source” waste management service solutions.

Reporting to the Director, Human Resources, Compensation & HR Systems, the Manager, Human Resources, Compensation has responsibility for the strategic direction, development and implementation of compensation policies and programs required to build organizational capacity and create competitive business advantage.  Additionally, this position has responsibility for direct supervision of the Human Resources Advisor, Compensation.

Please click here for more information.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

Husky Energy – Downstream Regulatory & Compliance Manager

 

Husky Energy is one of Canada’s largest integrated energy companies. It is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols HSE and HSE.PR.A. A combination of technological innovation, prudent investment, sound project management, and responsible resource development allows Husky to deliver strong returns to shareholders. Husky ranks among Canada’s largest petroleum companies in terms of production and the value of its asset base.

Husky Energy‘s business plan is growth-oriented in an increasingly competitive and challenging marketplace. Reporting to the Vice President, Downstream Strategy & Commercial Management, this professional will be responsible for developing processes and oversight to ensure Husky’s Downstream business is meeting its regulatory compliance obligations. They will provide highly specialized support, training and advice to the Commodities and Energy businesses to ensure appropriate compliance coverage of the statutes, regulations, and orders of Canadian and U.S. governmental agencies that regulate Husky Energy’s businesses.

Please click here for more information.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

Stillness Breaks at BluEra

At BluEra, before we begin our sharing, we take a minute of silence and stillness just to be with each other.   The stillness re-centres our team on what is most important and allows for more fluidity for ourselves, our relationships, our clients, and our community. Consider taking a minute of stillness and notice what emerges.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

Leadership vs. Followership

Leadership has long been (and continues to be) a key attribute BluEra assesses when placing candidates. When you engage BluEra in a coaching relationship, we also work on leadership, in order to focus on accelerating your own development. Recently, Dr. Julian Barling from Queens University held a Webinar titled “Enough about Leadership, let’s talk about Followership”. To learn more about the webinar, click here. 

He spoke about his research of the connotations of the term “follower” and the label of being called a “follower” vs a “leader”. One particular finding he noted was that the results of being called a follower vs leader was immediate and dramatic. Being called a follower resulted in lower intrinsic motivation than when individuals were called a leader.

If this is true, should we question the labeling of certain roles as followers? Are we subconsciously producing more followers in organizations by this labeling? If leaders are seen as more adaptive and flexible and followers as more passive, loyal, dependable does calling someone a follower (or subordinate, assistant, aide, underling) create this role profile?

It seems we need both Followers and Leaders in organizations. As Julian notes, as leaders we want to be aware of how our personality and behaviours interact with follower characteristics, how they impact them. What impact do you want to have on your team? Can Followers influence Leader behaviour? When do you need to be a leader and when do you need to be a follower?

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

Presence Practice: Colin

Like many young professionals, I find it hard to slow down and focus on what’s important. This is something that has never come easy to me. From the moment I wake up, I start receiving emails, meeting invitations, social updates and text messages; each seemingly more important than the last. Some days it can be difficult to make time to eat, let alone to be mindful and present.

For me, the solution isn’t waking up early and doing yoga or meditating. Rather, I find time during my already hectic mornings to be present during my walk to work. I am lucky enough to live within walking distance of our office. My morning commute is when I actually have the time to center myself. During those twenty minutes before and after work, I turn on music and ignore all the other noise. No stress – just me, present and in the moment. That time I spend, on the way to and from work, allows me to be more engaged when I’m working than I would otherwise be.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

Presence Practice: Julie

Like many of us, my mind is usually going at 100km/hr from the time I wake up until my head hits the pillow.  From getting the kids off to school, to planning my day, to ensuring I’m prepared for long term commitments, it can be a bit of a battle to just be present in the moment.

One of the few times I can easily put all thoughts aside and just ‘be’ is skiing a great run of moguls.  Whether is out of self-preservation (if you don’t focus you might find yourself at the bottom, wrong way up!) or the challenge, I easily slip into a state of calmness and pure enjoyment from the moment I hit the bumps. And the adrenaline rush at the end is never a bad thing, either!

While I’m happy that Spring is on our doorstep, I’ll have to find another way to be present for the next 8 months or so….

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.