Jingle Bells, Confidence and Fage Yogurt

Towards the end of summer I started on my workout journey. 30 days into it I realized that getting (back) in shape is hard work and at the 90 day mark, I am still at it. Yes, it is true that a big part of my motivation comes in the form of my personal trainer who is up and waiting for me at the gym at 5 a.m. 2-3 mornings a week but what's also true is that part of the motivation is starting to come from me.

I have always had a love-hate relationship with exercise. Now, it's 90 days into it and I finally reached the point where I can stop atoning for past sins and kicking myself for letting myself fall out of shape. I can start looking forward.

I am stronger, healthier and confident that I can do this. I've lost 10 pounds and 5% body fat and I ran a Jingle Bell 5K yesterday. My time was 30:18. It was not what I had hoped for (my last year's time less than 30 minutes) but better than I had expected. Can I chalk the time lag up to the 18 degree and  slightly windy morning?

A half-marathon is still in the game plan (shins don't fail me again) and I'm taking it one step at a time. See how those puns just slip off the tips of my fingers? 

I have a renewed appreciation for commitment to goals, I look forward to Fage yogurt and blueberry Fruit Naturals, and I have my daughter asking to run with me.

What more can I girl ask for?  

Photo credit iStockphoto

Ideas Wanted: Integrating New HR Staff

What goes around comes around.

Flashing back to when I was living in Germany, on active duty, working with National Guard officers on a (now defunct) theater-wide  exercise. They came for 2 weeks with their "remember when's" and "how it used to be's" and relived the days gone by. I listened while thinking, "times they are a changing, let's get with the program buddy, that was then, this is now and we have work to do." (Did I mention I was a bit high strung at the time?)

Times were changing then - and they are now - right before my very HR eyes every day at the office. 7 of my 14 HR staff members were not with me this time last year and only 5 are in the same position now as they were then. 

We've said good-bye to sounding boards and expertise as they sailed into well deserved retirement or other opportunities. We've said hello to change and all that it brings: new eyes, questions, ideas, and perspectives. And we're putting the pieces in place a little each day.  

I have the pleasure of coming to work each day with 14 professionals who rock - and we have our work cut out for us. Top of my list is bringing everyone together to develop technical expertise and a shared context for what we do, how we do it and why we do it.

So many times we learn by making mistakes and vowing to never do that again. My goal is to short-circuit that cycle for new staff by bringing the details out of the shadows and to discuss and share  past practices,  processes, and procedures  - without getting entrenched in them.

We don't have a lot of "remember when's" and "how it used to be's" within the department yet I don't want wake up one day and realize that I am the one who has to "get with the program."

So, help a girl out. 

What fun and relevant things have you done to bring new staff into the flow of your departments or, if you were a new staff member, what did your supervisor or colleagues do that helped you?

Photo credit iStockphoto