by Zoe Training staff

Did you know that unleashing your creative side helps bring about a new way of looking at life and business? As a speaker, improv teacher, and stand-up comedian, it’s Avish Parashar’s objective to show audiences how they can learn a lot about themselves and their potential for professional excellence – while having fun in a creative format. For Avish, teaching improv is all about helping participants learn how to respond to unplanned challenges, for with all things in life – no matter how well things are planned out – things tend to go wrong or the unexpected usually happens, and it’s good to know how to maintain your sanity and achieve success during those moments the Universe throws you a curve ball.

What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

“Ding Happens! How to Deliver Great Leadership, Service, and Teamwork – Even When Things Goes Wrong”

This topic lets me combine everything creative I love – improv comedy, stand-up comedy, and storytelling – with content and a message that resonates with audiences. I get to be funny and creative while helping people do better both professionally and personally. It’s awesome!

Three words that describe your presentation style:

Energetic. Interactive. Hilarious.

What are some things that surprise you or inspire you about your interactions with clients/participants?

In all of my presentations, I have the audience play improv comedy games. Even though I have done it for years, I still think it’s so cool how almost every audience – regardless of age, gender, industry, or position – are willing to play along and have fun. They also come out of each exercise with some great examples of creativity. There are exceptions, but most audiences, even if they don’t know it, are fun, playful, and creative, and that inspires me.

Do you have a favorite quote? What/why?

My favorite quote changes from time to time. Right now it’s Steve Martin’s answer when people ask him how to make it in show business:

“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”

Everyone knows the value of being “good.” I’ve recently realized the critical difference between “being good” and “being so good they can’t ignore you.” The former is a way to keep happy clients. The second is a way to get people beating down your door to hire you. I keep this quote present as a constant reminder to myself to keep getting better.

What’s one thing on your “bucket list” you hope to do in the next year?

I have wanted to write a novel since I was eight years old (I’m little older than that now). I started one last year and am halfway through it. I fully intend to finish not just a first draft, but a completed manuscript by the end of the year. Whether it gets published, well, that’s another story…

Why did you become a speaker/trainer?

I have always loved doing two things: performing and teaching. I have been on stage since before high school, and devoted a lot of my life to it. I have also always loved to teach, but not in a traditional “classroom” setting. I remember training in karate and being excited to get my black belt, not because of the achievement (though that was cool) but because in my school getting a black belt meant you could teach! I love it. One day I went to a big motivational seminar and as I watched the speaker, I had a revelation: the speaker was doing a great job teaching and performing. The two things I most love combined in one. From that point, I knew I would be a speaker someday.

by Ashley Andrus

- Is the economy finally back on track?

- Are we headed for a double-dip recession?

- Will hiring pick up again anytime soon?

These are important questions that will impact the future of your organization—however, the more immediate question is: How are the ripple effects from the ongoing tight economic conditions directly impacting your employees TODAY?

Just as an individual business functions within the tides of the economy, individual employees and team members are buffeted by the turbulence associated with the ongoing economic downturn. The “new normal” translates into longer working hours, shorter deadlines, expanded job duties and responsibilities, and increased stress levels throughout the organization—all of which directly impact morale, working conditions, and your bottom line.

What can you do from a training and development standpoint to ensure your employees have the tools they need to ride out the ripples?

• Directly address increased stress levels with a variety of approaches. Organizations can offer stress management workshops and implement health and wellness campaigns to help address the stressors facing employees.  You might want to bring in a motivational speaker or humorist for certain types of events, and implement both formal and informal recognition programs, which can be effective without a high cost.  If you aren’t already doing so, consider surveying your employees for their input as to the highest-value stress relief options they’d like to see.

• Seek opportunities for increased efficiency and improved productivity. Many organizations have turned to an internal project management approach to identify process flow improvements and streamline operations—training your managers and supervisors in the Essentials of Project Management can help them hit the ground running. Beyond project management, you can provide tools to help all employees improve their time efficiency and gain a handle on the daily deluge of information they are expected to handle.

• Ensure your employees have the tools and skills they need for effective teamwork and communication. When working with fewer team members to share an unchanged or increased workload, it’s important that teams understand how to work AND play together for solid long-term results.  For some teams, communication and interpersonal skills could stand some improvement, while for others conflict resolution skills are called for.  You may want to consider implementing a psychometric tools approach and utilize the DiSC, Myers-Briggs, or other instrument to provide some common ground and language around team behaviors and expectations.

• Be alert for potential incidents of harassment, disrespectful behavior, and other compliance violations. In times of increased stress, it is not uncommon to see an increase in negative employee behavior; this may result in potential harassment complaints, hostile work environment claims, or reported ethics violations.  As an employer you must be on the lookout to quickly respond appropriately to such incidents and should also consider proactively offering harassment prevention & awareness workshops or respectful work environment programming to provide employees with the tools they need to be clear about their responsibilities and your organization’s policies and procedures.

The economy will improve at some point…however, these “new normal” working conditions are likely here to stay. Smart organizations are those taking steps to adapt now to the new normal so that they retain employees when conditions do improve and they are prepared to grow and thrive in both the rapids and the calm downstream.

Ashley Andrus is President of Zoe Training & Consulting. Her passion is making HR folks and meeting planners look like *rock stars* by providing one-stop access to 90+ speakers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and consultants.

by Anna Conrad

“Making change part of the organization’s internal dialogue is critical to successful firm management.”

Fear, anxiety, and resistance can quickly take over an organization during tough times, causing employee productivity, morale, and engagement to plummet. When change occurs — or is simply rumored to occur — stress can take over and cause serious disruption to firm operations.

A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management showed that gossip and rumor-spreading among employees has increased 54 percent since the recession began. Such practices may seem harmless, but they can quickly hijack emotions and productivity among your firm’s attorneys and staff alike. If talk around the water cooler goes unchecked, an innocent closed-door meeting to discuss travel limitations could turn into (in the minds of the uniformed) a massive layoff plan. Consider the following strategies to keep this from happening at your firm.

Over-Communicate

Making change part of the organization’s internal dialogue is critical to opening lines of communication and successfully managing the firm. Employees do not need to be made aware of every development, but acknowledging shifts in policy and other relevant details that accompany internal change will help keep morale high and staff calm.

Key approaches:

1. Explain why a change is needed and how it will affect employees. Articulate this in straightforward, honest language, such as, “We’re cutting expenses to avoid having to make layoffs,” followed by a “Call to Action” (see section below).
2. Decide when and how employees will get updates. Schedule weekly meetings, e-mails, or other ways to disseminate information regularly – and stick to them.
3. Acknowledge individuals’ intense emotions. Let people know it’s normal to feel anxious — even panicked — and that you still value their contributions to the firm.

Call to Action

In turbulent times, strong leadership is critical. In law firms, administrators are ideally positioned to deliver that leadership — facilitating positive change and motivating their colleagues to achieve and embrace it.

One strategy: Reframe a change or issue your firm is facing as a challenge. You might say, “What we need to do is learn how to become lean and use our resources optimally. When this economic crisis is over, we will be the ahead of other firms.”

Seeking Answers

Sometimes questions lack immediate answers, but don’t use that as a reason to sidestep them. Saying “I don’t know” is better (in the short term) than ignoring the elephant in the room — as long as you can give a date (or an approximate one) for when the answer can be expected. Utilize these simple strategies and watch your firm flourish.

If these guidelines will help during tough times, imagine how impactful they will be during the better times that are sure to come.

Anna Conrad, JD, is an expert in organizational effectiveness and leadership development, and she is President of Impact Leadership Solutions. Anna Conrad has over a decade of experience in executive and leadership coaching, group facilitation, leadership development, and training. She has been a trusted confidante to leaders in numerous Fortune 500 companies, including the financial, telecommunications, legal, and health-care sectors, as well as in academia, government, and nonprofits.