This is the victory music from my Round 1 project in Building Virtual Worlds.

Bwoops!  Victory Music

Playing school and caring for dolls as a child led Julie to a career focused on building relationships and supporting others in their personal and professional development. Her experiences directly impact how Julie embraces diversity across the world today. She taught English and facilitated trainings in the Peace Corps for three years and currently leads team-building activities based on the CliftonStrengths assessment in the workplace. She feels engaged when new things are put on her plate and she has the opportunity to learn and grow. Some main takeaways Julie shared:  

*There’s value in taking the CliftonStrengths assessment and having a conversation around it; it’s a place to start thinking more deeply about who we are
*It’s a powerful thing when we start to focus on what’s right with people rather than fixating on what’s wrong with them *You don’t have to imitate someone else or become a different person to be successful; be the best of version of yourself
*Each of us are different; what’s fun for me might not be fun for someone else
*To figure out what is most fun for you, you can ask yourself: What do I pick up easily? Which part of the work am I most interested in? What am I doing when I lose track of time? What have I been known or recognized for? What do I finish and can’t wait to do again?
*We’re able to shape our fun at work if we really pay attention to the activities that we most enjoy and then communicate that to other people – if we don’t talk about what we need in order to feel engaged at work, nobody is going to hand it to you on a silver platter *Keep everything in perspective and realize that nothing is forever; if you find yourself feeling frustrated at work, don’t let that last too long – remember that things change, and there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel

After our talk, Julie had some additional points that she wanted to share:  

*I think engagement = fun. Gallup has what they call a “Q12 Index” which is a survey that measures engagement at work. One of the questions is “Do you have a best friend at work?” Other question topics include having opportunities to learn and grow, knowing what is expected of you, having the opportunity to do what you do best every day, being recognized, and having someone at work who cares about you as a person. I have fun at work and am at my best when at least some of those things are present, meaning when I’m feeling engaged.  *After reflecting more and searching for other parallels, I think using different handwriting for my dolls as a child is connected to how I view people now – seeing everyone as unique and appreciating that. We can’t be good at everything or be all things to all people; we need each other to be successful. One of the core messages I try to get across in my trainings is that “differences are advantages but only if we take advantage of them.”

Strengths + Training | Julie Nelson | Engagement = Fun

Welcome to Whatnot Fun: a podcast on work + play.  Each episode we dive deep into the mind of our guest to tap into their inner child and uncover the parallels to their life today to see how they make their day-to-day fun.

Strengths + Training | Julie Nelson | Engagement = Fun

Whatnot Fun

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