Day 19 Why is it important to have people with different personality types in a team? Part 1 All people are different, they have various personality types. That is why they are focused on various things, have their strengths and weaknesses. So, from the teambuilding perspective, it can be beneficial to have a team containing various personality types. Working together people contribute all their best skills to the overall result while some their weak sides are balanced by the strengths of other team members. Quiet and more introverted employees are often good at stabilizing the processes, while charismatic people, risk-takers, can provide the spark necessary to launch a new process or technology, and to lead a team on a new level of performing. On top of that, people with the same personality types may focus on the same tasks and overlook some other tasks, which might be equally important. There are four fundamental temperament types: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic. Some of their strong and weak sides are described below. People with sanguine temperament are easy-going, sociable, flexible, sensitive, creative and task-oriented. They are self-confident and do not take offence at critical remarks. In addition, these people get on well with peers, clients. They are good at conflict-solving and participating negotiations. Sanguine is cool-headed and productive. However, people with sanguine temperament lose motivation when work becomes humdrum. So, the best option for them is the combination of routine work with dynamic activities. People with choleric temperament are very charismatic, ambitious, competitive, assertive, persuasive, inspiring and goal-oriented. Besides, they tend to climb into leadership positions. People with choleric temperament are full of energy and do their tasks with passion. However, they are impulsive and irascible. Also, these people often can be straightforward and tactless. So, being persistent, choleric should not forget about tact and should not hurt other people with a straightforward attitude. They also should not allow impulsiveness and irascibility to influence on their decision and behaviour. Besides, choleric doesn’t stand boredom. These people perform at their best when they are emotionally involved in their tasks. To be continued

Day 18 How hobbies can make our work better -Part 2 Jessica, an executive director, confessed that painting was the way to cope with anxious energy from her high-stakes job. She kept her favourite drawings in her office. So, the pictures' colours made her feel calm and focused. Besides, the painting reminded her that work was like the process of drawing, having started from the creation of disparate pieces it brought a tangible outcome. Aisha, a senior analyst told that being a leader of a Girl Scout troop, she learnt how to make team flexible in problem-solving and how to lead a team worked effectively without micromanagement. So, hobbies enrich our lives. Even if they do not improve our skills needed for work, there are many advantages of having favourite activities anyway. A hobby is our self-reflection. One of my hobbies is an aerial sling dance. It brings me drive, positive emotions and energy. An aerial sling dance teaches me how to keep balance and focus on what I am doing and to be in the moment. I am an impulsive person and often made actions and decisions too fast. So, aerial sling dance teaches me to slow down, because the faster movements are the more probability of losing balance and falling.

Day 17 How hobbies can make our work better -Part 1 Based on the article: How does your hobby make you better at your job? Undoubtedly, it is important to have hobbies. It is a good thing to have a passion in life. Moreover, the more hobbies a person has, the more enjoyable life is. Firstly, hobby is an inexhaustible source of positive emotions, energy, and drive. When you are tired of a difficult working day, switching to the activity that you enjoy will help you to recover and provide an essential respite from the daily grind. Even more, it can be a real lifesaver in terms of attaining balance, coping with stress and some negative things. Secondly, hobbies allow people to develop and express their creativity. It is especially important if work does not require creativity. It allows a person to develop in wider directions. Thirdly, hobbies broaden our mind, they show us how the world is rich and various outside our work. In addition, hobbies can positively affect our work because they can develop the skills needed for our specialization. The article of the magazine “Real sample” brought us great examples of how hobbies made work of people from different areas better. Elaine, an interior designer, admitted that calligraphy was the mindful act because the formation of every letter required her to be in the moment. That acquired skill helped her to be 100 per cent focused on clients to understand their needs and wants on the meetings. Mary, a manager, shared her experience of river rafting. As a river is full of intimidating complexities, to overcome obstacles, she needed to split them into parts and then strategize each piece of the river and think over how to move forward. So, it helped Mary to learn how to break a challenging task down into smaller parts. She applied the skill to the management of her project for each phase from launching a product to managing a team. Danny, a home and lifestyle expert, opened for himself collecting matchbooks from restaurants and hotels as a hobby. It taught him how it was essential to see not only a bigger picture, but also to pay attention to even the tiniest things, such as colour, embossing, size, shape and wording because they seem to be insignificant when we analyze them separately, but playing together they create an impression and set the mood. To be continued

Day 16 Anna German – a polish singer with an angelic voice - Part 2 In August 1967, during Anna’s tour in Italy, on her way to Milan, she got involved in a severe car accident. Having been driven at high speed, her car crashed into a concrete fence, because the driver, had fallen asleep. Anna was thrown from the car via the front window in a thicket. When the ambulance arrived, Anna was not found the first time. As a result, the singer got 49 fractures, including spine fractures and internal organs’ injuries. Anna couldn’t regain consciousness for a week. She lied in bed, without the ability to move for half of the year. It took several months to relearn how to walk. Anna’s future husband, Zbigniew Tucholski, actively helped her to relieve. Later in the 1960s, she wrote the autobiographical book "Come Back to Sorrento?" devoted to her career period in Italy. The book became widely circulated. In 1970 she performed on stage the first time after the car accident. The concert was in honour of the liberation of Warsaw. When Anna came on stage, the audience applauded her standing for 20 minutes. In 1972 Anna performed tours in Poland and in the USSR. She sang many songs of Russian composers which became hits, such as “Hope” (“Надежда”). They are loved and popular nowadays. In October 1978 she performed in the Moscow cinema “Warsaw” without the support of orchestra accompanied by only piano. Her concerts were a full house. In May 1979 Anna got 14 concerts for a week in Middle Asia. In June 1979 she lost consciousness in a hotel in Moscow, the tour was interrupted. Meanwhile, the health of the singer was becoming worse. In 1980 having performed a song, she could not make a movement, she was delivered to the hospital. That year she was diagnosed with cancer. Despite the disease, she continued her performance on stage. To hide her tears caused by pain, she wore dark glasses. After Anna went to Australia with the tour and it was interrupted due to her disease, she did not perform anymore. Anna died on 26 August 1982, 15 years after the accident in Italy had occurred. She released 12 albums in Polish, several albums in Russian. Throughout her music career, Anna performed songs in 7 languages: Polish, Russian, Italian, German, English, Spanish and Latin. Anna sounded so heartful and sincere, that it was often associated with the singing of an angel. Anna’s songs are about timeless values: true love, loyalty, tenderness. Her angelic voice can’t leave anyone indifferent, it touches the soul and heart with its pureness and sincerity.

Day 15 Anna German – a polish singer with an angelic voice - Part 1 Anna German was a polish singer, which was immensely popular in the Soviet Union. Anna was born in Urgench, in Uzbekistan in 1936. Her mother, Irma Martens, was the descendant of Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites. Her father, Eugen Hörmann, was of a Russian-German pastor family. In 1937 Anna’s father was arrested and falsely blamed for spying. Officially he was sentenced to 10 years without the right to correspondence, but in fact, he was executed, then he was rehabilitated posthumously in 1957. Anna’s hardships were not ended by this tragic event. Her mother, grandmother together with Anna and her little brother moved in Siberia and then in Tashkent and later in the Kyrgyz and Kazakh SSRs. Anna brother died at the age of fewer than 2 years. The family did not make ends meet. Her mother took any available opportunity to earn money. Then her mother married to a polish soldier, Herman Gerner and Anna’s family moved in Poland. Anna wanted to study painting, but her mother insisted on something more stable for earning on life. So, she entered the Geological Institute of Wroclaw University. She had a very romantic view of this specialization: being close to nature and singing songs near the fire in evenings. Her first performance occurred in 1960 as a part of student’s theatre “Kalambur”. On one of her first concerts, she forgot words and was so upset by it that even stopped her participation. Thanks to her friend, Anna passed a preselection of Wroclaw stage. After one year she passed exams and became a professional singer. The first fame came to Anna when she won the 1964 II Festival of Polish Songs in Opole with her song "Tańczące Eurydyki". One year later, the singer won first prize in the international song contest in Sopot. In 1965 Anna German came to the USSR for performance. She became unbelievably popular and beloved there. Her first album was released in the USSR, it encompassed songs performed in Polish and Italian languages. In 1966 Anna signed the contract with a small firm CDI in Milan to release her songs, so she was the first singer from the "iron curtain", who was recorded in Italy. She also performed at the festival San-Remo-1967, starred in a television show and recorded the program together with the singer Domenico Modugno. Besides, she performed at the festival of Neapolitan songs in Sorrento and received "Oscar della simpatia" award. However, she confessed, that the high life had burdened her. To be continued

Day 14 - Financial or non-financial motivation? - Part 2 Recognition is the demonstration of appreciation for good performance, a person’s contribution to achieving project goals. It is valuable for people to hear heartfelt, sincere words about the acknowledgement of their efforts from managers and colleagues. Even if a person gets some financial incentive, together with the recognition it will work stronger. In the company, where I work, we have an internal application, which allows people to create a badge, write words of the recognition and to send it to a colleague or a group of colleagues. It is a tiny thing, but it is very pleasant to receive such badges. As motivation is goal-oriented behaviour, people should feel that the activities they perform lead not only to the achievement of the project’s goals but also enrich their experience, i.e. performed tasks correspond to the position a person wants to be promoted. For example, a delegation of some tasks from more senior team members or organizing of work for a small group of people can motivate someone whose goal is to become a team leader. Lack of opportunity for career advancement can cause a high turnout rate. Training and mentoring programs help specialists to adapt skills and technologies. Acquiring new knowledge motivate people to perform better. Our company has many different internal programs, which are appreciated by employees. Job security is also a very important motivator for many people. It means a feeling of stability. People are not afraid of being made redundant, because a company is stable enough to retain their staff and their level of salary. This is the reason why many employees prefer a stable job with less salary to a temporary one with higher income. I believe that a combination of both financial and non-financial incentives is the most efficient. If a team went extra miles to meet the deadlines, it could be not enough just to give the recognition, financial rewards would be also valuable. Although, it is difficult to retain people only by monetary incentives if they crave for career development and interesting tasks while a company cannot meet the expectations. I think that non-financial motivation is more important than financial because a person who feels recognized, stable and has an opportunity for development, with less probability will leave a company because of receiving an offer with a higher salary. I wonder to know what kind of motivation would you prefer? Please share your view with me in the comments section.

Day 13 - Financial or non-financial motivation? - Part1 Motivation emanates from the word “motive”. It is an inbuilt stimulus to fulfill a discontented need. Motivation within organizations is essential because motivated people work with enthusiasm toward achieving their accomplishments as well as company goals. The factors, by which a person is moved to perform the activities with the maximum level of professionalism, are various, and depend on the personality. It was commonly thought for a long period that financial incentive was the most effective motivator. The harder people work the more money they should receive. In this case, employees perform activities to get additional pay. There are many other types of financial motivators, for example, fringe benefits, promotion, profit sharing. Undoubtedly, financial motivation is very important, because well-done work should be worthily rewarded. Besides, people feel more confident about the future, when they are high-paid. However, the fact of the matter is many people do not consider money as the top motivator. Some of them find value in a more creative or challenging job over high-salaried work. Moreover, based on a series of research, non-financial motivation was proven more effective. “If-then” rewards work for clear tasks. However, financial motivation does not work for activities which require employees to think outside the box. The challenging tasks need drive, creativity, and high level on engagement. Working in the IT-sphere, I see people highly engaged in what they are doing. They are eager to find the solution to a difficult task to improve their proficiency and overcome challenges rather get a financial incentive. This intrinsic motivation is an inner drive that propels people to perform some activities for fun, not for external rewards. Intrinsic motivators have a more profound and lasting impact. Ideally, the intersection of non-financial incentives which a company can propose with intrinsic motivators of an employee is an ideal combination, which gratifies employees and makes them willing to achieve the company’s goals. Non-financial motivation encompasses the recognition of well-done work, respect, pleasant working atmosphere, independence in work, challenging and creative tasks, career advancement, professional development, an extension of responsibilities, an opportunity for sharing the experience with less senior colleagues, involvement in the decision making process, flexible schedule, job security. To be continued

Day 12 Should we waste time or we shouldn't? Based on https://www.ted.com/talks/alexander_leitner_can_time_be_wasted The speaker told the audience about his hobby, making films with plastic bricks. He had spent 2546 hours doing it. So, the presenter questioned himself if he could have spent the time in a more productive way. People often feel guilty for having used the time for some activities, not related to pursuing career goals or other great plans. Thinking about it, the speaker looked up the dictionary definition of the phrase “a waste of time”. So, he found out the explanation: “to allow time elapse in an unproductive manner”. Based on the definition, the speaker described possible ways of ineffective time usage. Firstly, doing nothing is wasting time. It means a person literally does not do anything, even does not sleep. Secondly, when you do not achieve your goals, also, could be treated as unproductive spending of time. Thirdly, procrastination is a waste of time. For example, having the list of activities which lead to your goals, you spend time doing something less important. Then, the speaker provided the audience with the results of research, which demonstrated that people were more productive and creative when they allowed themselves to focus on different activities. People with decision-making problems were chosen for this experiment and divided into 3 groups: The first part of people should decide immediately. They were not provided with time to take a long, hard look at the situation. The second group had to think about a problem consciously. Then people should propose their decision. The last group should be distracted by other activities. So, they performed completely different tasks and then they also had to decide. It appears, that the third group made better, more rational decisions. So, people just need to set certain time frames for activities they like and then move on their duties. This approach can help us to stop being negative about spending time on our hobbies because everything that inspires us, brings positive emotions is not a waste of time. I agree with the presenter. Several years ago, I found it impossible to attend a fitness club because of high workload. I often worked late hours and sincerely thought that the approach was efficient. Then I decided to go to a fitness club. As a result, I realized that I started working more productively and became more energetic. Besides, it helped me to cope with stress. So, switching between activities made my life and work.

Day 11 Caught by the squall The weather could not be better last Sunday. It was sunny and the sky was clear without any cloud. So, people decided to take advantage of this day and went to the Volga. The region is located outside of the city, and it is filled with chains of summerhouses and small villages. The beach related to this place is not very comfortable for swimming, so most people go to the neighbour island. Moreover, there is a special boat, provided by a touristic base. In the evening, a huge black cloud appeared in the sky. The weather was still awesome, and the forecast promised the evening without any drop of the rain as well. No warnings were received from the emergency department. Meanwhile, that black cloud moved swiftly against the wind direction towards the island and the shore with summerhouses. Then, the boat provided by the touristic base came and people were asked to go on board to leave the island because huge waves were coming. Private boats also made haste to leave it. It takes about 7-10 minutes to get the shore. When the boats were around to land, the weather became boisterous. It reminded me of the Ninth Wave painted by Aivazovsky, but it was developing behind your eyes. Even more, it was difficult to imagine that such squall could take place on the river. People from the touristic base started helping everyone. They tied their boat to the piers and then helped other boats, people who had already got the support, started assisting others. Despite thunderstorm, huge waves and hail, people combined their efforts, and nobody was left. The storm lasted about 40 minutes, then the river became calm as nothing had happened. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to help people who were not near the land. It appeared, that one boat drowned. Despite the boisterous weather, a guy from the boat managed to swim to the shore from the middle of the Volga, while his grandfather sunk. All Sunday’s night and Monday I was shocked and upset by that event. On the one hand, the situation proved that there are many kind, sacrificial people in our world. On the other hand, I think this situation is not the first and not the last. I hope it would remind people of being careful. Even the river could be treacherous, and all precautions should be considered. One of the lessons I have learnt from this scaring situation is that it is better to trust your eyes than the weather forecast and, in case you notice any suspicious situation to react as if it is a real danger.