From the President’s Desk: Thank goodness it’s… Monday!

A couple weeks ago, I had one of those Mondays. I woke up groggy and out-of-sorts. All I could think about was the long week in front of me. Our high-achieving team at Connico packs more into our weekly picnic basket than the average bear, so to speak, and the thought of getting through it felt exhausting. I don’t know why I was frustrated on this day, but I think we all have mornings like this sometimes.

I’m not a coffee person, so I lethargically waited on my own energy to kick in as I sat down at my desk. My fiancé and I are currently completing some work around the house, so my desk is temporarily set up next to the bed. Research has shown that a desk-in-bedroom setup can lead to disappointment every day: it gives you the feeling of work being inescapable. Maybe that contributed to my dread.

I started the day by taking care of a few mundane items that had piled up since Sunday afternoon – you know the kind of Monday morning clutter I’m talking about. After that, I reviewed the agenda for our companywide meeting which kicks off the week for us. We call it the “TGIM” meeting – “Thank Goodness It’s Monday!”

Now, I’d be willing to bet that’s not a phrase you’ve ever uttered out loud in the workplace. We intentionally call it that to challenge the age-old trope of dreading Mondays. Just because it’s the start of the week doesn’t mean it has to be a pain point.

Today, though, I wasn’t thankful – I was just feeling the pain. After our Experience Specialist, Deane Gardner, gave opening announcements, I slogged my way through a few presentation points I wanted the team to have on their radar. I then turned it over to our COO, Bryan Hafertepe, for the operations portion of the call. Project talk can be the toughest because there’s so much going on, and I wasn't looking forward to keeping track of everything we were about to cover.

But then, as Bryan started asking project managers for status updates, they each readily provided input about their projects. They went a step further by outlining their next steps. Other team members chimed in with updates on their parts of the work. Our directors asked pressing questions about project challenges, and decisions were promptly made about key milestones and workloads. Suddenly, my mood started to shift. Maybe there was something to be excited about today after all.

Bryan concluded his operations overview and handed the mic back to Deane, who shared a screen displaying Connico’s core values. She then asked the entire company: “what examples of living out our core values have you seen in others whom you’d like to recognize today?”

The entire meeting blossomed in an instant. Dozens of team members raised hands with shout-outs, specifically naming instances where they saw our core values in action over the last week. I learned about the resiliency witnessed by those juggling multiple projects, the integrity shown by refusing to reduce our work quality just to meet an imposed deadline, the inclusivity teammates experienced by teaching them new skills, the thoughtfulness taken with new staff being welcomed to our team, the innovation we explored by trying new things with our software, and the respect we showed each other in our communication.

After taking all of this in, I suddenly felt prepared to face whatever challenges the week held. The energy of the team had literally turned my world around: instead of feeling defeated, I felt energized and excited. These success stories and the way team members treated each other shifted my perspective on what was possible, allowing me to reflect on why we come to work each day.

With the incredible team at Connico by my side, I have no reason to ever dread the start of the workweek. Thank goodness it's Monday – a fresh opportunity to pursue our goals together and make things happen. Let’s get to work!

Sri Kumar is President and Chief Executive Officer at Connico. He can be reached at skumar@connico.com.