About Ingrid Kelada

Ms. Ingrid Kelada has over 25 years of experience in psychology and is a happiness expert. She lives in Montreal and is bilingual. She is proud of her recent bestselling book "21 Days to Happiness" available on Amazon and now as an interactive eLearning program @ https://kccpositivepsychology.com. She is a speaker and has facilitated over 1000 workshops all over the world on a wide range of topics such as leadership, emotional intelligence, conflict management, stress/time & energy management and more!
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Leadership Tools: 4 Steps to Handle Difficult Relationships

We've all experienced them. We can't get along with everyone, right? Difficult relationships can be stressful, frustrating and exhausting. But it doesn't have to be that way. Unfortunately, there's really no way to run a business or be a leader or work with people without encountering some difficult relationships. With a few simple tools, though, you can learn to minimize the roller coaster ride dealing with these challenges. You can learn to manage your own reactions in ways that put people at ease and diffuse frustrating situations rather than allowing them to escalate into bigger problems. Here are 4 steps which will help you handle these challenging situations in your professional life. Realize You're On the Same Team. Whether the person you are having issues with is a customer, coworker, peer, or friend, recognize that the issue is the problem, not the person. You can't control another person's reaction or perception of the situation, but you can definitely control yours. Take a deep breath and change your focus: be on the same "team" with the person. Try to understand their point of view. Tackle the problem with them, not because of them. Focus on the Issue. Some people may have difficulty communicating or express themselves in a way you would like them to. Instead of reacting to the way a person delivers information, try to focus on the information itself. What is the actual problem? Try using reflective listening, and restate the problem back to the person. "What I hear you saying is, you're upset about this..." or "It sounds like you're bothered by what happened when...". Validate the Person's Feelings. You may not agree with someone, but empathy will go a long way toward mending a breach between business and customer or leader and team member. Take time to really listen to the complaint the person is sharing with you. Don't interrupt. Be conscious of your body language-- make sure your shoulders are open, arms not crossed, your body and face toward the person. Make eye contact. Nod to show you are paying attention and understand what's being said. Say something like, "I'm sorry this experience has made you feel frustrated." Let the person know that their feelings matter. You don't have to agree with the way they behaved or the solution they're asking for. Simply acknowledge how they're feeling. Shift the Conversation Toward the Outcome. Once you've listened and validated the person's feelings, you can begin to shift the conversation away from the problem and focus on the solution. Do this gently but firmly. Sometimes people get stuck in a loop, restating and restating the problem and exacerbating all the negative emotions associated with it. Draw them toward the solution with statements like, "I can tell this is really bothering you. Let's talk about what we can do to solve the issue." Sometimes the person wants an impossible solution which you're not able to provide. What you can do instead is focus on one actionable part of the [...]

By |2020-08-02T13:52:34-04:00March 31st, 2019|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on Leadership Tools: 4 Steps to Handle Difficult Relationships
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Give the Gift of Experiences

What do you buy the person who has everything? Have you heard people ask this question? Sometimes it seems overwhelming to try to think of a gift for a friend, coworker or loved one when they seem to have everything they could ever want already. It's probably because you're thinking of giving them a thing, an object, something they could easily buy. I'm going to tell you a secret about gift giving that will change how you think about birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas celebrations. Ready? Here it is: the best gifts aren't items. They're experiences. Opportunities to Buy Experiences Are All Around Us Look around your community for local events and experiences. Take a music-loving friend to hear a community orchestra or a jazz ensemble. Find a new park or trail to hike together and pack some fun snacks to share along the journey. Is there a show or an exhibit coming to a museum or gallery near you that your spouse or coworker might enjoy? You can also help your friends and family members by suggesting these kinds of experiences as gifts. Doing something together to celebrate your birthday creates a memory that lasts. It gives you new stories to share and gets you out of your routine to add a little freshness to your life. Celebrate with Experiences Any Day Giving experiences doesn't have to be expensive. You can bring them muffins, take a picnic lunch somewhere fun. Pick up smoothies and walk at a local park. Invite someone for coffee or for a meal. Spending time together and getting away from daily distractions allows you a chance to connect to the people who matter most to you. You don't even have to wait for a special day to celebrate. You can give this happiness-boosting gift any day! So this year, as the people around you celebrate milestones, keep experiences close in mind. Look for opportunities to share them with the people you appreciate to show how much you care by giving them a lasting gift of happiness. Get More Tips and Information on Improving Your Happiness Learn more about how experiences impact happiness in Day 16: Money: Buy Experiences, Not Things, in my book, 21 Days to Happiness.

By |2019-11-05T07:17:09-04:00March 11th, 2019|Happiness Tips|Comments Off on Give the Gift of Experiences
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5 Ways to Find Happiness and Inspiration at Work

Are you happy and inspired at work? If you spend eight hours a day, five days a week at work, you will spend more than 2,000 hours on the job in a year. That's a lot of time! If you enjoy your job, then 2,000 hours probably flies by. But if you struggle to find happiness in your work life, it can seem like an eternity. So how do you find ways to make work a source of happiness? It's not an impossible question! There are lots of ways to bring happiness into your workday. Here are five questions to ask yourself about your job which will help you uncover sources of happiness beyond that paycheck hitting your bank account. 1. What parts of your company or job inspire you? Inspiration comes in lots of forms. Maybe something inspired you to apply for this particular job, like being able to help others. Maybe it appealed to your sense of creativity. Maybe you felt a connection with the business mission statement or your employer or coworkers. Take a moment to think about what drew you to this particular job or workplace. 2. Are there problems at work you can participate in solving? There's no perfect company or perfect set of coworkers or customers out there. Every job will have its challenges. What things bother you? What can you do about them to work toward a positive solution that helps everyone around you? It could be something small, like adding a potted plant to your work area to brighten things up. Or something larger, like meeting with your manager or team to discuss changing a policy which is making your job difficult. Be sure to offer solutions rather than just airing complaints. 3. Can you bring creativity into your job in some way? Maybe you can bring in a few pictures (or update those you have) to remind you of the people you care about. Take a step back from the way you normally do things at work. Is there a new approach you can take which might freshen up the way you complete your job? It doesn't have to be huge. Don't be afraid to think outside the box or bounce ideas off a coworker. 4. Where do you want this job to take you? Think about your goals for the next year or five years. Can you see this job as one piece in a larger puzzle of your life? Sometimes taking that step back to consider the bigger picture helps put things in perspective for us. Not only is work just one part of our lives, a job is also one part of our work career. You may picture yourself staying at the same job for the rest of your work life. Many people will change jobs several times through the course of their careers. Thinking of this job as a part of your larger goals can help give you renewed energy and a feeling of freedom at work. [...]

By |2019-11-22T16:11:05-04:00January 25th, 2019|Happiness Tips|Comments Off on 5 Ways to Find Happiness and Inspiration at Work
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Leadership Tools: Building Your Ideal Team

  How to Build Your Ideal Team One of the best and sometimes trickiest parts of being a leader is having the opportunity to build your ideal team. Choosing the right employees can make a huge difference in the success of your company. Employees represent and translate your company's values to your clients. What do you look for in an employee? You probably already have an idea of the education or skillset you're looking for. But how do you determine if a person has the right personality or work ethic to be a great fit for your team? When interviewing prospective employees, always try to notice their energy level and to understand their motivators. Does he seem passionate about he's saying? Is she eager to put her skills toward the job? Build Your Ideal Team with the Right Values and Motivation Ask questions about what drives the person. Do his or her values line up with what's important to your organization and objectives? It's important to choose people who value your ideas and goals. People will respond to genuine connection. You'll also want to build your team to include people with a team mindset. Individuals with this mindset will be problem-solvers because they're invested in the success of the team. They'll look for ways to improve their part of the process because it benefits them and benefits the team as a whole. Ask potential applicants how they have handled workplace problems in the past. Did they deal with things in a way you'd like issues to be handled when working for you? Choosing People with Potential to Build Your Ideal Team Further As you meet with applicants, consider not only the current needs of your business, but what you hope to achieve in the next several years. Find individuals who suit your company today and can help you achieve those longer term goals. Look for their potential for the short term as well as future roles. Is this someone who could someday be a manager? Someone who might have explosive sales potential? Remember to hire for ATTITUDE first, as you can always develop SKILLS later. Tools to Help You Build Your Ideal Team One quick way to uncover this and other critical information about individuals is to offer them a Work Personality Index. This personality questionnaire takes about 20 minutes and provides a comprehensive assessment of work behavior. Collect behavioral data on a person's energy and drive, work style, ability to work with others, ability to deal with stress and managerial potential.

By |2020-08-02T13:58:01-04:00January 19th, 2019|Leadership Tips, Personality Tests|Comments Off on Leadership Tools: Building Your Ideal Team
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Increase Your Productivity and Happiness

Start Your New Year Off Right with This Simple Technique Happy New Year! This is the perfect time of the year to start new habits for healthier, happier living. It's also a busy time of year. Being busy can add extra pressure to our schedules and mean that we need to be extra productive. With so many things on our minds, it can be tricky to focus on one task at a time, and we can end up hopping from one task to another to another without actually completing much. Does any of this sound familiar? If so, you're not alone, and I'm here to help. Making a few simple changes to how you approach your work periods can really impact your productivity. One of the most effective changes is to work in short, focused bursts. Take quick breaks in between work sessions to let your mind relax. A great model for this type of work-break time management is the Pomodoro Method. Here's how it works: Work for 25 minutes. Take a short break of 5 minutes. Repeat this for three rounds. On the fourth round, work for 25 minutes and then take a longer break of 15-30 minutes. You can use a timer to set intervals yourself. You can also do a quick search on YouTube or wherever you download apps to find either a video with Pomodoro intervals marked or an app to manage the intervals for you. The goal is to have short but uninterrupted time spent on specific tasks. Try making a list of your goals before you begin to help narrow your focus. You may find you get more done in a 25 minute Pomodoro session than you did in an hour working another way. Give it a try! See how it works for you. More on the Link Between Time and Happiness You can learn more about time management and the connection between time and happiness in my book, 21 Days to Happiness.

By |2020-08-02T14:23:02-04:00January 8th, 2019|Happiness Tips|Comments Off on Increase Your Productivity and Happiness
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Five Easy Ways to Improve Your Happiness

Variety is the Spice of Happiness Have you ever felt trapped by your day to day schedule? Maybe you feel like you're busy all the time or you simply don't have anything coming up soon that you're really looking forward to. Being busy or simply maintaining our day-to-day responsibilities can make life feel monotonous. We feel like we're missing something. Trying something new-- big or small-- can give us a boost of happiness in a lot of ways. Not only does planning the new thing give us something to look forward to and anticipate, actually doing it can be a fun adventure. Then we have a story to tell and a memory to look back on, which is like a happiness bonus! 5 Cheap, Easy Ways to Boost Your Happiness with Something New Here are some quick and easy ideas for new adventures you can try on any budget and with limited free time. 1. Try a new food. You can browse an aisle at the grocery store you rarely visit and try something new, like a soup or unusual fruit. Or you can invite friends to a restaurant you've never visited before. If you opt to go out with friends, consider ordering different dishes to share, so you each get to try several different items. Feeling even more adventurous? Invite a friend over to try a new recipe or style of cooking together! 2. Visit a place you've never been. Look online to find your city's website or community calendar. Is there a museum you've never been to? A park? Maybe there's a jazz night or community orchestra concert you can attend. Check nearby theaters for live community theater performances. 3. Try reading a book outside your usual genre. Look for a book you might not ordinarily pick up, but something that strikes your interest. Maybe the memoir of a famous person or historical figure you've always been interested in. If you're worried about finding time to sit and read, try an audiobook to listen to on the go! 4. Change up your routine. Take a different route to work or the grocery store or gym. Take a walk outside instead of on the treadmill or at the gym. Get up ten minutes earlier and sit outside with your morning coffee. 5. Rearrange your furniture in your bedroom, living room or office. Moving things around will make the room feel fresh and new. You can spice things up even more by adding a new houseplant or a vase with fresh cut flowers. Doing something new might take a little bit of planning, but the burst of energy and happiness it brings you makes trying a new thing worthwhile. Sharing these experiences with a friend or loved one will deepen those relationships. You'll also find you feel a glow of happiness long afterward when you look back on the experience and remember it. You can learn more about how experiences bring happiness in my book, 21 Days to Happiness.

By |2020-08-02T14:05:27-04:00November 5th, 2018|Happiness Tips|Comments Off on Five Easy Ways to Improve Your Happiness
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Leadership Skills: Motivate for Success

Great Leaders Create Great Leaders We’ve all faced the temptation as leaders to simply direct people by letting them know what we need done. Sometimes it feels like if people would just do what we want them to do the way we want them to do it, everything would be so simple. Great leaders resist that temptation because they know the most effective kind of leadership involves empowering their followers and team members to make decisions and take ownership of tasks. Remember: great leaders create more great leaders. Motivating people to take ownership is easier than you think. One of the key components is simply understanding what motivates your team members. What are their values? What do they need from their job in order to feel successful? What type of management style best supports that success?   Identifying Key Motivators You can figure out what motivates your team in lots of ways. When one of your team members brings a new idea or complaint, take the time to listen to what they’re saying. Not just the idea or complaint. Ask why this issue resonates with them. What is it about this problem that feels so important? Take the opportunity to involve the team member in the solution. If the problem is important to your team member, then the solution will be, too. Even if you can’t implement their ideas or solutions, try your best to make them a part of the outcome in a positive way. Compliments are another great motivator. Draw attention to your team members’ successes. Offer praise for a job well done. This might seem like a small thing, but too often in the workplace, we only hear negative feedback when we’re doing something that needs to be corrected. Positive feedback lets us know we’re doing well and motivates us to continue doing those successful things. It makes us feel valued and appreciated.   Tools for Success It might be difficult sometimes to see how different team members’ motivations fit together to benefit the whole group. It might be hard to figure out how to motivate certain people to invest in your goals. Or you might simply be looking for a more comprehensive way to identify what motivates your group. A great tool to help you understand what motivates your team members is a personality test. A test can help identify work motivators, areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, as well as provide a guide toward a more balanced work-life. All these things benefit you as a leader by making your team more effective. I recommend the Career Values Scale, which identifies all of these key areas in about fifteen minutes. Understanding how to best motivate your team helps you build the most powerful, effective group. It allows you to tap into the natural motivations of each member so he or she brings the best possible outcome to the whole group.   Ingrid Kelada Business Psychologist/Happiness Expert KCC Inc.

By |2019-11-05T07:29:15-04:00October 24th, 2018|Leadership Tips, Personality Tests|Comments Off on Leadership Skills: Motivate for Success
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Happiness Versus Pleasure

Seeking Pleasure In our society, we spend a lot of time seeking pleasure. We work hard, and many times we want to play just as hard. Having fun and spending time with friends are great things, but those pleasure-seeking experiences don't always leave us feeling truly happy. Why is that? The Difference Between Happiness and Pleasure Pleasure is that momentary high we feel in the midst of a good experience: a fabulous meal, a hilarious joke, making love, and so on. It comes from an external source. It's a response to what's happening around us, directly affecting our senses. Unfortunately, this great feeling doesn't last beyond the good experience causing it. Happiness is a long-lasting feeling that isn't directly affected by what's happening to us in the moment. It has some overlap with pleasure. For instance, if you go out for dinner with a good friend, you will experience pleasure from the tasty meal and the funny parts of your conversation. But you will experience happiness from sharing an evening with someone you care about and creating new memories together. The relationship brings you happiness. The act of sharing yourself with someone else, being open, listening to another person and being listened to, bring happiness. And that happiness lasts long after the meal ends, and you've gone home. Transitioning Our Pursuit from Pleasure to Happiness One of the big problems with chasing pleasure is that it's a bottomless hole we can never fill. As soon as the pleasurable experience ends, the feeling fades. We have to hurry to the next good experience in order to recapture that high again. We rush from one experience to the next-- more food, more money, more success at work, more things filling our homes-- in order to feel pleasure. Chasing pleasure can be as addictive as drugs or alcohol. What if instead, we focus on happiness? Taking the time to invest in meaningful relationships with others, to share acts of kindness with those around us, or simply slowing down and finding ways to show gratitude for the good things in our lives can make a huge difference in how we feel. In fact, those things and other keys to happiness can boost our lasting happiness and joy. Learn More About Happiness Changing the way you think about happiness and pleasure can be overwhelming at first. The good news is you don't have to do it alone! I can help guide you step-by-step through a journey toward lasting happiness, joy, and energy. And it only takes a few minutes a day. My book, 21 Days to Happiness, will lead you through 21 days of practical life strategies that will increase your happiness, energy, and productivity.

By |2019-11-05T07:27:21-04:00September 14th, 2018|Happiness Tips|Comments Off on Happiness Versus Pleasure
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Leadership Tools: Clarity in Communication

Clarity Begins with Our Mighty Minds Did you know our brains communicate information at the rate of some four billion neuron impulses per second? All that information feeds through our senses, and yet we're only consciously aware of about 2,000. That's only 0.00005%. If you stop to think about it, you'll begin to notice things you normally wouldn't be aware of. The feel of air moving in and out of your nose, throat, and lungs. The touch of clothes on your skin. The thrum of your pulse. The number of things in your field of vision- most of which you probably weren't actively looking at. Before I pointed these things out, you probably didn't even notice them. The good news is that our brains have developed highly sophisticated ways of sifting out the less important information and pushing the important stuff to the top of our notice. This keeps us from getting overwhelmed with the vast ocean of data being registered in our minds every minute of every day. Assumptions Create Gaps What isn't so great is the fact that this can allow us to make some wrong assumptions as our brains sort and filter the information. Some gets deleted, some distorted, and some generalized. Lots of times, those processes serve us well, but sometimes the mind connects dots it shouldn't. Sometimes we don't even realize that's happened. You've probably had an experience like this: you have a conversation with a coworker. You think you've communicated your ideas clearly. You think you understand his point-of-view, too. Only later do you realize what you thought your coworker was asking you to do isn't actually what he meant. You've made an assumption based on some vague information, and now you have to go back and fix the work. Our assumptions can create gaps in communication. Sometimes we realize we need more information and can ask for it right away. But other times we don't realize it until a problem arises. Pursuing Clarity Examples of vague statements can be things like, "Make sure everyone appreciates our efforts," or "Increase morale in the team." What do you think those statements mean? What action are they asking for specifically? There's a lot of room for interpretation! The best way to avoid problems arising from vague statements is to improve your communication skills.  Be aware of the pitfalls of miscommunication- loss of time, productivity, and frustration among your team members, for instance. Learn to recognize vague statements and ask clarifying questions. "What do you mean when you say this...?" "How would you like me to accomplish this task?" "What kind of results are you looking to achieve?" Asking these kinds of probing questions will help your team focus on the important tasks at hand and help filter out harmful assumptions. You'll build strong communication between yourself and your coworkers. All of these are key to successful leadership.   Did you know that 80% of people don't ask questions when someone's not clear?  Let's change that number...ask [...]

By |2020-08-02T14:25:55-04:00September 12th, 2018|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on Leadership Tools: Clarity in Communication
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