JP — A healthy professional relationship is one that allows people to grow together, even when on different career paths, with different professional goals.

In a healthy professional relationship, there is room for different ideas and perspectives without compromising the collaboration for the common goals. Teamwork and collaboration are key to building a good relationship.

A good colleague is one that stands/is there for you when you need his/her inputs, feedback, or just someone to listen to you. Even if that conversation does not contribute to his/her current goals, and even when we’re all busy – that person is there for you.

Like a personal relationship, a good professional relationship is based on communication, empathy and trust. Those are key for every relationship to be healthy and give/produce fruits.

Both are a relationship between two people, the difference between them is the force that unites people. A professional relationship arises from the need to develop a good career and is maintained by common professional goals, while a personal relationship is fed by the human need for love and connection.

Sometimes good personal relationships start with a professional one. I am really good at that because I have really good friends at Celfocus. I actually met my husband at the workplace.

I am a mother and recently learned more about conscious parenting. I believe that if we apply the 4 values of this discipline in all our relationships, great things could emerge: equal value, authenticity, personal responsibility, respect for integrity.

JP — I could say that you should eat well, sleep well and exercise to stay healthy. But that you already know. I could also say that you really should take care of your mind, since your mind controls everything. Your mind controls your thoughts, your emotions and the reactions to those emotions. Recognizing your own emotions and reactions helps you understand others' reactions. You shouldn’t hide your emotions and try to avoid them. When you learn to recognize your own emotions, and be aware of what you are feeling, you also start to take action based on what you will do with that and - that is managing your emotions. The good thing about emotions is that they are not permanent. Tomorrow is another day, and you will feel differently. So why make a big deal about that?
During the last year, I have started to practice yoga and meditation, and realized that both are really good to help manage emotions.

I didn't find it easy and still don’t, but our mind could be trained to meditate, this could be seen as an activity. The more you exercise, the more you get from that. And you don’t need much time to do it. You can do it while you’re waiting for the code to compile. Breath in, breath out.

Another area/technique that I have become a fan of in the last years, is mindfulness. This year one of my intentions is to be present, be mindful of whatever I am doing.

Now, do you want to live healthy and happy? My first recommendation is that you must stay connected to your inner self. Listen to your body and heart and take that into consideration when making decisions. Sometimes the body is saying that we need to rest or to stop, but we don’t listen. If your heart is saying that you should give everything for that project that is really exciting and grateful for you – go for it.

JP — In any project, personal or professional, people are key to success. So, from my point of view Team Work, Communication and Recognition are the most important factors to maintain healthy projects.

Without motivated people, working towards a common goal, it’s hard to deliver a good project. Good communication across all those involved in the project is critical. I also believe that Recognition is really important, everyone has value within the team and it's important to feel valued and recognized.

JP — Yes, everything in life comes for a reason. Sometimes we just need to accept the facts and move on. Make some lemonade with the lemons we have. Imagine you want to invite some friends to come over. You can make some new friends with your fresh lemonade and have a good time.

I have already experienced some episodes in my life where the bad things come with good things and much joy. That happened with me few months after I start working at Novabase. I had a motorcycle accident and had to stay in bed for a month, to recover from the injuries. It was a time to stop. I really needed to stop and think about what I wanted for me and my future. During that period, I made important decisions that I am still grateful for today. And those were not related with riding motorcycles.

JP — For me a dessert is like a reward, it’s something that makes me feel good in that moment and that I like to use to celebrate.

So, at work a dessert could be compared to a long lunch with colleagues, to celebrate and have a good time.

JP — It is really challenging to stay in shape in our professional domain. Business and Technologies are constantly evolving, and it is highly demanding to stay up to date.

I believe that adaptability and curiosity are key to success in our professional domain. The curiosity will drive us to learn more, and the capability will allow us to adapt to new demands, new people, new clients, new business, new technologies and ways of working.

What is difficult here is staying in shape while managing teams, clients and delivering projects. We need to keep in mind that we really need to stay in shape without allowing the daily challenges to distract us from that.