Burnout is a thing. It’s a problem. We know that.
But if you flip the Burnout Iceberg … you have key Leadership Practices — and a roadmap of ways to help you team give their best at work.
A simple word for it is just: CONNECTION.
And in work today, we have the HEAD side down — “We need to hit XYZ by ABC Date.” We have language for deadlines, goals, tasks.
But we’re MISSING the CONNECTING with the human with HEART part — “I saw your work, thank you and great job.”
The message encoded is: “I see YOU and your contribution.”
And that’s the BELONGING part.
Belonging …. to other humans. To each other. To the work. To the team. To our collective contribution. To shared values. To a vision you believe in of “Something Better” for our world, together.
Flipping the Burnout points here to …..
– Aiming at a big compelling WHY that’s bigger than your business – we call it vision and mission – but it’s the Something Better you’re all working toward in the world and for other humans that our team is contributing to.
– Giving space and FREEDOM for human potential. Maybe we call that Ownership. But the message is: “Hey, you’re talented. You have ideas and unique experiences and perspectives. You see things. Little ways we can make things better for everyone. And we believe in you to do that with us. And we want you to give all of you in this.” That’s where magic happens. When humans surprise us by exceeding our goals and plans when they really get who and what we’re for …. and that’s empathy and care in action express as creativity and innovation and commitment.
– Finally, recognition is often the first and easiest AND most essential reward. It’s also the CHEAPEST! But it’s an essential part of belonging — affirmation. A simple thanks. A simple ‘good job’ call out in a meeting. Remembering my name, my contributions. “I see you.”
All of that builds COMMUNITY on your team.
And community is bringing people together – an ecosystem, a village of collaboration, support, we’re doing this together and we’re going far and doing great things — together. And we’re here for each other as we do it.
“Culture” is really …. COMMUNITY.
Mutual, shared, together.
We often miss that — it’s not JUST about our customers, it’s about our team too.
And that means connecting, inspiring and supporting the human heart as it moves us to action together.
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