Leadership – Page 12 – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

How Curiosity Advances Your Leadership

Posted June 21, 2021
by admin

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. – Walt Disney

I read once about a sign in an English company that read: We’ve been established for over one hundred years and have been pleasing or displeasing our customers ever since. We have made money and lost money, suffered the effects of coal nationalization, coal rationing, government control, and bad payers. We have been cussed and discussed, messed about, lied to, held up, robbed, and swindled. The only reason we stay in business is to see what happens next.

There are many definitive traits of successful leaders worth emulating such as trust, empathy, intuition, listening, etc., but one of the ones that I would put high on the list is curiosity.

Curiosity is one of the most important leadership traits you can develop simply because the possibilities of possessing it are endless. Click To TweetI’ve heard it said that curiosity is the spark behind the spark of every great idea. The future belongs to the curious. And this is why curiosity is a game-changer in leadership.

Imagine if you will how curiosity could benefit your leadership and the life of your organization if you ignited that curious spark? Imagine how things would look if everyone else in your organization did the same? Let’s take a look at how curiosity could advance your leadership.

Curiosity breaks the mold of status quo thinking

Status quo thinking is a mental rut that can be hard to break free from. It can be a crowded place and getting out of it can be challenging. When you develop a curious mindset, it will free you from the confines of the status quo. It will open up new approaches and solutions and can be just the spark you need to move forward.

Curiosity takes you from a ‘can we’ attitude to a ‘what if’ footing

Status quo thinking is safe and predictable and sticks with the known. Curiosity advances your leadership by taking you out of that mindset by unlocking the power of uninhibited thinking. It takes questioning from a ‘can we’ posture to the possibilities of ‘what if’. When you embrace a ‘what if’ mindset you now release a new level of momentum that doesn’t wait for permission.

Curiosity is the creative engine that drives your leadership

Curiosity will advance your leadership in ways that nothing else will. When you or the people within your organization remain curious and dare to ask those ‘what if’ questions there is no limit to where you can go. Curiosity is a passion that will take you places where others only wish they could go. It will cause you to ask more questions than most and not stop until you have answers.

Les Brown once said, “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects. I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” And he’s right. Curiosity will advance your leadership unlike anything else.

Final Thoughts:

In a lot of ways, curiosity and passion might be seen as interchangeable. I believe as Elizabeth Gilbert said, that “if you let go of passion and follow your curiosity, your curiosity might just lead you to your passion.” And this is why it’s so important. Never lose your sense of curiosity. It’s the secret ingredient to your leadership.

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What the Wright’s Teach Us About Leadership

Posted June 14, 2021
by admin

You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet – Theodore Hesburgh

In A Savior for all Seasons, William Barker shares a story of a bishop from the East Coast who paid a visit to a small, midwestern religious college around the beginning of the twentieth century. He stayed at the home of the college president, who also served as the college’s professor of physics and chemistry.

After dinner, the bishop mentioned that he thought just about everything in nature had been discovered and that all inventions had been conceived.

The college president politely disagreed and said he felt there would be many more discoveries. When the bishop challenged the president to name just one such invention, the president replied he was certain that within fifty years, men would fly.

“Nonsense!” replied the bishop. “Only angels are intended to fly.”

The bishop’s name was Milton. Milton Wright. And he had two boys at home- Orville and Wilbur- who would prove to have greater vision than their father.

Emerson said, “People only see what they are prepared to see.” And this will always be one of your challenges in leadership. The progress you make as a leader is connected to your ability to overcome negative influences and voices around you and from within. Here are a few lessons from the Wright’s that can guide you on your leadership journey.

You will never move beyond the limitations you create in your mind

As long as Milton Wright had the mindset that all inventions and creations had been made, his potential was limited to that. He was not prepared to see beyond it. And as such, his ability to see into the future was restricted.

Be careful in your leadership not to make steel traps in your mindset that will prevent you from seeing all of the unlimited possibilities before you. As Thomas Edison said, “Hell there are no rules here, we are trying to accomplish something.” Don’t allow a negative mindset to get in the way of progress.

If you want to fly, you will have to leave some people behind

The restrictive thinking of Milton Wright didn’t prevent his sons from doing what he only thought angels should do. They made history despite him. And this is the mindset of all successful leaders. It’s a law of leadership that you must learn. Not everyone will or should take the journey with you. It Click To Tweet

Andy Stanley said, “Vision is a mental picture of what could be, fueled by a passion that it should be.” And this is the driving force behind leaders of accomplishment. Success will come to you on your terms when you spread your wings, apply yourself, and possess a willingness to leave some people behind who don’t share your dreams and vision for a brighter future.

The future belongs to those who dare to dream

Things always seem impossible until someone does it. I would like to think that Milton Wright looked back on what he said on that trip and had a change of heart after what his sons accomplished.

Orville Wright said, “If birds can glide for long periods of time, then…why can’t I?”. And that is precisely the mindset that caused him and his brother to make aviation history. And history is full of similar stories of individuals who dared to ask the questions, who dared to take the risks, and who dared to dream of a better tomorrow and found a way to make it happen.

Final Thoughts

If there’s ever been a time for strong leaders who have a dream and vision to rise it’s now. Be willing to dream and see what others don’t. Be willing to leave the skeptics behind you, and dare to dream and act for a better tomorrow.

Are you ready to fly?

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Four Ways Pride Hurts Your Leadership

Posted June 1, 2021
by admin

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. – St. Augustine

Ronald Reagan once told the story about a speech he delivered to a very large crowd in Mexico City. After he was finished he sat down to scattered and unenthusiastic applause. Reagan said he felt embarrassed, and even more so when the next man who spoke, a representative of the Mexican government who was speaking in Spanish, was being interrupted virtually every other line with enthusiastic applause.

Reagan said to hide his embarrassment, he started clapping before anyone else and longer than anyone else until the US Ambassador leaned over and said to him, “ I wouldn’t do that if I were you; he’s interpreting your speech.”

That embarrassing moment for Reagan is a lesson that we can all learn from as leaders.

John Maxwell said, “There are two kinds of pride both good and bad. ‘Good pride’ represents our dignity and self-respect. ‘Bad pride’ is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance.” And this is the trap as leaders we must avoid.

If not careful, we can fall into the trap of writing our own headlines, believing our own headlines, and finding ourselves detached from reality in our leadership. So how do we keep that from happening? What are the traps that we need to avoid? Let’s begin with these four.

The trap of an unbridled ego

Pride hurts your leadership when you have an unbridled ego. An unbridled ego will cause a host of issues for you personally and for those around you. It will make working with you or for you unbearable. So long as you think everything revolves around you, because of you, and for you, then the capacity of everyone around is held hostage to your ego.

A leadership 101 principle states, very simply, “it’s not about you”. For the sake of your own personal growth and development, and for the benefit of those around you, check your ego at the door.

The trap of false humility

As the pendulum swings back in the opposite direction away from pride, it often lands with false humility. There are times, as Maxwell’s quote points out when ‘good pride’ is in order. But when you are purposefully fishing for a compliment to draw attention to yourself, or by downplaying things, it can have the opposite effect.

As a leader, you can be proud of your accomplishment without being full of pride or conceit. You can graciously accept the praise from another person without clothing yourself with false humility. Simply be gracious and give credit where it’s due.

The trap of complacency

Complacency is one of the most dangerous traps to be on guard against as a leader. String along a series of wins and accomplishments, and before long you can begin to take for granted that success and winds will always come this easy.

Each season of leadership that you find yourself in will require more from you than the previous one. Click To Tweet If you want to grow as a leader and reach your fullest potential you will have to fight the urge to settle, the lure of contentment, and the temptation to believe that the sacrifices of today are enough for the accomplishments of tomorrow.

The trap of going-it-alone

One of the dangers of pride in leadership is the belief that you can go it alone. We’ve been created and designed for community and relationships and when surrounded with like-minded people we can accomplish more than we ever could by ourselves. Pride says, “I don’t need anyone”, and is one of the most debilitating qualities in leadership.

Final Thoughts

Working on our pride as leaders begins by acknowledging it and allowing ourselves to be held accountable for it. Don’t allow pride to put a lid on your leadership.

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How Change Impacts Your Leadership (Part Two)

Posted May 17, 2021May 17, 2021
by admin

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. – Andy Warhol

Change is a necessary and constant companion in life. Often we don’t like it, we are slow to embrace it, and sometimes we despise it. But change is a consistent disruptor in life. Like it or not, change happens.

In leadership, how well you adapt to change can be a game-changer. Consider the story of the toy company Lego. Founded in 1932 by a Danish carpenter, Lego began small with wooden toys and simple plastic building sticks.

For generations of kids growing up, like myself, building with Legos was a favorite pastime. No one would have ever thought that the popular toy would go away. But it almost did. In 2003, Lego almost went bankrupt as a result of over innovating.

To stay competitive it streamlined its business model by changing the way it managed innovation. By taking the time to see where and why it went wrong, Lego adapted to change and it remains a popular toy today.

Critical to any leader is knowing when change needs to happen and is willing to implement it. But why the resistance? Why do so many leaders self-destruct because of an unwillingness to embrace it?

In part one of this series, I identified the first three obstacles on how change impacts your leadership: comfort zones, habits, and attitude. All of these in some way or another affect the way we respond to change.

It’s time to take a look at the final three obstacles to change that impact your leadership.

Negative perceptions

Being a change agent is not easy. People are creatures of habit and once settled in routines and ways of doing things seldom want to see it change. One reason why change is so hard is the negative perceptions that surround it. And usually, this is created by opponents of change out of fear or lack of clarity surrounding it.

If you want to successfully navigate the waters of change you have to get out in front of it, anticipate the negative perceptions to it, and make the case for it. Click To Tweet It’s been said that perception is reality, but a negative perception of change can be a death-knell if not handled properly.

You can overcome negative perceptions of change but only as you skillfully make the case for it, and communicate the consequences of what happens if you don’t.

Guarded traditions

When time-honored traditions collide with the headwinds of change is when tensions are at their peak. to change is at its peak. One camp wants to move forward and innovate while the other wants to hold onto the traditional ways of doing things. Managing change while respecting the past can be done, but it takes a keen leader to make it happen.

But if traditions are guarded at the expense of progress you stifle the growth that could be yours. While change is inevitable, positive outcomes from it aren’t if you have people working against it. Get the buy-in first.

External forces

There will be times in your leadership when change is brought about by circumstances you have no control over. Covid is a case in point. Many businesses were forced to pivot and make changes in record time just to survive. Regretfully, many didn’t. While you can try to plan and anticipate any and every potential obstacle that can come your way; you’re not going to get it right one hundred percent of the time. The unexpected happens. We like to believe that the force is with us. The truth is, sometimes it’s not.

Final Thoughts

Leading change is one of the greatest challenges you’ll face in your leadership. But also one of the most rewarding when done right.

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How Change Impacts Your Leadership (Part One)

Posted May 9, 2021May 12, 2021
by admin

Change before you have to. – Jack Welch

How well do you embrace change? Is it in your nature to be an early adapter to change or are you one of the last to get on the change wagon?

It’s been said that the only constant in life is change. And while that much is true, some find it more difficult to embrace than others. To be sure, not all change is bad, and not every change is worth embracing. Somewhere in between is the tension that is real for many.

One of the most infamous changes in business history occurred back in 1985. Pundits referred to it as the “marketing blunder of the century”, and the backlash was more like a customer rebellion.

The formula for Coke had not been tampered with for 99-years. But in 1985, they changed it, and “new Coke” was released. Coke customers were not impressed. The new formula was a bust. Customers stock-piled the original Coke in their basements, the customer service hotline which normally received 400 calls a day was now receiving more than 1,500. The message Coke customers delivered was simple – the old formula has worked for

Coke Ad from 1985.
Credit: Google Images

99 years, why change it?

It took just 79 days for Coke to reverse their “marketing blunder” and revert to their original formula. It was a painful lesson at the time for Coke, and one from which every leader today can learn from.

Leading at the speed of change can be challenging. How you manage it, lead it, and how you compel others to change is important. But first and foremost, it’s an inside job. If you are not willing to change, then you may be the obstacle to progress your organization needs.

In this two-part series, I will explore six obstacles to change that hold leaders back. In this post, let’s take a look at the first three.

Comfort zones

One of the chief reasons why we resist change as individuals and in our organizational structures is that we get settled in comfort zones. It’s an autopilot mindset that we are way too comfortable with. It’s the proverbial ‘new Coke’ formula mindset – it’s been the same and has worked for 99-years, why change it?

In our comfort zones, we tend to protect the status quo and become guardians of the past. If you are a leader stuck in your comfort zone you are a leader who needs to embrace change.

Habits

Most of us are creatures of habit. And just like our comfort zones, we tend to stick close to the familiar. At times, embracing change may require relinquishing old habits for the sake of growth. But old habits can be blindspots. So long as you don’t see how your habits stand in the way of progress we will never be compelled to change.

Your leadership in many ways is an extension of the habits you’ve developed over time. Ask yourself if those habits that served you well in years gone by are still useful today? What habits need to change for the sake of change?

Attitude

Oftentimes, it’s not change itself that’s problematic, it’s our attitude towards change that’s the issue. The reason in part, I believe, is that we go straight to negative thoughts about change. We think it’s going to be something bad. We fear the unknown so we hunker down determined to preserve the way things are. We like the formula just the way it is.

If you want to be a change agent within your organization, you have to model the attitude you hope to see in others. Change is challenging enough as it is without your negative attitude to deal with.

Final Thoughts

In Part 2, I will close out How Change Impacts Your Leadership. Until then, I challenge you to look at areas of your leadership where you tend to resist change and how different things would look if you didn’t.

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Developing Leadership Grit (Part 4) Tenacity or Tension

Posted April 26, 2021April 26, 2021
by admin

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

Dictionary.com

Tenacious people don’t rely on luck, fate, or destiny for their success. And when conditions become difficult, they keep working. – John Maxwell

Pablo Casals was considered the greatest cellist to ever live. When he was 95 years old he was asked why he continued to practice 6 hours a day. He replied, “Because I think I’m making progress.”

Be it an accomplished cellist like Casals or any other person who mastered his or her craft, it requires a higher standard of grit to go there.

Baseball great Ted Williams was known as a “natural hitter”. Once when he was asked about this natural ability, he responded, “There is no such thing as a natural-born hitter. I became a good hitter because I paid the price of constant practice, constant practice.” And herein lies the difference between those excel in their craft and those who remain stagnant and get left behind. It’s tenacity. It’s grit.

One way this grit can be explained comes from the ten thousand hour rule from Malcolm Gladwell. He spelled it out in his book Outliers. The jest of the rule is this: it takes ten thousand hours of intense practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials.

While some have attempted to debunk Gladwell’s ten thousand hour rule, the underlying application is that the secret to success in any endeavor is an unparalleled degree of tenacity to achieve it. Grit is the common denominator.

In this fourth and final installment of developing leadership grit, allow me to recap the leadership grit principles presented thus far:

Leadership Grit Principle # 1 – Give up or Grow – Your leadership will have moments of testing. And ultimately it will be your indomitable spirit and grit that will get you through the tests of leadership that you will face.

Leadership Grit Principle # 2 – Resilience or Retreat – Through grit, we develop and grow as leaders. When we join forces with others, we share the load. Your journey is not meant to be traveled alone.

Leadership Grit Principle # 3 – Ingenuity or Insignificance – Grit survives and thrives with ingenuity. We must play the long game and be open to change and new ways of doing things.

And now, the final principle in this series.

Leadership Grit Principe # 4 – Tenacity or Tension

In the end, you will either set your course as a leader with tenacity or you will live in the tension of unrealized potential.

Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” And this is often the source of tension and frustration with many leaders. They start strong but they don’t finish. The task is left undone. The dream never materializes. And this happened not because they lacked intelligence, talent, or necessary skills. It happened because they lacked grit.

Developing grit goes hand in hand with finding your passion. People who are passionate about their work and life’s calling tend to be grittier. They know the cost and are more willing to pay the price for their success. Let’s face it – it’s hard to be tenacious about things we don’t care about.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, grit is the difference-maker between those who thrive and those who get by. Grit will take you further than intelligence alone. Grit is a game-changing secret weapon that will take your leadership to a new level.

It’s time to get gritty.

Resource:

To learn more about the power of grit, I would encourage you to order and read this book by Angela Duckworth.

Click here to order your copy on Amazon

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Developing Leadership Grit (Part 3) Ingenuity or Insignificance

Posted April 19, 2021
by admin

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

Dictionary.com

Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another. – Angela Duckworth

As with many innovations, the originator of 3M’s sticky yellow Post-its didn’t know what he had at first. Researcher Spence Silver was curious about what would happen if he mixed an unusual amount of monomer into a polymer-based adhesive he was working on. The result was an adhesive that would “tack” one piece of paper to another and even restick, without leaving any residue on the second piece of paper.

The company had no use for the adhesive until 3M chemist Arthur Fry began having problems in the choir loft. The slips of paper he used to mark pages in his hymnal often fluttered to the floor, leaving him frantically searching for his place. Then he remembered Silver’s adhesive. Fry’s better bookmark soon metamorphosed into the handy Post-its that have become fixtures in offices and homes around the world.

Today, 3M is valued at more than $100 billion dollars and I’m sure Post-its is one of the main reasons why.

Throughout this series Leadership Grit, we’ve looked at how grit separates lasting leaders from those who are like shooting stars- brightly on the scene for a while before they burn out. Grit is the difference-maker.

Before diving into the new leadership grit principle, let’s recap what’s been presented to this point:

Leadership Grit Principle # 1 – Give Up or Grow Up

Leadership Grit Principle # 2 – Resilience or Retreat

As you develop your leadership grit you will be faced with those choices. Developing grit is a process and is something you develop over time. So let’s take a look at our next principle.

Leadership Grit Principle # 3 – Ingenuity or Insignificance

The Post-it note was developed in part by an act of ingenuity. It had been tinkered around with inside the company in the beginning, but it was the ingenuity of one of its researchers – in attempting to solve a problem, that put the idea for the Post-it over the top as a successful marketable product.

Post-it notes were not the only invention that was stumbled into by accident. Did you know that penicillin, the slinky, corn flakes, Teflon, and popsicles are among numerous inventions that were created by accident?

As it pertains to the role of grit in your leadership or in any other venture, ingenuity or creativity is essential. Being able to look at things in a new way or light is crucial to your success. Click To Tweet

Angela Duckworth is perhaps the leading voice on the topic of grit. In her acclaimed book, Grit – The Power of Passion and Perseverance, she states, “ When you keep searching for ways to change your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding them. When you stop searching, assuming they can’t be found, you guarantee they won.”

You are never more than one moment of creativity away from an idea or solution that can completely change your course for the better. But those moments will never come for you if you give up. Grit in leadership is digging deep and sticking with it even when others have long since given up.

A best practice for developing grit is to play the long game. Be open to searching for new or different solutions to the challenges you face. Harness the power of a shared grit mindset that pulls together the best and brightest around you. It’s important that as a leader you have a grit mentality, but it shouldn’t operate in a vacuum.

Grit survives and thrives with ingenuity. Without it, it can lead to insignificance. As Duckworth says, “Without effort, your skill is nothing more than what you could have done, but didn’t”. Grit will require effort, but it will always be worth the effort.

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Developing Leadership Grit (Part 2): Resilience or Retreat

Posted April 12, 2021
by admin

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

Dictionary.com

It always seems impossible before its done – Nelson Mandela

As an aspiring young writer, she was just six years old when she wrote her first book. It was a story about a rabbit. Her first novel came along at the age of eleven about seven cursed diamonds and the people who owned them.

As a divorced single mom, she was once so poor that she relied on welfare to make ends meet. If ever there was a person with the odds stacked against them, it was her.

Yet in spite of all of the adversity and hardship she faced, she had an indomitable spirit within her. Yes, J.K. Rowling had grit.

Her Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone manuscript was rejected twelve times by the Bloomsbury London Publishers. Yes, you read that right – the book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published.

Since then, J.K. Rowling’s books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide in 80 languages. Her net worth is estimated at more than $1 billion dollars.

From humble beginnings to one of the richest women in the world, J.K. Rowling is a profile in grit.

Rowling once said, “I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do ever- was write novels”. And it was grit, in the face of twelve rejections and a myriad of personal challenges that allowed her to do just that. Her contributions through her books instilled a love for reading in a whole generation of children and adults alike.

In your leadership, there will come a time in which you will have to face down your fears and rejections. It will take grit. Most goals and dreams require it. Click To Tweet

As I stated in the first article in this series, developing leadership grit is a growth process. My best advice? Begin with the basics. Before diving into the next principle, let me remind you of leadership grit principle # 1 – Give up or grow up. If grit teaches us anything it’s this – when adversity comes our way this our choice. We can throw in the towel and quit or grow in our leadership and face our obstacles. No one promised smooth sailing which means that sometimes grit is the best card you’re holding in your hand and if played right is all you need.

Leadership Grit Principle # 2 – Develop resilience or retreat

In leadership, as in life, you will have to develop resilience in order to succeed. Even then, you will have setbacks and failures- just like J. K. Rowlings who was rejected twelve times before her first book was published.

In his book, Failing Forward, John Maxwell states, “Successful people have learned to do what does not come naturally. Nothing worth achieving comes easily. The only way to fail forward and achieve your dreams is to cultivate tenacity and persistence”. And this is one of the hallmarks of grit – doing what does not come naturally.

The challenge here is not to see resilience simply as raw emotion or willpower. Think how different your outcomes would be if you saw resilience in a broader context if attached to your life’s greater purpose.

Would your outlook be different if you saw resilience, not as a survival mechanism but rather the life-blood of healthy relationships, mutual accountability, and a purpose greater than yourself? How do you think this would impact you as a leader? Your organization?

Here’s the key- by myself my resilience has its limits. But when joined together with like-minded people the energy is multiplied. By myself, I might have a few wins. When joined with others, I can have many.

At the end of the day, you can choose resilience or retreat. Your choice will make all the difference in the world.

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Developing Leadership Grit: Give Up or Grow Up

Posted April 7, 2021April 11, 2021
by admin

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

Dictionary.com

“Most God-ordained dreams die because we are not willing to do something that seems illogical” – Mark Batterson

“I don’t call meetings for that.” Those six words blindsided me. It was a sucker punch that I didn’t see coming.

Those words came off the heels of what was considered by all other accounts a most successful week. I was fresh out of college and serving in the first church of my young life in ministry. Admittedly, I was green and was cutting my teeth, as it were, and had so much to learn. But at least during this week, I was killing it…or so I thought.

We had just closed out a week of festivities at the church. Parents and students alike told me that it was the best one they’ve ever had. At the close of the week, I was exhausted but feeling good about what we accomplished.

When the pastor, my boss, asked me to come by his office when I was done, I was feeling confident that he was going to congratulate me on a job well done.

I entered his office and took a seat. I was not prepared for what came next. Everything that I had imagined it would be like in ministry and every dream attached to it would be challenged.

My work for the sake of heaven was about to take an unexpected detour through hell. My professors didn’t prepare me for this.

For the next thirty minutes, he torched everything that he could think of and then some. Surely there was smoke coming out of his nostrils and fire on his tongue. He didn’t hold back. When the verbal beat-down was complete, he was challenged as to why he didn’t have anything positive to say about the event.

And that’s when those six words – “I don’t call meetings for that” changed everything. I sat in stunned silence. It was his prerogative to call it as he saw it, and my place to listen- as painful as it was.

As a young leader, this was my wake-up call and my first lesson in developing leadership grit. It was my watershed moment.

In leadership, you will have watershed moments when you have to face down your fears, overcome rejections, tune out the haters, defy the critics, do something illogical, and stand firm on the hill of your God-given dream. It will take grit. Buckle up.

In a series of articles to come, I will share stories that will challenge and inspire you- stories of grit. I first had to start with mine in hopes of inspiring you to believe that there is life on the other side of the hell you may currently be walking through.

Developing leadership grit is a growth process. My best advice? Begin with the basics.

Leadership Grit Principle # 1 – Give up or grow up

In the aftermath of that event, I had a choice to make. Give up or grow up. And while I didn’t enjoy what I went through at the time, it awakened an indomitable spirit within me. I eventually parted ways with the pastor, but not with my dream. It was larger than him.*

While this story is uniquely mine, you may be reading it as you recall a watershed moment of your own. Others of you are going through a struggle right now. Let me encourage you to keep the faith.

Your leadership will have its moments of testing. And ultimately, it will come down to the grit and indomitable spirit within you to get through it. In those moments, you have a choice to make- give up or grow up. Get growing!

*Moving forward in life (developing grit) includes an underlying tenet of my faith – forgiveness. I couldn’t be where I am today with unforgiveness in my heart toward him or anyone else.

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Burnout: Is There More to it Than Meets the Eye?

Posted March 22, 2021
by admin

Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long. – Michael Gungor

A first-grader became curious because her father brought home stacks of work from the office each night. Her mother explained, “Daddy has so much to do that he can’t finish it all at the office. That’s why he has to bring work home at night.”

“Well then,” asked the child innocently, “why don’t they put him in a slower group?”

While meant to be humorous, that story is a reflection of reality for many. The work never ends. There never seem to be enough hours in the day to get it all done. The stress is real. Burnout is inevitable. Can you relate?

But is it really the daily number of hours a day that you work that is the primary contributing factor to the source of your burnout?

The results from a Gallup report indicate that while the number of hours people work each week does matter, burnout risks increase significantly when employees exceed 50 hours and climbing even higher after 60 hours. A foregone conclusion, right?

Would you be surprised to learn that the survey found that it wasn’t the number of hours worked that caused the burnout? It was how people experienced their workload that had a stronger influence on burnout than hours worked.

According to the survey, engaged employees who have job flexibility tend to work more hours per week than the average employee, while reporting higher well-being. When people feel inspired, motivated, and supported in their work, they do more work and that work is significantly less on their overall health and wellbeing.

The top five factors that correlate most highly with burnout in the Gallup survey are:

Unfair treatment at work
Unmanageable workload
Unclear communication from managers
Lack of manager support
Unreasonable time pressure

We know that burnout is real. 76% of the respondents to the survey report experiencing burnout on the job at least some time. Have you?

Leaders can make a real difference when it comes to how their people experience their work and as a result improve their personal wellbeing. Here are a few considerations.

Make the environment a priority

It’s not the work that your people shy away from. They shy away from toxic environments that hinder them. When you make the environment in which your people work a priority then you will cut down on the stress, burnout, and the other negative effects that flow from it.

Rightfully empower your people

Take a holistic approach to leading your people. There’s more to your people than their skill sets and the work that they produce. Think in terms of the whole person and seek out additional ways to serve them. When your people are empowered to work in a healthy environment and live healthier lives (mentally, physically, spiritually) they will thrive.

Intentionally be aware

Your degree of awareness makes a difference. But unfortunately, it’s a trap many leaders fall into. Most leaders are not wired to notice warning signs of burnout and by the time they do, it can be too late. As a leader, you can better serve your people by being more proactive not just about the environment that you create but in the relationships you develop. Don’t leave it to chance, make it a priority.

Share accountability

When one suffers, all suffer. When everyone on your team takes responsibility for the well-being of your workplace environment and the well-being of its people, then the cases of burnout and stress can be reduced. In order for that to happen, everyone must take ownership. Shared accountability equals shared responsibility. When you have each others’ backs you can have everyone at their best.

How are you improving your work experience?

Employee Engagement: Creating Space for Engaged Employees and a Healthy Culture

A new e-book from Doug Dickerson and Dr. Elizabeth Stincelli

This new e-book is a collaborative effort of our shared passion for healthy workplaces and engaged employees. Stay tuned for more details!

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