The pace of change has never been faster, the demands on leaders and employees have never been greater, and the stakes have never been higher. And we are also experiencing levels of burnout that haven't been seen before...
How do we move from burnout to thriving?
The key question for leaders is how do you create an environment where people are challenged to grow, but also are supported enough so they don't burn out? And, also focus on building your own personal resilience. In this blog post we'll explore some ideas on what it takes to make your organisation thrive.
Let’s go back two decades. Globally, trust still existed amongst our institutions, governments and media, much more so than today, and whilst technology was becoming a part of our lives, it hadn’t taken over our lives and workplaces. The tech start up movement was a mystery confined to the shores of California. And our workplaces operated in a traditional hierarchical sense, where perhaps 3 generations came together at work. We mostly had paid full time gigs, and movements in equity and inclusion were buffering on the edges of society. And climate change’s only voice was David Attenborough.
Fast forward and we are now in a world where technology has taken over jobs.
It’s created new ways of working, it's changed the way we live, the way we communicate and collaborate. We have become much more specialised, knowledgeable and are a complex society of giggers, with multiple generations interacting all at once! What it takes to engage with a baby boomer is vastly different to engaging with Gen Zs. And so leaders are needing to stretch and pivot and be more agile than ever before, and are themselves, more generationally diverse than ever before. The incessant onslaught of information is also overwhelming and leaders need to be mindful that whilst info transparency is transformative, too much can be counterproductive. Exercising judgment to select what we really need to know, right now is key.
So what has any of this got to do with the burnout we are experiencing, and the desire to understand, cultivate and be a thriving society? Workplace stress is seemingly what’s triggering burnout, but is there another culprit? Could it be a lack of trust?
Let's talk Trust
It’s been in such rapid decline globally, that we are desperate to find it in the workplace, in fact we need it, and so employers/leaders are being looked up to to fill the void. It’s so fundamental to human beings that to thrive at work, leaders are required to bring a higher level of consciousness to elevate Trust.. Trust is a complex dynamic, it’s not as easy as saying be the expert, reliable and consistent. A leader needs to be aware of the behaviour, action and mindset that may erode trust. When leaders and organisations do strike the right balance, you will start to build psychological safety. Numerous field studies over the years by organisational scientists have also concluded, where burnout is less prevalent is where organizations have succeeded to cultivate a better culture and communality.
Displaying genuine care, support, camaraderie and humour in the workplace can help to combat feelings of burnout.
So back to our earlier question of how can leaders and organisations create or better yet, transform their environment to support people and teams to thrive?
Give people and teams space to innovate, try different approaches to problem solving, learn to fail, make mistakes and exercise learning agility. Offer genuine support and build capabilities through opportunities to develop and upskill. Call on people’s attention to what is most important, sharing strategies and stories of hope and being discerning about what information you make available. When you’ve got high levels of trust, and are truly all in it together, that’s when the magic of being alive and thriving at work happens.
From our research, thriving cultures have a few themes. Connection is a main theme, as is positive workplace, motivated (inspired workforce), learning mindset, diversity, equity and inclusion, wellbeing, purpose, capability growth, trust and great leaders who inspire and drive this kind of culture.
And the skills most needed by leaders to achieve this?
Emotional intelligence, authenticity, behavioural agility, purposefulness, trustworthiness, resilience and what we like to call, super communicators.
Find out more about our programs here https://www.peopleq.com.au/programs
Find out more about PQfactor, a monthly pulse tool focused on a high performing culture here https://www.peopleq.com.au/pqfactor
Or make it easy for yourself, and call us today for a free consultation.
Melina 0498 800 008 or Suria 0407 776 888
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