For better or worse — or honestly, just for worse — our busy-ness has become a measure of our worth. But activity is not achievement. We know this from teaching, and we can infuse this into our leadership practice.

Episode highlights

>> 7:00 We’re so attuned to gauging our success by how busy we are. It can be hard, and scary, to step back from that and decide instead to measure our impact. But as educators we know this from teaching: attending class is not evidence of learning. So why do we cling to this behavior in the workplace?

>>8:00 The Hidden Toll of Microstressors: how the accumulation of small stressors affects in the workplace because things pile up and become unmanageable, even though individually each thing seems like eh, not such a big deal.

>>10:40 One major source of stress for most people at work is their boss. You may not be able to change your boss, but you can create your own leadership practice that restores balance, calm, and joy to your life — and the lives of those you lead. This is key to creating a culture of psychological safety for your team.

>> 13:45 Self-care is deeply protective and nourishing work that leaves you feeling energized and connected to other people. Both are necessary to creating inclusion and safety to learn — the first two stages of psychological safety.

>>16:00 Diverse friend groups — friends who have a variety of interests across multiple dimensions — actually reduce the effects of microstressors by helping see alternative views and put our own stressors into perspective.

>> 21:00 What does it look like if we combine (1) emphasizing accomplishment over busy-ness, (2) creating psychological safety through genuine inclusion and safety to learn at work, and (3) reducing microstressors by strengthening connections to people with diverse experiences? What can this look like for you in your leadership pracctice?

>>22:00 How can you design your team’s work – or aspects of your team’s work – so they’re engaged in meaningful activities that lead to accomplishment while working with folks outside their traditional work areas and have their work seen and recognized through meaningful feedback? This is an honest question: what projects, initiatives, workflow, or process can you design or redesign in order to support your team’s accomplishment, connection, and inclusion?

Resources

The Hidden Toll of Microstressors. Harvard Business Review.

Beware a Culture of Busyness. Harvard Business Review.

Your Calendar Needs More White Space. Harvard Business Review.

Related Episodes

Building a Community of Care. Episode 29, with Julie Olson Rand and Alyssa Klenotich.

How to Take a tiny Sabbatical. Episode 28 with Shelly Roder and Sarah Moore Nokes.

Humanity vs. The Economy. Episode 16.

In a Leadership Role This Fall? Do These Four Things Now. Episode 4.