Although this is a blog about burnout, the Coronavirus COVID-19 is currently dominating all our lives, putting many of us under huge pressure at home and at work - a line that is increasingly blurred. Inevitably this additional stress may lead to higher levels of burnout, which makes this content especially relevant.
What a difference a week makes. Most of us are now working remotely and the country is in virtual lockdown - evidence of just how quickly the Coronavirus is affecting every aspect of our daily lives. If we are feeling unsure about how to respond - that’s because this is unlike anything we’ve encountered.
We are living and working in an increasingly unknown territory. No one quite knows how the COVID-19 virus will play out in the long run but what is becoming increasingly clear is this - many organisations are on the edge of mandatory working from home.
A lot of people don’t want to be ‘that person’, the one who is always bragging on about how great they are, how good their work is and the ‘proven track record’ they have. However, in our wish to avoid being seen as arrogant or stepping on peoples’ toes, we can get left behind - along with the profile our great work could have given us.
Innovation comes with an opinion - but does your culture welcome that, or stifle it?
We often see the new year as an opportunity for a fresh start or to try something new. Our new year gift to you for 2020, is to consider how you use the word ‘busy’.
If you love what you do, do you even need to think about work life balance? It’s a question many CEOs, business owners, and entrepreneurs ask us. The short answer is yes - both you and the relationships that matter to you – need looking after, regardless of how well your work might be going.
Doing a group communication is one of the most agonised over events in organisational life. The number of meetings about meetings, reviews and circulations of scripts and announcements can be staggering and often result in something that’s so bland and watered down that the message is lost, confusing or ineffective.
Does this sound familiar? There’s a briefing going on, it’s an important project and you’d really like to ask a question. Except that you don’t. If only you had, a little clarity would have made your contribution so much more effective from the outset.
You’ve invested a huge amount of time and resources hiring the best people, you’ve got them in the right roles and are rewarding them well for their contribution - but you just don’t seem to be getting the success you’d anticipated. We hear this from CEOs a lot, especially in innovative and knowledge industries, often coupled with exasperation, frustrations and if they are self-aware enough, a smidgen of self-doubt.
Last month we looked at how to integrate your values into your organisation – and we emphasised the importance of getting your leaders on-board to ‘walk the talk’. But what happens when they don’t – or even do the very opposite – what can you do?
Anyone who’s worked on an organisational values exercise knows how painful the process can be. You start out wanting to build something inspirational that truly reflects all that is great about your organisation; instead, you end up in endless wrangles over the right kind of words and ‘what’s the point of this?’ discussions.
