As a business owner for the past 28 years and, as a speaker, consultant and trainer working with businesses and organizations across many sectors, I often hear similar comments across sectors and roles, which follow these themes:
- Feeling stressed, overwhelmed and on the edge of burnout
- Too much to do and not enough time or support to get priorities handled
- Roles expanded (doing the job of two people in two roles)
- Change happens frequently and quickly
- A great deal of uncertainty
- Conflict and communication challenges take up time and energy and often follow people home
Reduce stress and fatigue and STRIVE forward for better wellness, productivity and joy. Here is my STRIVE strategy:
Strengthen and Support the existing relationships within your team and in your business. Now is a great time to check on your clients, ask about the trends and challenges they are experiencing. The more you know, the better you are able to help them. When you engage others and collaborate, you share the efforts and the workload. And the results might just be better than you could have achieved on your own. Recognize and appreciate all the contributions that your team makes. Recognition can create a domino effect where others start to recognize and appreciate each other as well.
Talk issues through. Don’t let miscommunication grow into communication breakdowns or confrontations. Clarify assumption by asking open-ended and curious questions. Provide opportunities for 1:1s, check ins, team discussions. Remember that during change, communication needs to be consistent and shared on an ongoing basis. This helps ensure the accuracy of information and reduces the need to troubleshoot misunderstandings.
Retention and Recognition of your team is important for morale, the organization’s culture and for paving the way for what people do well. When you recognize people for their efforts, accomplishments, dependability, learning and growing, people are more likely to continue down that path. Recognition needs to be sincere. Know how people on your team prefer to be recognized. For example, not everyone feels comfortable with public displays of appreciation. Some prefer a quiet thank you or a card. Explore what matters to people, which is one way to work towards retaining team members so they grow with your business or organization.
Innovation and ongoing “Review and Learns” are one of the foundations for success. This helps your team solve every day challenges with innovative solutions. Invite team members to provide their perspectives on how to navigate workplace issues, solve challenges and seek out creative approaches to address what matters most. “Review and Learns” have four powerful questions: What worked well? What was a Challenge? What did we learn? What will we do differently?
Value alignment is an important foundation. When team members know the organization’s values and what they look like in action, the culture may start to strengthen. In your 1:1s and conversations with team members, take time to learn about what they value as well! This is often an untapped support! When we know more, we do better!
Value your health, wellness and work life harmony. It is very difficult for businesses to Thrive when resilience is low. When you value your health and wellness, you make choices and decisions in support of this.
Educate about the status of projects, changes that may be coming forward, and the plan to navigate these. Engage your team – during times of uncertainty and change, engagement is the thread that weaves relationships, communication and success together. Engagement, Education and Communication go a long way in reducing stress and heading off burnout, so you STRIVE and thrive!
