After weeks of hearing variations on burnout, last week saw a wave of green blossoms on the tree branch — pent up positive, productive energy that wants to find an outlet.
I’m calling it progress, or hope, on Bambi legs.
We’re ready to move ahead. So ready, we’re practically bursting.
So how do you harness this positive energy in your team instead of missing it and creating discord instead of collaboration?
After all, if the boss and the team have different ideas of what they’re excited about, it can lead to parallel paths or even divergent paths.
Wasted energy. Conflict. Frustration.
What if instead, you could coax the fragile hopefulness that people are feeling? So your team feels full of energy, connection, and motivation.
Here’s what you can do:
- Normalize the emotions people are feeling and have felt. This week there was a funny (haha funny?) article about moms screaming at the school football field.
- Focus on joy and fun. Let the lid off the pressure cooker a little bit.
- Manage expectations. An Inc. article said that people are resigning because innovation is too much to handle. If you can right-size your team’s goals, and check in to see how equipped they feel to meet those goals, it can go a long way.
Often we lose motivation because there is a gap between our expectations and the confidence we feel about how able we are to reach them.
Slow down and pay attention to what’s going on in your team. If you nurture the pent-up energy they are feeling, your team can enjoy the confidence and collaboration that will drive their effectiveness.
My best,
Claire