It would be wonderful to live in a world where people didn’t have to spend time recovering from personal and community traumas — or even everyday stress. Acknowledging that we live in a beautiful but wearying world can be an important initial step toward creating a more fulfilling and less taxing life.
As I work with leaders through my coaching practice, I have noticed a few things that feel different this summer and that I hope continue:
People are extending and asking for a lot more grace when personal lives cross paths with professional obligations.
Leaders are disconnecting on their time off and being unapologetic about it, setting an example for their teams to be able to do the same. (In addition, this demonstrates faith and trust in the team to carry forward the work in the leader’s absence!)
Leaders are recognizing that people, including themselves, are recovering from huge, stressful events outside of their control.
Many of the leaders and organizations that I work with have taken on a summer mindset.
In my own life, I am doing my best to take the same approach. My family cherishes the extra time we have together when the kids aren’t in school. We plan special trips to reconnect with friends and I disconnect from my business while we are traveling. I take advantage of my ability to put certain projects on pause during the summer to devote my time to the relationships that matter to me. Even more than using this time to recharge, this choice is about living my values, which means prioritizing family, especially during summer.
What can leaders and organizations build into workplace culture to keep the spacious summer feeling going? Keeping an open mind about hybrid work is one place to start, as long as working from anywhere doesn’t turn into an organizational expectation of working all the time. The past two years have heightened our awareness of the complexities of our co-workers’ lives and responsibilities outside of work. Remember that creating space and time to recover from stressful events and projects leads to greater long-term engagement and creativity. Believe that trusting your employees to manage their time and energy to get their work done will lead to the best results. Acknowledging that not everyone has the mental, emotional or financial capacity right now to take a lengthy vacation and offering other forms of respite.
For leaders and organizations needing more support on building a culture of wellbeing and support, Leadership Refinery and its partners have developed a suite of offerings that can be tailored to your organization’s needs. Leaders, think about what fuels you and make time for it. Share it with your team, as appropriate, and encourage them to share what brings them energy and joy. The trust and insights that this builds can be revitalizing for a team and help them tackle the next challenge.
Originally published on Medium.com.