RECHARGING: Developing a New Culture at Work

Imagine this upcoming reality - electric cars will be 40% of all new cars by 2030, and by 2040 every new car sold globally will be electric (report in BBC). Talk about a new world coming - for the sake of progress with climate change and our environmental challenges.

And guess what? For this new electric world to work, there will need to be recharging stations everywhere and easily accessible at any time of day. Recharging won't be a luxury; it will be a necessity in order for the EV's to get anywhere and everywhere and be useful.

Why is it that we as humans have developed a culture at work and beyond that says human recharging is an add-on to life? Here’s the way Arianna Huffington puts it:

“We need to stop thinking of recharging as a reward we get for working hard and burning "out.”

It's treated as a reward for working hard and burning out. People wear busyness as a badge of honor. The busier you are, the more important you are. Rest and recovery are for people who don't possess the strength to keep going--only the "weak" need to factor in recharging, and only after you've proven you're a hard worker.

But here's the truth that most of us know to be true and yet don't always apply: Humans are designed to need rest, recovery, recharging daily in order to enjoy being fully human and fully alive.

We need to recharge at different stations along the highway of life - at any given time:

• some of us need a nap,

• others need to stop to self-reflect to develop more self awareness,

• others need to take a vigorous walk,

• others need to enjoy a hobby,

• others need to be with friends,

• others need to be in nature,

• or read a book,

• or sing a song,

• even our vacations need to be strategically diverse in how we spend that time.

Different activities provide different kinds of positive energy. We need to make strategic choices based upon our current energy needs.

You get the point: though our recharging stations will look different from each other at times, the goal is still the same - we must recharge our batteries of energy to be fully alive.

If we don't, there will be a lot of abandoned "EVs" scattered all over the world simply standing still, burned out, unfulfilled, and purposeless in an emotional & relational climate disaster. That's not a world I want to live in. What specific recharging pause do you most need in your life these days?

Your Character is Your Competitive Advantage

Character matters. It’s what I call soul ballast.

In sailing, ballast (weight with its corresponding stability) is created by a very heavy keel attached to the bottom of the boat. For stability in heavy winds and waters the boat must have more weight below the waterline than above the waterline.

Why does this matter? I ran across a powerful statement by AdamGrant, organizational psychologist at Wharton Business School, as he refers to the importance of leadership character in today’s world:

“As we strive to overcome a global pandemic and an economic recession, the character of leaders will matter as much as their competence. In 2021, servant leadership will be a competitive advantage, giving [those leaders] an edge in recruiting, motivating and retaining talented people.”

It’s what people cannot always see that matters more than what people can see. Character depth. Soul ballast. The leaders that prioritize personal and professional ballast are the leaders that have a loyal following at work and at home. Those that don’t, as sailors say, are recklessly courting disaster.

LEADING WELL REQUIRES PERSONAL GROWTH

More now than ever, as Monique Valcour puts it, "leading well requires a continuous journey of personal development."

In other words, successful leaders choose a willingness to take the time to engage in regular self-reflection to increase self-awareness and emotional intelligence, and to deepen relational empathy (other-awareness). Prioritizing what I call "strategic stops" for the purpose of engaging in these vital personal development practices.

Leaders can no longer isolate themselves in the "corner office." They cannot delegate reflection, thinking, and relationships. They must get to know themselves and their people,

• what motivates them,

• what their strengths are,

• what their personalities and temperaments are,

• what their hopes and dreams are,

• what their backgrounds are and how that shapes their present experience.

Success in today's world is determined more than ever before by how well a leader works with and interacts with self and others.

The true joys and impacts of leadership come when we "leave the airport bar" and embrace the wonders, diversity, and multi-dimensional world that we "flew to" when we said "yes" to being a leader.