The 4Rs of Organizational Self-Care
The 4Rs of Organizational Self-Care
The past 19 months have provided an abrupt recognition to many people about the importance of personal self-care. It’s been a wake-up call for individuals to make decisions that support their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health needs. And while many organizations have adopted new policies and practices to support this, the whole topic of organizational self-care is an opportunity to strategically plan how leaders can support their current and prospective team members to provide an environment where they can thrive.
The reasons for its importance should be clear by now. With attrition rates rising (The Great Resignation), reports on increasingly aggressive behavior in public places (airplanes, stores, and schools to name a few), and a general unease in the workplace (as reported by a variety of leaders with whom I’ve spoken), we have to approach work differently in the future. Worker shortages along with high unemployment, are evidence of a great reset on the number of people available and interested in the types of jobs that are open. The proof of that is our recognition of the difficulty in finding a salesperson in a store, a server in a restaurant, and a delivery date for a desired item; along with employers dealing with increased time-to-hire. (more…)
As we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest crisis in our lifetime, we’re hearing about many acts of heroism, kindness, generosity, and creativity.
Supporter relationships are evidenced by business interactions that are more transactional. Supporters focus more on what they are getting, rather than what they are giving. Supporters emphasize the importance of clients’ understanding and valuing their expertise. They tend to receive more crisis calls as a reactionary response from the businesses because something hasn’t turned out as expected.
While many of us intellectually understand the importance of building trusting relationships, we don’t always demonstrate it.
That’s the refrain from a number of my female (and some male) colleagues and friends who reluctantly admit a time when they were the target of unwanted and inappropriate attention from someone. These are accomplished, influential people who found themselves in a situation where a more powerful person demanded undeserved, intimate fulfillment. The demands may have come by way of improper or sexually themed text messages, a “gentle” but suggestive touch on the arm, a lewd remark at the bar, an expectation to continue a business conversation over drinks and dinner, an out of town meeting scheduled in a hotel suite where suddenly everyone else leaves the room, and the list goes on. 
Kelley is stressed. He and his team are on a tight deadline to bring a project to market that could significantly boost his company’s revenues for the fiscal year. The hand off from the development team to them was delayed due to technical issues, and the whole project is now backed up. The pressure is intense as the executive committee is now asking for weekly progress reports to ensure their promises to prospective clients and the shareholders will be met.
For most leaders who are results oriented, high powered and fast paced, life is work. But what happens when life interrupts work?