Is joy an underrated asset in your leadership? In our latest article, Matt Rusten explores why joy, much like humor, plays a vital role in building a thriving company culture. From increasing team engagement to fostering resilience, joy can transform workplace dynamics and inspire purpose-driven work. Discover three key ways to cultivate joy in your organization and why it’s essential for leaders who seek both results and fulfillment.
‘Do not worry.’ We’ve read Matthew 6:25-34 in the Sermon on the Mount, but what does that look like on a day-to-day, minute-by-minute basis? God knows our every worry, fear, and concern – and He can handle it. Many thanks to Darrell Passwater, Convene Forum Team leader, for his encouragement to think about how our lives might be different by truly living out this scriptural principle.
Got a quick minute to chat? I’ve been wanting to share something with you as you lead in the midst of the election cycle in the USA or when your political election takes place in your country. When the dust settles on the election and the new country leader is declared, one thing will still be as true as it is right now. You’ll still be the one leading your firm the day after the election. Your team members will still come to work the day after the winner is declared. They’ll still be looking to you for leadership, for a paycheck, for a sense of community at their workplace.
What do they want most that only you can deliver? It’s meaning. That meaning they’re looking for begins with you and your leadership. To be sure, what Washington DC does actually can impact your business significantly, however, the president of the United States or the leader of any country does not lead your firm. You do. It’s an enterprise entrusted to you to lead as a steward. It’s a place where people look to you for answers, where people want to be part of a team that cares about them and where people want to be valued, appreciated, and loved. The next president of the country will not show up this week at your office to encourage your team, fix a broken piece of equipment, hire the next team member, sell a big account, or cast a bold vision about how your team will reach your goals and impact the culture.
As we find ourselves mid-October and a blink away from a new calendar year, it is an opportunity to prepare for how we view transitions. Transitions allow for reflection and renewal, for letting go and beginning anew, and for learning from the past and creating the future. Instead of laying out trends for the next year, I would like to comment on a fundamental enabler of any transition: hope. Leaders who want to improve, CEO’s who work toward excellence, HR professionals who aspire to deliver more value, and employees who seek well-being all achieve their transitions by realizing hope.
Hope integrates many of the positive traits that shape transitions for others and matter to me personally: learning, patience, service, faith, humility, optimism, gratitude, and so forth. I send hundreds of formal and informal e-mails every month to invite people to programs, to thank people for attending programs, to check in on those I mentor, and to stay connected to those I care about. I begin almost every one of these notes with “Hope you are well.” Hope is one of my personal desires, tag lines, and biases and an enabler of any transition.
If I could implant one trait in my family, friends, and colleagues who are undergoing continual transition, it would be hope.
As a business consultant and coach, some of the most powerful and transformational moments I've experienced have been the simple act of telling a business leader or executive team something that they already know. Reflecting on this made me ask why we so often know the right thing, but fail to do it.
“[W]hatever you do, eating or drinking or anything else, everything should be done to bring glory to God.” 1 Cor. 10:31 (Phillips New Testament in Modern English)
It’s soon to be upon us... Christmas! Christ is born. Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus. It will be a “most wonderful time of the year” as the song goes. But wait a minute. If we ONLY focus on the birth or death of Jesus, we may forget that he lived about 33 years doing the everyday things of life just like you and me. He ran a company making things, he led a team, some of whom gave him grief and challenged or betrayed him. He was frustrated with his team at times and got cross ways with government leaders. He prepared talks given to small and large groups, he got mad and cried. He got tired, was under extreme stress, and his good accomplishments were misunderstood. He was finally killed at a young age.
One of the most important transitions that happens within an organization to allow it to scale rapidly is the transition from anecdotal data to analytical data when making decisions. There is a fantastic parallel in how pilots navigate the skies.
When you first start flying, you fly below the clouds. This allows you to navigate visually. You look out the window and know where you are based on the roads, hills, and other landmarks below you. Sure, you may use a GPS, and you’ll have a compass and altimeter in the cockpit. While these tools help, they all serve a supporting role to what you see with your own eyes. Flying visually gets you off the ground quickly. It allows you to be nimble and rapidly respond to changing conditions as they happen.
In Iraq in 2014 you could tell if someone voted by the purple color of their finger which had been dipped in ink. About 28 countries have used “election ink” to indicate a voter had cast their preference for a candidate. When you or your team members say, “I choose him or her to lead,” in their city, county, state or country, they are exercising a right that guides their future. They are saying, “this is how I believe it should be”.
Research is emerging from King’s College, London, suggesting that post-infection immunity to Covid-19 may fall off drastically in the months following infection and recovery. Researchers followed 59 patients and 6 healthcare workers with confirmed Covid cases: gathering and analyzing sequential serum samples for 94 days following the onset of symptoms. The objective? Provide insight into the human antibody response to Covid-19 infection, uncover how long antibody levels are maintained by the body, and find out whether they will provide protection from re-infection for patients who recover.
