After a challenging 2024 Jonathan Betts, Dianne Lee, Jackie MacRitchie, Renos Savva and I discussed how to refresh and rejuvenate ourselves and our organizations in 2025.
We noted many different environmental challenges that can lead to lower energy, depending on your preferences.
- The type of work you have as an individual e.g. working to constant deadlines
- The kind of organizations we work in
- Is there a direct link between the work you do and the revenue that results?
- Are you somewhat protected by the funding that is received on a regular basis?
- Working across the globe with different expectations on taking holidays
- The degree of change we are experiencing – change fatigue is real
We agreed that it is critical for us to take time off to be effective in delivering our purpose. However, there is no single way of living and working that suits everyone. Some things that have worked for us included:
- Taking shorter breaks (long weekends) throughout the year rather than the traditional long holiday in the summer
- Delegation to others (trust your team!)
- Listening to our teams and follow their role modelling of better-balanced behaviours
- Adopting a four-day work week (feel no guilt, have time to do errands so the weekend can be enjoyed)
- Having a flexible mindset and taking personal time as needed especially if the expectation is to work outside regular hours for business needs
- Recognizing and respecting the culture we work in.
Looking forward, what could we do?
- Identify what is the most important thing and prioritize it
- Identify what is not going to change so that people can feel grounded
- Celebrate successes continually (take time at the start of regular meetings)
- Take a real break over the holiday season – energy is required to help motivate and inspire others
- Find out what flexible means as an individual and live that. Be clear on boundaries
- Reconnect with your purpose
- Make sure we are not reflecting our own thoughts back but are getting challenged
- Continue to be positive and upbeat and create energy
Everyone can contribute to creating a climate where energy is more abundant. This will enable our organizations to be successful. Let’s use the time over the holidays to rejuvenate!