Episode 89 - Becky Jacobs | Wellbeing Leadership: Simple Strategies for Achieving Meaningful Change

Are you burned out by today’s work realities? Are you looking for strategies and tactics to reduce burnout and enhance wellbeing? Are you ready to lead and live differently in order to have a more productive work life and a more fulfilled personal life?

Our special guest Becky Jacobs answers these and other questions about leadership, wellbeing and empowering high performing teams.

Becky Jacobs is the founder and Chief Engagement Officer of Simple Change, an organization dedicated to improving engagement and productivity by building healthy, high-performing teams. She has dedicated her career to the study and practice of personal and workplace productivity, successfully leading teams to greater efficiency, wellbeing and overall impact.

Becky spent more than twenty years in senior leadership roles at various multinational companies, including Bank of America, Red Hat and Rise Against Hunger. She graduated from Old Dominion University with a degree in Business Management and completed her MBA at UNC Chapel Hill.

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Show Notes

Episode highlights…

What is well being in the workplace and why it matters so much today
The concept of the juggling balls of life
The reality that we bring our whole selves to work and organizations must support the whole self
Wellness and cultures are not marketing bumper stickers in organizations
What do your organizational and leadership behaviors saying about your culture and values?
Are your behaviors expecting your people to choose between work and their family / relationships?
It’s essential to provide clarity for your people on distinguishing urgency
Don’t assess your culture unless you’re committed to making changes
The exhausting and burnout impact of remote working (and the truth that work more hours doesn’t make you more innovative or impactful)
Redefining and focusing on productivity versus hours worked
Beware leading people today (and having work expectations) based upon the way you were lead (and the work expectations on you) decades in the past
Are you paying your people for their time or for what they produce / create?
Leaders don’t have to solve everything (you only have to listen and empower your team in solving it)
The more you engage your employees in coming up with solutions and ideas, the more you’re going to empower them, retain them and enhance their performance
Ask your people what’s working, what’s not working and what they’d like to see different
Psychological safety at work is essential to get high quality feedback from your team
Strategies for measuring well being
Beware the cultural messages that work sucks (e.g. Thank God it’s Friday)
Millennials are generally more willing to speak up, provide feedback and ask for what they want (but will you listen and change?)
The impact of COVID on our teams and the different leadership it requires
Leadership requires balancing productivity and compassion
What messages are you giving your children about work and life?
Why pivoting emotionally and vulnerability are essential in leadership
Leaders must model wellbeing for their team
You can’t pour from an empty cup
Pick one simple change, make that normal and then pick another simple change