Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

The constant pace of change and a variety of new demands are contributing to widespread burnout among both employees and managers today.  According to new research from a Harris Poll survey done on behalf of The Grossman Group , more than 75% of employees and 63% of managers report feeling burned out or ambivalent in their current position.   And surprisingly managers are not recognizing just how overwhelmed their employees feel, with 89% saying their employees are thriving compared to the actual thriving figure of 24%. That is more than a 3-to-1 discrepancy.   Today, I asked David Grossman of The Grossman group:   Question: Why do you believe so many managers do not recognize burnout in their employees?   Grossman : Managers may struggle to identify burnout due to various reasons such as lack of training, high workload themselves, or simply not knowing the signs and symptoms of burnout.   Some signs and symptoms of employee burnout m...

Yesterday, I published a post about the new book, Burnout Immunity , by Dr. Kandi Wiens .  In the book, she explains that employees who work at organizations led by servant leaders tend to have higher job satisfaction, higher engagement, and higher psychological well-being. Those employees also tend to have lower levels of emotional exhaustion, cynicism, boredom, and intent to quit. Less burnout.  As background, servant leadership places primary emphasis on the growth, freedom, health, autonomy, and overall well-being of those it serves, rather than on the leader.  Wiens lists in her book these 12 practices for how to be a servant leader :  Listen intently to others and try to identify the will of the group. Strive to understand and empathize with others. Display social and self-awareness. Rely on persuasion rather than authority to make decisions. Engage in broad, long-term strategic thinking. Actively seek to build community among members of your organizat...

Raise your hand if you have ever experienced burnout during your career. I sense many raised hands. That is because workplace burnout is incredibly common. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. Burnout also means feeling unmotivated and feeling stuck and ineffective. And making too many personal sacrifices, wanting to leave your job, and having a bad or cynical attitude about your work.   Fortunately, according to Dr. Kandi Wiens , author of the new book, Burnout Immunity , you can learn how to build immunity to burnout .   More specifically, Wiens’ research shows that professionals who exhibit a high degree of emotional intelligence ( EI ) have the ability to clearly perceive, understand, and productively manage emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. They know it means:  Understanding yourself. Managi...

“The fact is that most companies are structured to maximize efficiency and minimize risk, resulting in an environment that ultimately prevents meaningful innovations,” explains Elliott Parker , author of the new book, The Illusion of Innovation .   Adopting inefficiency, experimentation, and messiness as a strategy sounds counterintuitive, but Parker – backed by 25 years’ experience working with Fortune 50 companies – proves it’s necessary for progress.   “The hard truth is there is no formula for innovation success because every innovation is new and every organization unique. The only reliable pattern is that inspiration often comes from unexpected places,” shares Parker.   He further maintains that we need scaled corporations to recover their problem-solving capacity. “This means questioning decades of embedded assumptions about why corporations exist and finding ways to run faster, cheaper, and weirder experiments. It's time to build again,” says Parker.   ...

Speaking about his new book, The Generous Leader , author Joe Davis says, “This book is about the ways in which you can become a generous leader to be part of something bigger than yourself .”  He adds that the old model for a leader – a top-down, unilateral, single-focus boss, isn’t effective in today’s workplace. “That old model no longer attracts talent, invites collaboration, or gets the best results from the team. That leader’s time is passed. Today, there is a need for a more human-centered, bighearted, authentic way to lead,” adds Davis.   To help you become a generous leader, Davis introduces you to seven essential elements that he believes will develop you into a leader for the future .   The seven elements are:   Generous Communication : Be real to build deep connections. Be available to connect with the person, and not just the person in their role to make them feel seen. Generous Listening : Be sincerely curious about another’s perspective. A...

Years ago,  Entrepreneur  magazine offered these timeless and valuable tips on  how to give praise : Praise followed by criticism is not praise. Praise followed by praise is probably a little too much praise. Ending an expression of praise with "...and stuff" nullifies the praise. And, Make it timely. The closer the recognition is to the behavior, the more likely the behavior will be repeated. Be sincere. Be impromptu.  Remember, a handwritten note is worth more than a gift card. Having trouble writing your handwritten note of praise?  Try this template to get you started : _______, I couldn't be more impressed with how you______.  Not only did you____, but also you_______.  Beautiful. Thanks, ________