“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
After 13 years in the active lifestyle and travel industries I left my marketing and creative career to achieve a lifetime goal of earning a Masters & PhD in Leadership Development. With that in hand, I positively impacting organizations and their people, preferably for the former through the latter.
Attention to employee well-being is critical. Organizations are well positioned to affect this factor. Research shows employee interventions, long-term programming, and skills based training can have a positive impact on organizational performance. When employees are emotionally invested in their work, feel supported and valued, their well-being improves, and this positively impacts metrics such as profitability, productivity, and employee retention. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace measures 155 organizations and demonstrates the power of engaging employees:
“Organizations with highly engaged employees experience 21% higher profitability, 20% increase in productivity and a 10% reduction in turnover.”
Championing this work is what I do. I have long been described as a positive, contagiously enthusiastic human being. I am a humanist at heart, hopelessly optimistic, and subscribe to the notion humans want to have happiness and a flourishing existence (Epictetus 105 A.D./1995). What usually happens is an unmet need or understanding that’s inhibiting our potential. By creating space for whatever that may be to come forth, we can grow. What is the lynchpin that is keeping us/it locked in a limited position? As a manager and employee, I have always asked, how can I create understanding, connection, and engagement to support the growth and subsequent ease and effectiveness? The words of Eckhart Tolle conceptualizes it well:
“You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge.”
As a proven change agent within corporate structures, I now work to apply my advanced degrees in leadership development to formally support organizational development through their people. I disseminate findings from work reports and employee productivity research to inform strategy and practice. By investing in people, organizations can unlock a workforce of satisfied and engaged employees. Growth opportunities demonstrate authenticity and reduce attrition. Long-term support addresses exploitation and self-serving development. But we’ll save that for another time…