When Less is More
I’m a recovering overachiever. Perhaps like you, I was hard-wired to always do extra: work harder, longer, do more. And for the most part, I was rewarded for it. It became a self-fulfilling cycle: put in more effort, get positively acknowledged for it, feel the boost of validation for unhealthy behaviors, lather, rinse, repeat.
I don’t mean to disparage a strong work ethic. I’m proud of and applaud the hard work it takes to achieve goals in life (whatever they may be) and try to instill those behaviors in my kids. Even under the crippling constraints of the global pandemic, my instinct has been to find ways to squeeze in more working time. But I’m now recognizing that how we define success also defines us.
More is not necessarily better.
Unconsciously or not, we place a value on things we can measure: income, titles, social status, # of likes, # of followers… In the workplace, we lean into things we can quantify, too, in our sales targets, key performance indicators (KPIs) and objective and key results (OKRs). The objective measurement is comforting. It feels solid and secure.
But when we learn that belonging is the #1 driver of employee satisfaction, and purpose at work is over two times more motivating than compensation and career advancement, we are called to rethink this “more” culture we’ve created. It’s harder to measure the things that actually matter in life: the quality of our relationships, the state of our wellbeing and memories from meaningful experiences. They demand looking in the mirror to see what we’re prioritizing in life, perhaps in a way that takes us out of our comfort zone.
As I help companies cultivate more creativity at work, it starts with the environmental culture where those creative seeds are planted. Here are a few tangible ways to drive both high performance and a positive workplace culture:
- Listen and connect. Does your team have a forum for talking about what’s on their mind? Are colleagues listening with an ear to judge and critique or to collaborate and support each other? Are there ways to continuously build trusted relationships across functions? As many businesses move to hybrid work environments in a post-pandemic era, creating these structural goal posts will be essential to bring the previously implicit connection points into the explicit.
- Make learning a social experience. Gone are the days of spontaneous learning through overhearing our mentor’s tricky client conversation. To create and sustain a learning culture, companies can build learning moments through social experiences in the flow of work. Consider… What went well this week that my colleagues could replicate? Where did I stumble that might inspire me to try something different next time? First reflect on your own learning, then share it out. By making storytelling a cultural norm and mode of knowledge sharing, continuous learning can become contagious.
- Encourage and celebrate the creative process. Creativity at work takes discipline. Protecting time for deep work and finding your flow reaps dividends. Disrupt familiar patterns by introducing creative techniques like perspective taking, consciously engaging imagination and experimentation. We can celebrate creative risk-taking in ceremonial award sessions, story spotlights in team meetings, or circulating a prized physical symbol of that creativity for a period of time. Be sure to practice inclusive behaviors here, so everyone’s voice is heard and valued.
There are quantifiable upsides to these culture-building efforts. Imagine the cost of a disengaged employee, or even a few regrettable departures. The positive effects of investing in people — in human potential — is exponential. They lead us to deeper authentic relationships at work and greater self-awareness. As we celebrate and model healthy, heart-led behaviors and sustainable positive work habits, perhaps we can offer an alternative way to move through the world. Success can be defined not as more, but as how authentically and consistently we’re living our values. I, for one, would like to see more of that.
