My personal mission statement is “Using core values to create the space for human potential to emerge.” I have been challenged to consider what this looks like through the past sixteen months of global pandemic. My own leadership practice has been tested, and I am relieved to report that as my own province announced the next phase of its re-opening plan just the other day, my practice has endured the pressures of job adjustments, working from home and supporting teams in virtual settings.
I recently read GALLUP’s State of the Global Workplace – 2021 Report. Their findings are somewhat bleak at first glance, but as you know, I am a firm believer that crisis equals opportunity. But let’s take a quick look at what GALLUP found:
- 45% of people say their own life has been affected “a lot” by the coronavirus situation.
- 32% of workers lost their job or business.
- 20% of employees are engaged at work.
- 32% of employees are thriving.
Some background to these statistics paints a different picture than their face value. For example:
- Globally, employee engagement decreased by 2 points, from 22% in 2019 to 20% in 2020, following a steady rise over the last decade, from 12% in 2009.
- Employee thriving has actually increased from 30% in 2019 to 32% in 2020, an increase from 24% in 2009.
As an Edgewalker, I need to focus on the business of ensuring I am following effective leaders and continuing to walk the edge, maintaining composure and integrity. The more alarming statistics for me tend to be the ones that report concerns related to mental wellness (or lack thereof) in those around me. After all, the widgets will still get built, the beans will still get counted and the bottom lines will still be met. But what of the builders and counters? How are they doing? How is their wellness? According to Gallup, the people next to me in the workplace are experiencing more stress, anger, sadness, hopelessness, depression and worry.[1] As a leader committed to using my core values in my daily walk as a way of living out my mission statement, my leadership journey as an Edgewalker is more critical now than ever before. I am more committed than ever to take the following steps in my leadership practice.
Focus on Wellbeing
There are five key human landscapes, which GALLUP would refer to as elements[2], and I must feed each of them in order to be well. These landscapes are:
- Spiritual;
- Physical;
- Intellectual (mental);
- Social; and,
- Emotional
Most humans tend to depict the balance of these five landscapes by giving them equal value, as reflected in the image to the left. In doing so, we leave all landscapes susceptible to the changing environment. The individual may equally influence the environment and those around them, but they are exposed to external threatening influences even at the spiritual level.
I have learned that the image to the right is a more critical structure of balance for my personal wellness. In this structure, my spiritual nature is fed by the Divine within me. When I start with feeding this landscape, it influences and guides the feeding of the others. The key to this structure is that no matter what is happening in the environment around me, my spiritual landscape remains fed by the Divine, stable and grounding. This structure allows me to stand strong and stable in the face of danger and adversity, such as the changing, chaotic environment within a global pandemic.
Part of my role as an Edgewalker is to ensure that I understand what is meant by “well-being” according to my organization and myself, and how these definitions are different and similar. Within both definitions, these five landscapes will be recognizable. It is upon these landscapes that I can find myself in the organization’s definition, and can also support those around me to find themselves.
Communication
Has there ever been a time in history when communication was not an area for organizational improvement? The global pandemic has made communication even more essential. Over these past sixteen months of working from home and increased workplace isolation, I have learned who the Edgewalkers are in my organization (and beyond). They are the people who randomly call me up on a video or phone chat for no other reason than to check-in and make sure I am doing okay. Now that we are all starting to return to work in my organization, our check-ins have changed to focus on what return-to-work looks like for us and how we will handle it. But all along, the check-in has been a fundamental key to sustaining our mental wellness.
Leadership from All Levels
I used to think I needed to be a manager to be a leader. I discarded that theory years ago, when I recognized that the most effective leaders were defined by their practice and not their position. Now I believe in leadership by example. My method of sharpening my leadership edge is to surround myself with people who are focused on feeding at least one of their landscapes. When we gather in these circles, these communities of practice, we support a culture of wellness that becomes contagious. I whole-heartedly support such communities as essential for improving my own personal wellness. They also improve the collective wellness of the organization.
I used to think I needed to be a manager to be a leader. I discarded that theory years ago, when I recognized that the most effective leaders were defined by their practice and not their position.
Focus on Engagement
A key piece of my leadership practice is to focus on engagement strategies that work. This is made more difficult due to the fact that I am quite tilted towards the Introvert side of the Introvert/Extravert scale. Engaging others takes a lot of effort and energy. But when other reciprocate, then engagement becomes a beautiful dance that recharges everyone’s batteries including my own. Engagement and well-being are two fundamental positive truths that feed each other. The higher the effective engagement, the higher the wellness. The higher the wellness, the higher the engagement. I used to think organizational managers needed to initiate engagement. I also discarded that theory years ago, when I recognized the value of non-managers demonstrating engagement as part of their leadership practice. These leaders are one key community of practice in which I choose to immerse myself.
Communities of Practice
I cannot stress enough how important it is for us to be able to connect with like-minded people as we focus our attention on re-opening strategies. Together in community, we encourage each other to do better. More importantly, we encourage each other to be better while we are doing the things we do. More than ever, now is the time to look to the community around us to demonstrate powerfully positive leadership practices. As we do, we focus on those who follow us within and outside of our community.
Edgewalkers, we cannot idly step aside and let the change and new normal be dictated to us by corporate giants, governments and society. Together, we can form enough influence to pull away from the gravitational pull of status quo and make change happen. Now is the time to embrace our leadership practices and support each other in our leadership journeys. Now is the time for us to define together what change looks like. Now is the time for us to define the new normal.
Donovan Mutschler, MA, MC
For more information on this or other topics of interest contact Donovan Mutschler at donovan@edgewalkers.ca.
[1] The full GALLUP report can be found at https://www.gallup.com/file/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace-2021-download.pdf.
[2] Note here that I stray from GALLUP’s opinion of the five elements. For GALLUP, these elements are career, social, financial, physical, and community. My intention here is not to say they are wrong, but to say that there is more than one correct perspective.
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