Transformative Change

Speaker 1 0:11

Welcome to another episode of transformative change . Today we're gonna delve a little bit into both leadership and your private life . I'd like to start this episode with reflecting a little bit on my own experiences with the topic we're gonna look into today . Have you ever had a job or a position you might be in one right now where you don't feel appreciated , where you feel like your manager or your peers never check in , they don't give you any recognition , they don't even acknowledge sometimes that you're doing things right or even wrong . There is no feedback . This episode isn't about feedback , even though that's also an important topic .

Speaker 1 1:04

I can , when I look back into my 17 year long career so far , identify quite many of these . One of the first examples I want to highlight is my initial interview for H&M with the person and later on became my manager . The first interview wasn't about going through my CV , as many of other interviews I've been going through . It was rather him explaining almost convincing , inspiring towards what he wanted to accomplish . He was building a connection and he was telling about his own personal journey . But throughout that story he also connected quite heavily to me and my journey and asked me questions that could align with the potential journey . It made me feel like I could matter in this journey . The majority of our conversations when I later joined was about how I connected to this larger purpose . When we had check-ins Throughout my career , the managers I remember isn't usually the most brilliant one .

Speaker 1 2:26

I worked with quite many brilliant technical leaders in the field . It was those that asked me questions that felt like I belonged , that gave recognition to the work that I was doing . It made me feel like I had a place and that's usually when I stayed the longest , when I felt like I had meaningful work in front of me , that my contributions were actually doing something and I was being heard . I felt like I had a good place Throughout my career . I think when I reflect quite heavily on my own progress is I had a lot of unhealthy performance , and unhealthy performance isn't that the performance was bad in itself . I liked working . I liked seeing the result . I liked ticking the boxes . I liked exceeding them . I liked working 60-80 hours a week , producing even when nobody had asked me to , and reflecting over my journey . I always connected back to my childhood , where a lot of my recognition as a child was connected to when I did something . That's when I got the good recognition . That in itself forced me , almost when I was older , to connect to the performance at work , because that's where you have a lot of performance Ticking the boxes , being the superhero , exceeding expectations and we see that constantly .

Speaker 1 3:59

And I was reading this book the other day by Jenny Volens , which is called Never Enough , and we're going to discuss and delve into that content throughout this podcast . But before we get started , welcome to transformative change . We're a podcast aimed at delivering and giving you tools to drive transformative change in this world . This is a cross-cutting podcast , and what does a cross-cutting do ? Well , we don't draw a clear line between technology and social sciences . We try to make sense of where we can make sense , to equip you with real , practical tools for your own self-development , so that we can strive towards a better society . Aim that your personal life , aim that your professional life organization , ngos , private we are here to make sure we leave this world in a better state than when we entered it .

Speaker 1 4:59

So , when it comes to performance and when it comes to these topics , there are studies on this . The studies have primarily been done in the 50s . What Jennifer Wallace did in her book was that she interviewed a lot of parents in the US , together with a Harvard researcher , to try to understand the unhealthy performance topics related to schools . Because , especially in the US and , of course , other parts of the world as well , there is a lot of parenting being done that pushes kids to go above and beyond , and this is also then connected to unhealthy performance later on in life . People are not feeling fulfilled . They are basically just having a lot of unhealthy performance , and this unhealthy performance , compared to healthy performance , which is driven from a sense of feeling like you matter , is completely different , and you , as a driver of change , first of all need to acknowledge that the differences between these two different topics .

Speaker 1 6:14

Why it's important with healthy performance is because performance-driven individuals . They often focus solely on achieving measurable goals or meeting external expectations , and this is , of course , perfect for an employer that just needs to tick the boxes , but it doesn't come from a place of having things that potentially are not measurable or looking towards yourself and driving a change in the world . This will most likely yield short-term success , but I often say that life is not about the short-term success . We live a long life and society is meant to be here for a very long time . It often leads to individual burnouts . We lack the long-term motivation to run this marathon and we treat it as sprints all the time .

Speaker 1 7:13

The motivation , which is unhealthy , solely comes from meeting the goals that most likely somebody else has put in front of you . On the other hand , if you have more of a purpose-driven approach so somebody puts a purpose in front of you or you discover your own purpose and values you start feeling that the work you are doing is meaningful . And this is a big difference , especially if you're in a large organization , because if you don't have purpose , if you're just there turning a paper , you're just there for the paycheck you have a hard time motivating yourself . But if you have a meaningful delivery or a meaningful purpose and approach in all of this , you are creating sustainable motivation and this makes sure that you don't burn out in the long run . You have something that you're aiming for and you start seeing the work that you're doing it actually matters for the bigger picture . So when your motivation stems from feeling like your work matters , you're much more likely to weather challenges . And what does this mean ? So if there's a large reorganization , you are not as worried about this .

Speaker 1 8:30

We can put this in contrast to a performance-driven mindset . Performance-driven mindset can lead to increased stress levels , and a little bit of stress can , of course , be good because it keeps you on your toes . But when you're increasing your stress and you're having your stress levels on high levels all the time , when you're not meeting your goals or when you see setbacks , then the stress just keeps on rising and you can't really do much about that because it's externally driven . If you have purpose-driven motivation that fosters more resilience towards stress because it's not specifically tied to outcomes , because you have a purpose , it's okay not to meet the target because you still have a purpose and what we want to get to at the end of the day , because we work with people and people are individuals and what we know about individuals that they are primarily driven by a sense of purpose . And if you're driven by a sense of purpose , that will derive more personal satisfaction from the work . You will feel , let's say , a deeper connection to what you do and experience a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment beyond just meeting performance metrics . And this is a little bit tricky to put into all of these contrasts , because organizations are driven by performance metrics , but we need to connect it to something bigger and this is really the role of a leader , because if you are on the floor and being like a technical leader , or if you're a manager , your job is to instill some sort of purpose and I think from the top management , it boils down to why are we doing this ? So it's the start with why type of motivation . But having this purpose is really about also instilling the deeper connection constantly . And if we look on the outcome from all of this because if we start measuring performance metrics , yeah , we see short term success , but what we do know about this as well is that purpose driven individuals often produce higher quality work .

Speaker 1 10:56

Me and my colleagues , we always talk about the pride in craftsmanship . We believe in what we're doing . We're going to deliver the best AI solution or the technical implementations . We have a purpose in what we're doing . We want to distribute technology . We want to make it easier for organizations and individuals to work with AI . We have a very clear purpose , because when you believe in what you're doing and understand the significance , you are much more likely to also invest effort , creativity and attention to detail . It's the pride of craftsmanship . So if organizations believe , oh , why do we need to talk about purpose ? Why do we need to make people understand this .

Speaker 1 11:41

Why is it connected to something and your own values , which I received feedback sometimes seems a little bit out there . It's not so tangible . Do I need to work on myself in order to be better at work ? Yeah , we do now , because when you do and when you instill this , you feel more fulfilled . You don't feel like just another and working in the system and then you go home and live your life . Your life is every second of every day , and when you feel like you have this purpose and you are fulfilled , you want to spend time with these things . I mean , it's not like we don't think of work when we're off work , but we put in and we feel happy doing so because we're motivated and it can be . I start up to set up yourself . You can work for a large organization and NGO , but connecting you to some sort of purpose and releases the creativity , you start thinking out of the box and you want to make it as good as possible , not just Performance based , which is sticking the box and being motivated by , by , by a purpose really contributes positively to mental health , and mental health is so many things Distress levels , for instance .

Importance of Valuing People

Speaker 1 13:01

We need to reduce them to a level that's manageable long term . Making sure individuals want to come to the office , not because we take away the work from home policy , but they actually want to do , because they want to connect with their colleagues , they want to connect with the customers , they want to go above and beyond , because they're driving towards something it will foster a more balanced life . I don't think it's just about work life balance , which I see a lot of companies focus on , because work life balance is having a clear , distinct line . When you go home , then you don't work . We are humans , we don't work that way . And more balance life is reduced stress levels , making sure you can do all of your commitments within A reasonable timeline .

Speaker 1 13:47

A performance driven organization or individual Will most likely lead to neglecting your personal well being , and I keep seeing this over and over again because you are just trying to do those goals and an organization can always come up with new KPIs , new deliverables , but you're not connecting them to anything . So you'll come home and you feel like this is too much . Why am I doing this ? This is Constant dialogue that I see people are having . Why am I doing this ? And while performance driven motivations yields short term gains which are extremely tangible . And you see this in the quarterly driven economy where you need to do the report every quarter and you need to fulfill those targets . Yeah , sure you can measure it short term , but the purpose driven individuals they often experience a sustained success .

Speaker 1 14:48

So it's not just about digging one hole and then another . It's about having a deep hole that can cover all of these things . The motivation and it's all about motivation getting people to do things . It is rooted in a deeper understanding of the role and the impact of what you're doing and that will lead to a more consistent effort and dedication . So that's what I figured out when I started to focus on having a purpose , having a motivation , feeling like you matter , connecting it to something else , you start connecting yourself and you're starting feeling better and that leads to a positive spiral . So a purpose driven mindset really fosters the resilience , personal satisfaction , higher quality work and an overall well-being . So work on creating that purpose , making people feel like they matter . In all of this .

Speaker 1 15:47

Jenny Wall is booked , then . Never enough . It really explores the pursuit of fulfillment and contentment in a world driven by consumism and materialism . It's a super interesting book because it dwells into the psychological , social and cultural factors that drive people to constantly seek more , even when they already have plenty . She challenges the notion that accumulating wealth and possession leads to happiness , highlighting the importance of finding satisfaction beyond the material wealth . So if you want to understand the human psyche more and understand how people and why people feel unsatisfied despite having a lot of material goods , then you should definitely read this book . So some of the main conclusion is , of course , aligned with what I just said , but I've summarized them a little bit .

Speaker 1 16:42

So why should we start focusing on these topics ? Why is it important ? Because the enhanced well-being is important for us of individuals . Look at yourself and then look at the people you want to motivate to drive some sort of change . Being valued and appreciated really contributes to individuals' sense of self-worth , sense of well-being , because when people feel like they matter , it positively impacts the mental health , self-esteem and overall happiness . If you ever felt lonely , that nobody sees you , you know that that can lead to a depression . You don't feel like you matter to anyone . But having a focus on these topics on the people you interact with , the fun and part with one of the conclusions that she has is if you make other people feel like they matter . That has a positive impact to you as well , and I think this is one of the changes I want to be a part of driving in the world .

Speaker 1 17:45

She also emphasized a lot around motivation and engagement . So recognizing someone's contributions , even if they're just small , and making them feel valued will significantly and I can't underline this enough significantly boost their motivation and engagement , because when people feel like their work or actions are meaningful and appreciated , they are more likely to invest more effort and dedication . It's a positive spiral . And also , if you're driving an organization , you have people around you and you have a lot of targets to hit . People are stressed and people are starting to hit the wall and they get burnout , they ask for sick leave or they quit . We want to reduce that , not just because it's good for the organization you work for , but it creates a healthier environment for people to be in .

Speaker 1 18:41

Acknowledging the importance of the individual's contributions help mitigate stress , reduce the likelihood of burnout . Being valued reduces the sense of being overworked . You're more likely to put in more hours , but you won't feel stressed about it because you will not feel like you're overworked or underappreciated , because you're contributing to something that matters . You matter contributing to better mental health and emotional health in everybody around you . You will also start building stronger relationships by acknowledging and making people feel like they matter . It fosters the stronger connections and relationships , enhances the trust .

Speaker 1 19:23

In all of this , the communication becomes better and the collaboration . We can't force collaboration by putting a performance metric , that you need to talk to this amount of people or reach out . I even think Facebook at one time had as a bonus a part of the bonus that you have contributed to the contribution . Just by making people feel like they matter will increase the collaboration , creating a more positive and supportive environment both personally and professionally . So it's a win-win . But just making people feel like what they do matters Increase productivity and innovation and a sense of value and significance in one's work will lead to more productivity . So there's a time not just being overworked or working more . You're more productive and you contribute more to innovation because you think about the problem solving in a new way .

Speaker 1 20:18

People that feel valued are more likely to share ideas , take initiative and contribute positivity to the environment . And if you're building a team and you have retention issues , this is also one of the outputs she highlights In various settings , whether it's in workplace or social circles . When individuals feel valued , they are more likely to stay committed and loyal , which is , of course , crucial for organizations aiming to retain the talented employees and foster a nice internal community , but also from the outside in perspective . If people like working at your workplace , they're going to talk about it and other people are going to want to join . Ultimately , making people feel like the matter isn't just about boosting their self-esteem . It's about creating an environment for personal growth , because if the individuals in your organization are growing both personally and professionally , they're going to be able to contribute more , fostering the positive relationship and enhancing the overall well-being .

Speaker 1 21:22

So this will most likely well , I would like to say guaranteed reach to positive effects in different aspects of life . So that was a relatively quick introduction to the book and making people feel like the matter . This is a super interesting topic and I just stumble upon this book . I strongly recommend it and thank you so much for listening in and , if you liked it , don't forget to subscribe to this podcast . We are coming out weekly and we will do a summary in a short blog post as well . Until next time , take care .