Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Ask Joe: Worker fatigue

Graphic image reading "Ask Joe" with photo of Joe Weston, The Fulcrum's advice columnist.

Hi, Joe.

I’m not sure if you address questions like this, but I’ll try anyway. I am the CEO of a small company and I’m noticing that with all the political and economic turbulence, the effects of the pandemic and many people choosing to find jobs where they can work from home, or just retire, it’s getting harder to keep things going and keep my staff motivated. Any suggestions?


Fatigued

Hey, Fatigued.

Of course this is a question I can address; thanks for asking it. In fact, this recently came up with a coaching client of mine, a CEO of a local affiliate of a national organization. She brought in The Weston Network to work with her and her executive team over a six-month period on our Resilient Power Leadership program. We both expressed some level of concern that as we look to the immediate future, we see a continuation of the uncertainty and volatility that we have experienced the last couple of years with the pandemic.

I commended her on following her intuition to embark on a training like this as a way to be prepared for the myriad unknowns. It was her vision to create an executive team that cultivated more cohesion, accountability, trust, care and support for one another, as well as personal and group autonomy. I then shared with her an image that I’ve used for years that seems to be taking on a deeper implication at this time: When designing a skyscraper, architects will make sure the structure of the building has enough resilience so that it can sway with the wind patterns at that height. Without this compensation for the turbulence, the structure will snap.

These are the discussions I am having with the leaders I am currently coaching. What will it take to create the optimal structure for your organization so, like a skyscraper, it will withstand even the most challenging turbulence? How urgent is it for you to implement strategies that will upgrade the skill set and internal team building that guarantees an enhancement of the company’s resilience? For me, resilience does not mean suffering or enduring. When we are truly resilient, we are present, connected, maintaining a steady balance, as well as feeling confident to flow with challenges as they arise. We have vitality, stability and clarity, and we can tap into our creative problem-solving.

The design starts with embracing what many organizations worldwide are stepping into – shifting from a rigid, hierarchical leadership approach (where everything flows to and from the leader) to a more fluid, circular leadership approach. In other words, while still maintaining control of the direction and workings of the organization, finding ways to bring in more voices, get more input, get more buy-in from staff, and empower your executive team to creatively lead with more authority and autonomy.

Once this process has begun, the next step includes strengthening and upgrading the internal structure of the executive team – to continue the skyscraper metaphor, that means reinforcing your foundation and scaffolding so you can trust them with creatively adapting to an ever-changing world. That includes upgrading skills for approaching difficult conversations and holding each other accountable, in order to increase trust and safety. From here, the executive team repeats the same process with their department or team, creating more organization-wide cohesion, trustworthy structures and resilience.

By finding ways to empower each individual in combination with strengthening the relationships with each member of your team, you should be able to shift some of your attention away from the internal day-to-day tasks. You will see more time and energy focusing on your vision and on the organization’s increased impact with the community at large and other stakeholders. Taking on more of a visionary role, you will be well positioned to offer the support and strength needed by your staff, and maybe even your community, in times of challenge, offering hope and direction while navigating the unknown.

While this is an abstract offering, Fatigued, I hope it helps you think in a way that activates some creativity. The bottom line is that while none of us on our own have the power to hold back the current unknowns and challenges, where we do have power is preparing ourselves in the most time- and cost-efficient way with a plan to increase both personal and group resilience – remaining vital, clear and grounded, and deepening and trusting the integrity of our connections and relationships.

How are you getting ready for the possible effects of our ongoing economic unpredictability, social unrest, and increases in resignations and retirements? What are you doing to strengthen the internal structure of your organization? How are you encouraging or guiding your staff to cultivate resilience? These are the questions I would offer to any leader looking ahead to the next few years. Those who take the time now to build resilience and strong bonds based on safety and trust will be the ones who not only survive, but thrive.

While spending time reinforcing your foundation, keep aiming high,

Joe

Learn more about Joe Weston and his work here. Make sure to c heck out Joe’s bestselling book Fierce Civility: Transforming our Global Culture from Polarization to Lasting Peace, published March 2023.

To Ask Joe, please submit questions to: AskJoe@Fulcrum.us.

Read More

Is Bombing Iran Deja Vu All Over Again?

The B-2 "Spirit" Stealth Bomber flys over the 136th Rose Parade Presented By Honda on Jan. 1, 2025, in Pasadena, California. (Jerod Harris/Getty Images/TNS)

Jerod Harris/Getty Images/TNS)

Is Bombing Iran Deja Vu All Over Again?

After a short and successful war with Iraq, President George H.W. Bush claimed in 1991 that “the ghosts of Vietnam have been laid to rest beneath the sands of the Arabian desert.” Bush was referring to what was commonly called the “Vietnam syndrome.” The idea was that the Vietnam War had so scarred the American psyche that we forever lost confidence in American power.

The elder President Bush was partially right. The first Iraq war was certainly popular. And his successor, President Clinton, used American power — in the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere — with the general approval of the media and the public.

Keep ReadingShow less
Conspiratorial Thinking Isn’t Growing–Its Consequences Are
a close up of a typewriter with the word conspiracy on it

Conspiratorial Thinking Isn’t Growing–Its Consequences Are

The Comet Ping Pong Pizzagate shooting, the plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and a man’s livestreamed beheading of his father last year were all fueled by conspiracy theories. But while the headlines suggest that conspiratorial thinking is on the rise, this is not the case. Research points to no increase in conspiratorial thinking. Still, to a more dangerous reality: the conspiracies taking hold and being amplified by political ideologues are increasingly correlated with violence against particular groups. Fortunately, promising new research points to actions we can take to reduce conspiratorial thinking in communities across the US.

Some journalists claim that this is “a golden age of conspiracy theories,” and the public agrees. As of 2022, 59% of Americans think that people are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories today than 25 years ago, and 73% of Americans think conspiracy theories are “out of control.” Most blame this perceived increase on the role of social media and the internet.

Keep ReadingShow less
Why a College Degree No Longer Guarantees a Good Job
woman wearing academic cap and dress selective focus photography
Photo by MD Duran on Unsplash

Why a College Degree No Longer Guarantees a Good Job

A college education used to be considered, along with homeownership, one of the key pillars of the American Dream. Is that still the case? Recent experiences of college graduates seeking employment raise questions about whether a university diploma remains the best pathway to pursuing happiness, as it once was.

Consider the case of recent grad Lohanny Santo, whose TikTok video went viral with over 3.6 million “likes” as she broke down in tears and vented her frustration over her inability to find even a minimum wage job. That was despite her dual degrees from Pace University and her ability to speak three languages. John York, a 24-year-old with a master’s degree in math from New York University, writes that “it feels like I am screaming into the void with each application I am filling out.”

Keep ReadingShow less