We’ve spent thirty years with leaders around the world, and we’ve never met one who wanted to be a jerk. Nobody grows up hoping to exhaust the people around them.
It comes down to a fundamental truth: People want to be great.
Being great isn’t about winning at any cost, it’s about contributing in ways that are meaningful. People want to know that what they do, and who they are, adds value to something larger than a paycheck. We are born with this instinct to be acknowledged, seen, heard, celebrated.
Wanting to be great and acting great are two different things. When someone shows up disengaged, or worse, working against their own team, it’s rarely their character. It’s their environment. And the research keeps pointing to:
- Their relationship with their boss.
- Their relationship with their peers.
A leader and colleague can inspire, but can still show up in a way that exhausts everyone in their circle. There is a fine line between leading in a way that takes advantage of people’s willingness to give their all, and leading in a way that creates the conditions for their people to bring out their greatness.
Being great sometimes means the extra hour, the overtime, more hustle. Fair enough. But there’s a point where giving becomes depleting, where a person pours everything into work, leaving only their leftover energy for home, family, their community.
So we want to be great,but at what cost? Being great at work is never supposed to cost people their lives, their joy, their fulfillment.
A leader’s job is to create the conditions where greatness comes out, then move energy forward in a way that builds people up instead of burning them out. We call that regenerative leadership.
The energy your people spend should generate more than it drains. Not catabolic energy; instead, lead in a way that generates anabolic energy.
When people feel valued and fulfilled, they give back clarity, resourcefulness, and their very best performance. And they end the day with more energy and less stress than when they started.
It’s a win/win.
Lead so your people thrive at work and at home.
A leader who protects their people’s energy never has to choose between their wellbeing and the results.
What could your team give if they ended each day with more energy than when they started? Verus Global partners with senior leaders to build cultures where people thrive and performance follows, at home and at work.