All hands on deck!

When we’re faced with a huge challenge, it’s time for everyone to get busy and help out. We know we have hard work to do, but doing it together makes things go easier.

There’s a very special energy in aligning as a group!

And it works best when everybody jumps in, from the boss to the bottle washer. It’s a very democratic endeavor that way.

The problem, of course, is sustaining it over time. People need to recover from this intensity, whether it’s individually, as small groups, or even the larger group.

The last employer I worked for understood that projects had a certain lifecycle to them. At the beginning you’d do a lot of planning and organizing. Then came the core work of the project, and at the end there was a sprint to the finish line.

Some managers would forget that there was a time AFTER the finish line, of relaxing, recovering, cleaning up, and getting mentally prepared for the next project. Assigning people immediately to jump into the middle of another project was a sure recipe for burnout.

And when you work people that hard, they’re not going to be so excited to do the hard work next time. They’ll hold back, or maybe even leave.

This is a marathon, my friends. Sure, let’s all get together for the critical battles and do some good hard work. But then give ourselves time to recover.

I’ve developed a tool which helps leaders to assess how they’re doing on these foundational elements.? I’ll send you a customized report when you fill it out, giving you some feedback and ideas for where your attention might give the most powerful results.? Check it out! www.smallfish.us/mission