There’s been a huge rise in organisational wellbeing initiatives, to address increasing burnout and the mental health of staff. But there’s also an unconscious bias which is silently stifling this noble intention. Let’s call it the ‘At Any Cost’ bias.
We all know people who are ultra-competitive, driven, conscientious or ambitious and who often feel insecure about themselves. They might even believe this gives them the edge in their work and life.
Can you relate?
They are the same people who always go the extra mile (or ten) to get the job done. They work late most nights. They often work on the weekends even when they’ve promised themselves or others that they are switching off. They open work emails at midnight – the phone is near the bed just incase. They often feel guilty that they’re not doing enough or they worry about their people taking on too much, so they do it themselves.
Perhaps you love these doers. You can always give them more work than everyone else because they never say no. You can rely on them to do whatever it takes.You might be thinking ‘what’s the problem?’. The real cost is the problem.
Insecure thoughts and feelings lead us to push ourselves at the expense of our health and wellbeing. We give up family time, rest time, social time, hobbies ….we do whatever it takes to make the grade. Those feelings might come from old beliefs based on past experiences.
For example, I wasn’t academically gifted at school, so I had to work way harder than others. As a teenager I decided ‘I’m not smart enough’ and this idea stayed with me for a long time. It still rears it’s head now and again, except now I know that it’s a mind-generated idea so I don’t give it my attention.
Dan is a senior manager who started his career believing that ‘working long hours = working well’ and ‘leaving on time = not really committed’. When a colleague called him on it, he realised he’d taken on some of his father’s beliefs and behaviour. On realising these were Thought not facts, it no longer made sense to think that way anymore.
As leaders and managers, what if we are fanning those insecurity fires, rather than putting them out?
What if we’re inadvertently helping to ignite a potential inferno that for some, will lead to burnout. Too many organisations lose fantastic people because they believe they’re not cut out for the work, when all they needed was a different relationship to their work…a different psychological perspective.
From At any cost to.. What’s the real cost here?
If you believe that it’s possible for people to be brilliant at their job and go the extra mile, without sabotaging their health, wellbeing and personal life, then as leaders, we have to be really honest with ourselves.
How are you encouraging an ‘at any cost’ way of thinking in terms of how you lead and work?
Are you prioritising productivity and profit over presence and perspective?
Are your reward systems, targets or KPI’s, set up to drive ‘at any cost‘ attitudes and therefore behaviour?
In relation to the above, what kind of visible example are you or your fellow leaders setting for your team / people? For example, in what ways are you prioritising your own wellbeing?
If we bring attention to this bias, we can be brilliant without burning out. So how do we get that done?
1. Get insight into the psycho-spiritual system: This begins with a recognition that all emotions, perceptions and behaviour (decisions, responses, actions) are a direct reflection of our understanding of the mind. And what makes it tricky is that most of our thinking is invisible as well as habitual – and this includes our biases. Just like the car dashboard is indicating what’s happening inside the engine, our emotional state is indicating what’s happening inside our Thought system.
When feelings of anxiety, insecurity or stress arise, they are a direct result of the power of Thought in the moment. We think we are responding to a circumstance (person, event, situation), we are always perceiving, feeling and responding to the projections of our own minds. Our innocent confusion between cause and effect creates a mountain of mental interference which compromises our clarity and drives unhealthy behaviour. To learn more about this, check out this book by Chantal Burns.
2. Speak up: We need to encourage honest conversations that reflect reality, and create a culture where people feel free and safe to speak their minds and that includes setting clearer boundaries. If you’re not doing that for yourself, you can’t expect others to feel safe doing it either.
Achieving world-class results may look like it comes from the attitude of ‘whatever it takes’ or ‘at any cost’ but it doesn’t. World-class work is more easily achieved from a free mind….where you are thinking clearly, where actions are taken and decisions are made from a place of wisdom, compassion and perspective, not fear and insecurity.
As leaders, it’s our responsibility to encourage and uncover people’s natural wisdom and wellbeing because this is the true foundation for a healthy, resilient and sustainable workforce and society.
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