Today’s tip is this:

Working less is not necessarily the cure or prevention for burnout.

That might seem like a strange or even harsh statement, but there’s a quote from Patrick Lencioni in his book The 6 Types of Working Genius that explains why this is:

“…the type of work that a person does turns out to be much more important in regard to burnout than the volume of work. Some people can work long hours over extended periods of time in their areas of joy and passion, while others can work relatively few hours but experience severe burnout because they are doing work that robs they of joy and passion. It follows logically then that a person who is experiencing the first signs of burnout will not find relief simply by reducing the time they spend at work, even though that is often what we prescribe for them. What they need to do is spend more time doing what feeds them.”

So if you seem to have lost your joy and passion in what you do or are experiencing signs of burnout, take some time to think through the things that you are doing and what drains you versus what energizes you. Find ways, at work or outside of work, to spend more time doing the things that energize you.

Today’s tip comes in the form of a quote from Patrick Lencioni:

“Everyone has to do things they don’t like. But if we put someone in a job that requires them to do a lot of what they hate doing, we’re not being smart.”- Patrick Lencioni

As leaders and co-workers, getting to know those who are on our team and how they are wired is important. Setting the people on our team up for success and fulfillment, will ultimately help the team as a whole to be stronger and more successful.

Today’s tip comes in the form of a quote from Patrick Lencioni:

“People who utilize their natural, God-given talents are much more fulfilled and successful than those who don’t”. - Patrick Lencioni

Working with who God created you to be is always a better path than fighting against it. I don’t imagine any of us want to be less successful or less fulfilled than we could be, but understanding how God created, wired, and shaped us is important to being able to reach the potential He placed in us. That comes from first knowing and understanding God, and then also taking time to get to know how He specifically created us. Understanding our personality tendencies, our spiritual gifting, and even our Working Geniuses among other things all give us insights into how God created, gifted, and equipped us to best serve Him and others.

Find a way to get to know God and yourself better today.

Today’s Tip is this:

Take time to figure out how God has created and shaped you.

The more we understand who God has created and designed us to be, the more we will be able to show love and grace toward ourselves and others. When we don’t understand how we are wired and gifted we can struggle with the expectations we have for ourselves or that we feel that others place on us. As we understand more of who God created us to be, we feel less guilt for the areas that are not our strengths and appreciate those people whose strengths and gifts complement our weaknesses. We can also give that same understanding to others because we understand that God has created and gifted us all in different ways.

There are lots of ways that you can figure out how God has created and shaped you. Always start and end with prayer and surround any other tools that you use with prayer as well asking God to give you wisdom and insight. Consider a personality assessment like Myers-Briggs or DISC or the many others out there if you’ve never done that. Look into what the Bible says about spiritual gifts and consider a study on that like SHAPE, PLACE or many others. There are many other tools out there that will give you insights into specifics about how you were created and wired including the Working Genius model and many more. Take some time to learn more about how God has wired you.