The emotion of joy is defined as ‘a feeling of great pleasure and happiness’.
When was the last time you felt delighted to be starting your working day or blissfully happy about cracking on with a new project?
Richard Sheridan’s book, Chief Joy Officer (How great leaders elevate human energy and eliminate fear) describes how leaders can cultivate an environment where optimism and joy can thrive.
And with so many organisations reshaping their ways of working, we have an opportunity to introduce principles and processes that lead to happy people and joyful teams.
If you’re a leader there are some effective things you can do to generate joy by embracing a model in which people have a real sense of purpose, take responsibility, learn from each other, continually improve and enjoy what they do.
Our latest infographic explores how…
Great leaders inspire.
They build others up, unleash potential and bring lasting joy.
They ignore hierarchy and bureaucracy and care about creativity and personal authenticity.
As a leader, you can make more of an impact on others and bring a renewed sense of purpose and joy to work by following these key principles.
Joyful leaders are:
- Authentic
- Humble
- Loving
- Optimistic
- Visionary
- Grounded in reality
- Servant leaders
How to build a culture of joyful leadership
Start with purpose
Pursue systems, processes, plans, and practices with a clear purpose that answers two questions: Who do you serve? What would delight look like for them?
Value leaders, not bosses
Bosses tell you what to do using the authority of their position. Leaders influence and motivate at every level enabling people to feel free to explore, experiment and create.
Pursue systems, not bureaucracy
System thinkers consider how things can be made simpler or how work can be better allocated and monitored. Simple systems that reward desired behaviours help create a joyful culture.
Care for the team
Everyone has a life outside of work which impacts their wellbeing. Support the whole person, not just the employee. Look out for one another’s interests rather than your own.
Learn together
Establish habits like reading within teams to generate excitement and imagination. Let people teach each other by pairing them up and create a business where people love expanding horizons.
Become storytellers
Learning to capture and curate stories helps to build and maintain a joyful culture in ways that PowerPoint slides cannot. Be alert to the stories as they happen, catch the richness of the details that make them interesting.
Building a joyous culture requires effort.
Practice servant leadership, foster inquisitiveness, mentor compassionately, think holistically and take chances on people to create workplaces people love!
Content from the brilliant book, Chief Joy Officer by Richard Sheridan