Less is More

At the start of each summer, I am delighted by the abundance of the season—the light, the warmth, the produce, and the opportunities for fun. The goodness of the season inspires me to say “yes” to more than I probably should--yes to new projects, yes to travel, yes to team building, yes to fun, yes to most everything. By the time I get to September, I am usually ready for the routines of fall. Though so many new things seem to start in the fall, I find myself seriously contemplating the question—how will I embrace healthy rhythms in the months ahead? When I ask this question, I find that two conclusions typically emerge for me personally: I need to say ‘no’ to things that aren’t key priorities, and I need to protect a 24-hour period each week for gratitude and slowness.

Several years ago, I did an interview project with executive leaders. One particular conversation meandered toward the topic of how digital communication has changed the flow of the work and how this executive leader was working toward a culture of wellness in his organization. He reflected, “I realize that I set the tone for the organization. If I send emails at 11pm on Saturday night, it sets a standard—an expectation, for everyone. …Even if I’m just trying to get some things checked off my list, it still sends a message. If I want to create a culture of wellness, I need to be careful about the messages I’m sending through the way I do my own work.” This reflection was underscored on a later occasion when I received a non-urgent email from another executive leader at 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning, desiring an immediate response back. The work of a leader is not just projects and vision--it is attending to the culture of the organization.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I put up a sign in my office that said, “Less is more.” In a time that felt particularly stressful, my hope was that my staff would think deeply about both our strategic goals and our holistic well-being so that we could serve our organization in health and effectiveness. As organizations praise a growth mindset, the idea of “more is more” is often an inadvertently communicated value. Growth, therein, is misunderstood; malnourished growth is not true growth. Health is essential to real growth and long-term sustainability.

So, as summer wraps up, it is a great time to take inventory—what are your most important endeavors for the fall? Which extra things can be eliminated in order to create more space and time for the truly important efforts? And how as a leader, can you give organizational permission—not just in words but in what you model—to embrace rhythms of wellness?

Below are some questions to guide your reflection as you prepare for the months ahead:

1. What are your three most important goals to work toward before the end of the
   calendar year?
2. What are two things that are taking up your time and resources, and that don’t
   need to be on your calendar this fall?
3. What is one wellness practice that would be healthy for you personally (and that
   would be good for your organization to have modeled)?