Chapter Thirteen - Constructive Joy: The Indispensible Twin To Hard Work - Hollie H. Hollister

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"Constructive Joy: The Indispensible Twin To Hard Work"

Hollie H. Hollister

H Cubed Group, LLC
Founder and Principal
HCubedGroup.com / hollie@hcubedgroup.com

“Every JOY is gain.

And gain is gain, however small.”

 Robert Browning

My clients and colleagues often jest that I trick them and their teams into creatively approaching their most dreaded tasks and/or daunting projects from a place of “constructive joy,” ranging from networking at business events, growing their leadership skillsets to hammering away at high-impact projects.

      No tricking involved. It’s a customized practice fitted to each individual, team and organization.

 

      While it may appear that constructive joy has always been embedded as a north star guiding my collaborative work, this is not so.

      In one of my past lives serving as a new marketing services manager and first-time supervisor at an international Fortune 500 company, I was tasked with rebuilding the marketing services department during turbulent times. With so much riding on my position, I put in grueling hours months at a stretch with disregard to my wellbeing.

      Fortunately, I had the foresight to go against the grain of the company culture and invest in hiring a leadership coach to help me navigate the interdepartmental warfare and unchartered terrain.

      Prophetically my leadership coach shared that each time a person burns out, it will take them substantially longer to come back. Regretfully it took me three times to trust this advice with every fiber of my being. The third time I walked to the very edge of burn out, I wasn’t sure I was going to come back.

      What I wished I had known as I entered the business world is that constructive joy is not a nice to have. It is an essential form of self-care and an indispensable twin to the work we are called to do.

A bit of warning…constructive joy is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. For example, it may look different to an introvert, extrovert, solo entrepreneur, leadership team and vary by industry type or if working from home, work office or in a hybrid work environment.

      Although there are hundreds of variations, the heart of this process involves teasing out each individual’s interests and passions (personal and professional) combined with drawing on their strengths.

 

      A core action step is to bake in the practice of constructive joy up front so that it becomes a key ingredient or component to help prevent or minimize depleting tasks or work environments.

 

Here’s a simple three-step exercise to jump-start your weekly constructive joy practice:

 

·        1)     List up to three recurring work tasks or events that regularly drain your energy.

·        2)     Select the one that feels the most draining.

·        3)     Brainstorm by yourself or with trusted colleagues how you could infuse one or more of your interests, passions and/or strengths so that it that would contribute to an uplifting or more energized work experience.

HOLLIE H. HOLLISTER

Hollie Hollister is a pragmatic visionary who aspires to combine the personal with the professional to bring fresh thinking, unique insights and holistic solutions that help heart-based small business owners grow their businesses and themselves (all without stifling who they are or selling their souls).

She has a talent for blending wisdom with “constructive joy” and creatively distilling it into guiding principles and simple, workable steps to help her clients, colleagues and friends reach their goals.

Specializing within the area of coaching and leadership development, Hollie has over 18 years’ experience working with organizational groups across diverse industries within the private, government and social sectors, including Fortune 500 companies.

     

Support services for heart-based small business owners to (re)discover and put into action their personal leadership practice include:

1) Kick-start strategic thinking sessions to identify and activate their core values.

2) Customized coaching and mentoring packages.

Hollie is active on LinkedIn and would welcome connecting there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holliehhollister/