Leading Off: A leader’s guide to making work more enjoyable

ESSENTIALS FOR LEADERS AND THOSE THEY LEAD

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Brought to you by Alex Panas, global leader of industries, & Axel Karlsson, global leader of functional practices and growth platforms

Welcome to the latest edition of Leading Off. We hope you find our insights useful. Let us know what you think at Alex_Panas@McKinsey.com and Axel_Karlsson@McKinsey.com.

—Alex and Axel

It’s an old saying with many variations: “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” For leaders, this can mean getting satisfaction from their own work and helping employees find purpose and fulfillment. Bringing more enjoyment to the workplace can be an important element of human-centric leadership, which benefits an organization’s culture as well as its performance. This week, we look at how leaders can make work more engaging, fun, and rewarding for everyone.

A Big IDEA

An image linking to the web page “The value of generosity in leadership” on McKinsey.com.

Lead with generosity

Adopting a generous mindset is a key shift for leaders in today’s high-pressure workplace environment, where it’s no longer enough to focus on strategy or to have all of the answers. Leaders can be more effective when they give more of themselves to employees, according to McKinsey’s Brooke Weddle, Bryan Hancock, and Dana Maor. “This means sharing the most precious resources you have as a leader—time, experience, and wisdom—to foster a culture of collaboration, openness, empowerment, and care,” Maor says in an episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast. Weddle notes that generosity of leadership can take many forms, including giving constructive feedback and taking time to address employees’ development goals in a kind and purposeful way. Being more generous with employees also pays off for leaders themselves. “There’s a further benefit for you because we all get rewarded psychologically when we’re helping others,” Hancock says. “Generosity at work raises your happiness and your work satisfaction.”

A BIG NUMBER

8×

That’s how much more likely employees are to report burnout symptoms when they experience high levels of toxic workplace behavior, according to a global survey from the McKinsey Health Institute. McKinsey’s Barbara Jeffery, Erica Coe, Kana Enomoto, and their coauthors note that toxic behaviors pose a major challenge to leaders, as workers experiencing burnout symptoms are six times more likely to report their intention to leave their employers within three to six months.

A QUOTE

“People are on a journey, moving to a place where they may no longer do the easy tasks at work. Humans will be doing the challenging work, the fun work, and the interesting work.”

That’s McKinsey Senior Partner Aaron De Smet on how gen AI and other technological innovations can enable employees to focus on doing harder but more enjoyable work—that is, work that relies on skills such as judgment, creativity, and collaboration. This trend applies to employees across industries and roles: not only tech workers but also healthcare workers, educators, middle managers, and others. “As work becomes more innovative and collaborative, organizations can be more proactive in attracting and retaining the best people,” De Smet says.

A SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

An image linking to the web page “Get in the race” on McKinsey.com.

People who find ways to break out of their comfort zone, or “competency trap,” can reinvigorate their careers. Media executive and journalist Gwendolyn Bounds found her escape in obstacle course racing. “I, too, was caught in a competency trap,” she says in an Author Talks interview. Bounds chronicles her experience in Not Too Late: The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age. “I was in a cycle of sameness and leaning into work—and into the ways that I worked—very heavily.” Based on her own experience and her research, Bounds observes that taking on bold new challenges in life can help people in many ways, including making them more focused and successful at work. “Daily we mull over so many things, such as, ‘Did I nail that presentation?’ ‘That colleague said that really annoying thing to me at work.’ ‘Are we actually going to ever have an IPO?’” According to Bounds, “You can’t think about that when you are breathing at your limit and trying to climb a 17-foot rope while someone is chasing you.”

TWO BOSSES WALK INTO A BAR…

An image linking to the web page “Somebody tell a joke” on McKinsey.com.

Humor in the workplace can be risky business—but good business when it’s done right. Joking around at work has a real ROI, according to Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty members Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas. In their research, the authors of Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life found that leaders with a sense of humor are 27 percent more motivating and inspiring, and employees who work with them are 15 percent more engaged. What’s more, these leaders’ teams are twice as creative. Bagdonas adds that knowing when to use humor in the workplace is not always about getting laughs. “It’s about being human and more connected to our colleagues,” she says. “It’s not about what I say and whether people think I’m funny; it’s about how a joke will make people feel when it lands on them.”

Lead by making the work experience better for all.

— Edited by Eric Quiñones, senior editor, New York

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Lead with generosity﻿

“People are on a journey, moving to a place where they may no longer do the easy tasks at work. Humans will be doing the challenging work, the fun work, and the interesting work.”

Lead with generosity