An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Prioritize tasks and set achievable goals to prevent overwhelm. Offer clear guidance on expectations and responsibilities. Be approachable and actively listen to employees’ concerns.
In today’s high-pressure business landscape, burnout has become an epidemic affecting both employees and leaders. The question is — how can companies create workplace cultures that prioritize well-being without compromising performance? To dive into this important topic, we are interviewing Beth Williams.
Beth Williams has been a leader in the leadership development and organisational consulting industry since 1997. As Head of the North America division at Primeast, a global consulting firm established in 1987, she leads a team of 30 associate consultants, facilitators, and coaches while leveraging a worldwide network of 75 experts across 24 countries for international projects.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I started my career in the Newspaper Advertising business and rose up into management at a fairly young age. While in my early 30’s as the Classified Director at a Newspaper Advertising Representative firm I was doing a lot of training and coaching of the Newspapers sales staff, which I really enjoyed! In my role I was asked to gather all the classified directors at the major market newspapers around the US to meet with Monster.com to explore a partnership. When one of those Classified Directors declared; “ Ah, Beth this Internet thing is just a fad”. I knew I needed to consider getting out of the Newspaper industry.
So, I began considering what my next move might be. I loved developing the staff at the Newspapers, training and coaching. Supporting the Newspapers to make change. Professional development Coaching was just beginning to be talked about in the development world. I began to explore that and met a change management consultant who would later become my business partner! We eventually started a Leadership development and change management consultancy! The rest is history!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
You know I want to go back a bit…..because it was an early story that I feel has had such a positive and pervasive impact on my career. I was in my late 20’s and I was recruited to become the Eastern Classified Manager at KRNS Knight Ridder Newspapers Sales in NYC the corporate headquarters. I would have to report directly to the CEO of KRNS because the Classified Director had just left the firm. After about 4 or 5 months in the role it was clear to me that they were not going to hire the director and that the other 3 Managers across the country relied on me to tell them what was going on and that the CEO often relied on me to funnel information to the other 3 Managers. This could have been and at times was a bit of a tightrope to walk on. The CEO could be an intimidating man in the corner office who many waited to get an audience with including me.
Over time John (CEO) became my very best mentor and teacher. I had been thrust into a Manager of people position without the title or authority. I was in a leadership role at a very young age with people that were older and had more tenure in the business than me. I learned so much from this experience about how to lead people. It was a highly visible position with lots of travel all over the country visiting our newspapers. It was in this situation that I learned that a title and authority don’t make a leader. Sure, it definitely helps to have these. But these things don’t make a leader. It was the emotional intelligence skills I honed on the job and the values that I’m about to share with you including the perseverance to do anything I put my mind to that made all the difference in my ability to leverage this opportunity for my greatest growth! It was also taking advantage of the coaching this tough but caring CEO always had for me.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Integrity: Stories of integrity are so numerous they happen on a daily basis. Small instances and larger situations. But I can recall a time when I was working in the Newspaper representative business, and we were making some tough decisions to phase out the classified division of the company. I was told by more senior leaders not to tell my clients that we were going to be doing this but also, I should no longer serve them. This request would put me out of integrity with my customers but might cost me my job if I told them what we were up to. I instead, choose to effectively communicate with my customers why we were taking this action and what they could expect of me in the future. I was able to stay in personal integrity with them and serve my company at the same time.
Service: Again, these characteristics are so fundamental to everything I do. Service is at the very heart of what we do for our clients and our colleagues. Being willing to do what must be done to make something work without blame or fault finding. I member a time when one of our clients accidently scheduled the wrong training date for a three-day program, they had flown everyone into town for. They called me on a Monday morning, and I was just getting off a cruise ship from vacation. I was at their office that afternoon and working with them to figure out how we would make the programming work given what they had started that morning on their own and how I would pick it up, fix it up and make it all come together over the remaining two days!
Creativity: At Primeast we talk of pixie dust. We want our programming to have something in it that is memorable, that makes you think. Maybe something that surprises you! Something that takes you outside yourself! I apply this characteristic to doing the business and running the business. This is the characteristic that supports me in continuously responding to the changing marketplace. I think to myself “ok we have to learn this new system, or this new process so how can we do that in a fun and engaging way?” OR “how will I manage us through the pandemic when our work has fallen off by more then 60% and people are idle.”
Well, I conduct a Virtual instructor training program for all of my contract facilitators because when we come back from the pandemic, we’ll be doing more virtual delivery in the future, and they need to sharpen these skills. We’ll make it fun! And we did! The team stayed engaged together through a difficult time, they learned new skills and their bonds became even stronger! All good for business when it returned!
Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a pivotal moment in your career when you realized the importance of creating a burnout-free workplace culture?
You know I have to admit, I have a lot of energy and I’m a bit of a go, go , go person. But I’m also reflective. I remember about 10 years into running my own business when I just began to feel like the business was running me. I was strident, it wasn’t fun anymore and it was always fun! I was out of balance. So, I paused, I talked to my business partner, and I said I need to take a sabbatical. But you really can’t take a sabbatical from a young growing business, so I applied myself creatively and told myself I needed to work at half-mast. We worked it out and I started to work differently, to get more balance in my life. I made a list of all the things that brought me joy outside of work and began incorporating them back into my life with intention.
How did it influence your approach to leadership?
It made me appreciate how important balance is to effective leadership. When you are burned, out or even just out of balance, it is hard to be effective as a leader. I think you become short sighted, getting something done to get it off your palate. Responding to respond. Reacting.
What are some of the most common causes of burnout in today’s workplaces, and what signs should leaders look out for in their teams?
Taking on too much on, not delegating. Not establishing clear roles, responsibilities and norms on a team or when working on a project together. Not taking the time to effectively communicate, grow people and hold people accountable. You know technology is a wonderful thing and it has also crippled us. Just because we can do everything ourselves now through the use of technology does not mean we should. It actually requires us to be more articulate communicators and use our communication skills in more creative ways.
How do you personally balance the need to drive results with the need to ensure employee well-being?
I encourage open communication between team members and encourage them to back each other up so that tasks can be done by multiple people should they need to be. It’s especially important to encourage this open communication between the team in a virtual work environment. It can become too easy for everyone to talk to me and not to each other. So redirecting them to each other is something I find myself doing. I encourage them to think about who they need to speak to about the issue they are working on. When someone is out or needs some time off, I can flex with this as long as the work does not suffer. So, I expect them to think through and talk with their teammates to get coverage. If deadlines need to be renegotiated that can be done as well. Responsibility and proactivity are the keys here.
What role does communication play in creating a burnout-free workplace, and how can leaders foster open dialogue about mental health and work-life balance?
I always encourage my Team to take care of their health and wellbeing. I check in regarding workload and prioritizing. And because I bring these topics up with my team, they know they can bring the same up with me. I think communication is huge and it’s the key to making it work. Creating psychological safety so that people feel comfortable to openly share when they are feeling overwhelmed. Or when things in their personal lives may add to this stress.
What is your take on traditional corporate norms, like long working hours and “always-on” availability? Are these practices outdated, or do they still have a place in certain industries?
Today I think it’s about being responsible for your deliverables. It’s important to be very clear about what deliverables are in the employee’s overall Job description. What are their daily, weekly, monthly tasks and any on-going project deadlines they need to meet. These are the things they are responsible for. Work hours are established by location — which could be different depending on the person but there needs to be a time during the day when most people are on the job. Whatever your hours are should be known by the entire team and should be communicated up front. If you’re going to be out you’re expected to let the team know. There should always be a way to get you in an emergency and it should be established what an emergency is.
So, people should not have to be assumed to be always on. In fact we should assume they are off and give them the space unless there is an emergency. I tell my team that just because I may email you off hours does not mean I expect you to return an email right away. We make ways of working part of our regular meeting discussions to socialize our norms for how we work together.
We also set the expectation that we will use the technology that supports us in managing our time and norms. For example, when someone is out for any length of time, they need to use their out of office feature on outlook to communicate that to everyone. Another expectation is that if you are emailing clients after their hours use the delayed option for sending emails out the next business day.
We’re a global company so be cognizant that clients and colleagues are on different time zones and clarify this when setting up meetings. We are also a service business so I think it’s important to realize that our clients may have different needs and as we work with them, we can clarify a set of norms for our working relationship.
Ok, let’s dig into actionable strategies. Based on your experience and research, can you share “5 Ways to Build a Burnout-Free Workplace Culture”? If you can, please include examples or stories for each.
- Check in regularly with your team to find out how they are doing — Ask open ended questions so you can get them talking and sharing. Foster a supportive work environment. I hold a weekly team meeting, and I have short one-on -ones with my direct reports each week, if we agree we don’t need one we don’t have it
- Foster teamwork and mutual support to reduce individual burdens. We standardize our end to end client engagement process so various team members can jump in and support as needed.
- Encourage people to take their vacation and break times. Encourage employees to take breaks, stretch, and step away from screens. When we have virtual meetings that last more than an hour we will take a stretch break.
- Prioritize tasks and set achievable goals to prevent overwhelm. Offer clear guidance on expectations and responsibilities. Be approachable and actively listen to employees’ concerns.
- Model the way. Show vulnerability and acknowledge when you feel stressed to normalize discussions on burnout. I will sometimes just share/state that I’m frustrated with an issue or I’m having a particularly stressful day and ask them to excuse my low energy. So I make it ok for them to do the same
- Consider when it might be time to redistribute work tasks or hire additional resources. I will weave this consideration into our discussions. Recently I said to one of my direct reports that as the account grows, we may need to look for additional program management support. So, they know it’s something to bring to me when they feel we need it.
- Recognize and celebrate the work people are doing and the contribution it’s making to the business. We do this at our weekly meeting. We found something to celebrate from the work we did the week prior.
What do you say to skeptics who believe that creating a burnout-free culture may come at the cost of productivity or profits?
I share my experience, I think it is the opposite, when people don’t take care of themselves, they are out and away from the job more — with more sick time and absenteeism.
Can you share a real-world example of a team or organization where prioritizing employee well-being led to unexpected or exceptional results?
Well-being is one of Primeast’s Values and I think we do this by weaving fun, real care and exercise into the work we do together. Leaders will often be seen taking walks with each other in the middle of the day. To get outside, get some air and a fresh perspective.
We have done charity work together as a team. All of this has helped to shape a culture of Well-being. We have a What’sApp channel where we share more about our personal lives. Co-workers ask about your life and care for each other. It’s the norm of caring for each other that I think goes the longest way to creating a culture of well-being. The exceptional results this creates is a group of people that serve each other and their clients in unexpected and exceptional ways!
How can leaders in high-pressure industries (like tech, finance, or healthcare) realistically apply these principles without falling behind on deadlines or performance goals?
Yes, I think they can. It will take an even greater conscious effort to do the things I’ve listed above with intention. To weave them into meetings and informal communications.
What trends or innovations are you seeing in workplace well-being and culture that excite you the most?
I see more employee satisfaction surveys and well-being reviews. More gyms and meditation rooms are being added to corporate sites.
In your opinion, how does a burnout-free culture impact a company’s long-term success, its relationships with employees, and even its customers?
When people are energetic, healthy, happy and whole, feeling good about the work they do and how they do it then they will in turn form better relationships with their teammates and customers.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement to help more companies embrace burnout-free workplace cultures, what would it be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Stamp Out Burn Out — Create Happy Whole Workplaces where your people can thrive!
How can our readers further follow you online?
They can follow me and my team at https://primeast.com.
They can also follow our Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/76733525
This was great. Thank you so much for the time you spent sharing with us.
Beth Williams Of Primeast On How The World’s Best Leaders Build Burnout-Free Workplace Cultures was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.