February 15, 2023
Making Joy a Priority
This past week I had the opportunity to represent the Alpha Rho Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi at the Extension Leadership Conference in Kansas City. Our capnote speaker was Dr. Hannah Carter from the University of Maine. The biggest takeaway from her message for me was “making joy a priority at work.” Do you ever think of your job as joyous? We all have those days that are not great, yet there is still good that comes from each and every day! Does your job bring you joy? Better yet, take a moment to think about what it is that brings you joy in all aspects of your life. I hope that there are aspects of your job that bring you joy every day. The joy in my job includes working with each one of you in some capacity. We are all working towards the same goal of developing tomorrow’s leaders through positive youth development.
During her presentation, Dr. Carter discussed how joy, in any team setting, comes from a combination of harmony, impact, and acknowledgment. In this instance, harmony is when each team member has a specific role, knows the role, and owns the role in achieving a goal. “When the diverse strengths and skills of everyone on a team are clicking, it feels great.” Impact is when a team is harmoniously getting things done. When accomplishments are made towards the common goal, it fuels joy. Finally, acknowledgment is when coaches acknowledge each member’s contribution, and the teammates cheer each other on.
Do you believe the work you do for the people of Kansas is meaningful work? Joy stems from your beliefs. Feeling joy provides confirmation that you are doing what you should be doing. So, let me ask the question again, does your job bring you joy? Let’s strive to work in harmony, which will lead to impact, and acknowledge the contributions and cheer each other on as we work “To Make the Best Better” for Kansans.
Note: Dr. Carter cited the following resource in her presentation, Alex Liu, Harvard Business Review, July 2019.