Scott Rutherford is an Associate Professor and the Executive Director of the Weider Foundation Leadership Development Lab at the Rotman School of Management. Prior to this, Scott was the Practice Expert on Leadership Mindsets and Capabilities at McKinsey & Company. Today’s discussion dives into the differences between happiness and joy, and why it’s important to focus and pursue joy instead of happiness. With so many leaders in very rewarding and prestigious positions, why is it that they’re so unhappy? Scott weighs in!
Key Takeaways:
Scott shares the difference between chasing happiness and chasing joy. Happiness is temporary, but joy is a much deeper feeling. It is a mood. We want independence, autonomy, and freedom. We are granted those things by working fulfilling jobs, but as we climb up the ladder to continue to strive for these core desires, we end up moving further and further away from it as all of our free time gets consumed in the work. How can you keep a pulse on your joy? It comes to deliberate thinking on what brings you meaning in life and being present with where you are. Millennials want to do meaningful work and companies are noticing this. They see that in order to make their staff happy, they have to bring more to the table than just a paycheck. Leaders can encourage their staff to experience joy by asking them meaningful questions about why they like the work that they do. Joy is a very personal thing, so each person is going to answer uniquely. Take that in and encourage them to keep pursuing their joy.
Mentioned in This Episode:
All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior
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