Ep#228 How to squeeze 30% more discretionary effort out of your team
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[00:00:00] Hi, everyone. My name's Dex Randall, and this is the Burnout to Leadership podcast, where I teach professional men to recover from burnout and get back to passion and reward at work.

[00:00:23] Hello, my friends. What we're going to talk about today is how to squeeze 30% more discretionary effort out of your team. And discretionary effort is the difference between compliance and commitment.

[00:00:37] Most organizations are running at 60 to 70% of available effort, and you can't mandate it or buy it with bonuses, or performance manage it into existence. So I've recruited six thinkers in this episode to each pull a different lever, and together they'll form a complete system.

[00:00:59] And I've practiced the skills that I'm going to talk about today myself in very low functioning teams where they were needed, and I can personally attest to the spectacular rise that's possible when you're deliberate about applying these skills. We're going to review at the end the Six-layer Discretionary Effort Stack just to review, with all the actions you can take to uplift your team's cohesion and performance.

[00:01:28] So let's get into it. We'll start with Shawn Achor. He is a Harvard researcher into happiness. He's written books like The Happiness Advantage and Before Happiness, and his core proposition is that happy brains are more productive brains, because there's this conventional formula that if you work hard, you'll create success, and when you're successful, you'll be happy.

[00:01:53] He contests that happiness fuels success, not the other way around. When people are positive, their brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, innovative, and productive. Sounds like a good start, right? So here are some of his key ideas.

[00:02:15] Obviously, we just mentioned the happiness success formula is reversed.

[00:02:19] Positivity precedes performance, it doesn't follow it.

[00:02:24] And here it is, right off the bat. Teams receiving frequent recognition and encouragement perform 31% better! More motivating than money. This is the discretionary effort that we're talking about today. Social cohesion is a terrific performance driver.

[00:02:43] The more team members socialize and interact face-to-face, the more engaged and energetic they will be. And team culture is a product of the leader more than anyone. It's your job to facilitate a culture within your team that outperforms. Even in an organization that itself is culturally not particularly inviting, you can do that.

[00:03:07] A positive tone and facial expression from a leader is literally contagious. It creates a ripple effect through the team.

[00:03:16] In his book, Big Potential, Shawn mentions a study showing that if you become happier, any friend within a one-mile radius would be 63% more likely to also become happier. I just love that somebody studied that.

[00:03:34] You might also have heard of the Losada Line, where a minimum ratio of 2.9 positive interactions per one negative interaction is needed for a corporate team to thrive.

[00:03:50] I'm talking to you, leaders. You have the power to effect this change and inspire higher performance in your team.

[00:03:56] Happiness can be broken into three components: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. And leaders really need to nurture all three to help their teams outperform. As Shawn says, every single relationship, business, and educational outcome improves when the brain is positive first.

[00:04:21] So I'm going to ask you this question. Ask yourself, in fact, this question at the beginning of every week. Do I believe my team's abilities can grow with effort? Am I conveying my belief in them in my daily words and actions? How am I affecting my team's results, and what can I offer them today to buoy up their mood?

[00:04:45] So that's Shawn Achor, Harvard happiness researcher. If you would like a primer on his work, his TED Talk, The Happy Secret to Better Work, has 16 million views on YouTube. Highly recommended

[00:04:58] So that's number one, Shawn Achor.

[00:04:59] Number two, Greg McKeown. He wrote Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, and in it he shares the idea that unclear teams are disengaged teams. When people don't know what matters most, they default to internal politics or personal agendas. Essentialism sharpens that vision, that unlocks the real core contribution they're capable of, and gives people permission, if you like, to do their best work. You can train on communication, and you can run 360s until you're blue in the face, but without crystal clear understanding of goals and roles, problems will fester and probably multiply.

[00:05:45] With accurate communication, people, teams, and organizations can fully mobilize and break through to the next level. The key leadership question, what will we say No to, reveals the real tensions and core trade-offs within the team.

[00:06:02] Essentialism isn't about doing less, actually, it's about doing what is essential so that everyone can operate at their highest point of contribution. Teams function so much better with one clear, quantifiable, overarching purpose, and it's your job as a leader to establish and hold that. And then when you do that, non-essential tasks can be removed, reducing burnout and redirecting energy towards the more meaningful work.

[00:06:33] As Greg himself says, "Simply put, when you invite people's best thinking and lead like a multiplier, your team will give you more, more discretionary effort, more mental and physical energy, and more of the fresh ideas critical for long-term success."

[00:06:51] My question for you on this:

[00:06:53] What's the critical priority for your team's mission right now? And what are you currently doing that doesn't serve that?

[00:07:02] So that's Greg McKeown.

[00:07:04] Now we move on to Dan Sullivan. You may know him as strategic coach. He wrote Who Not How and 10X Is Easier Than 2X. And his core idea is that people give discretionary effort when they're in their zone of genius. The leader's job then is to design a team where everyone is doing what energizes them, their unique ability.

[00:07:28] When people are operating at their strengths, discretionary effort flows quite naturally, and when they're not, as you've probably experienced, even compliance is hard to get.

[00:07:40] So Dan defines unique ability as the essence of what you love to do and do best. It's a superior ability other people notice and value, energizing both for you and the people around you, that keeps you improving without limit.

[00:08:00] So the Who Not How shift that he promotes is stop asking how do I get this done, and start asking who's the right person to own this, and that frees up energy across the whole team. When you stop spending time on non-productive energy-draining activities and channel everything into what energizes you, you harness the momentum of unique ability teamwork.

[00:08:26] In a team of any size, actually, the speed of the leader determines the speed of the pack.

[00:08:33] So treat your employees as an investment, not a cost. Now, clearly this strategy requires high-quality hiring for purpose, and it might also show you who isn't the best fit for your team, and we'll talk about this more in a minute.

[00:08:49] So here's the quote from Dan, "Unique ability is a superior ability that other people notice and value, that we love doing and we want to do as much as possible. It's energizing both for us and other people around us, and we keep getting better, never running out of possibilities for further improvement."

[00:09:11] My question for you: When you map out your team members, what activities energize each individual person? And what activities drain them? How much of this week's work was each person spending time in their zone of genius versus outside of it?

[00:09:34] If you want to check out Dan Sullivan's work, go to strategiccoach.com or read one of his books, Who Not How, or 10X Is Easier Than 2X.

[00:09:44] Then we move on to Timothy R. Clark. I c- really couldn't do this episode without talking about psychological safety, because that's such a huge driver of teamwork. So Timothy Clark wrote The Four Stages of Psychological Safety.

[00:09:58] It's a very short book, which I love, and it's a very practical book for people who haven't engaged with this work before. It's very simple to follow, and it's simple to take action on. Recommend it very highly.

[00:10:11] And what Timothy says is, "People only give of their best when it is emotionally safe to do so." A theme very much to the fore in the modern stress-loaded and insecure workplace. Applies to many of us and our teams.

[00:10:26] In particular, fear shuts down discretionary effort completely. It applies to you, it applies to your team, it applies to everyone. If you wonder why someone's underperforming, this is a great place to start a turnaround.

[00:10:42] Leaders must create environments where vulnerability is rewarded, not punished, what Clark calls a "culture of rewarded vulnerability".

[00:10:55] So he proposes four stages of psychological safety that he works through in the book.

[00:11:00] Stage one, Inclusion safety. The team accepts each member and grants them a shared identity.

[00:11:07] Stage two, Learner safety. Anyone feels safe to ask questions, experiment, and make mistakes.

[00:11:15] Stage three, Contributor safety. Each person feels safe to do their job and make a difference.

[00:11:25] And stage four, Challenger safety. Here's the sweet spot. Everyone feels safe to speak up, challenge the status quo without fear of retribution.

[00:11:36] So psychological safety unlocks this discretionary effort where people can contribute autonomously. They improve autonomously too. It's a massive incentive.

[00:11:49] Most teams do get stuck at stage two, and then they wonder why nobody's innovating, because they never built Contributor or Challenger safety So the leader's most challenging task here is to increase intellectual friction while decreasing social friction.

[00:12:09] When it becomes emotionally expensive for people to say what they think, that self-censoring instinct triggers and people shut down. They shut down learning, collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, and innovation, all the things they really need to succeed.

[00:12:30] If we don't cultivate a higher tolerance for candor, honesty, authenticity, we can't convince people to release their discretionary efforts.

[00:12:41] They're already hypervigilant to any threat, and some of the threat can come from us as leaders.

[00:12:48] So Clark's mantra for leaders is, "Lead as if you have no power."

[00:12:54] He further goes on to say, "When the environment nurtures psychological safety, there's an explosion of confidence, engagement, and performance." And I personally have very much found that to be true in a team dynamic.

[00:13:10] So my question for you: On a scale of one to four, Inclusion, Learner, Contributor, or Challenger, where is your team on those stages?

[00:13:20] It's okay, of course, if you're starting from one. Many leaders stay at one. I don't recommend judging yourself for that, especially if you've never been taught these skills, as most leaders haven't.

[00:13:34] But do start your team's growth today, and stronger results will in time be yours.

[00:13:40] But just ask yourself now about your team:

[00:13:43] Is anyone in your team self-censoring, walking on eggshells? When did someone last genuinely challenge a decision that you made, and how did you respond?

[00:13:56] That should give you a few pointers, and the remedies for that are in Timothy Clark's book.

[00:14:02] All right. The great Simon Sinek, let's Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last. They're his two seminal books in this area.

[00:14:12] His core idea is that purpose creates the intrinsic motivation that no bonus scheme can replicate. People give their discretionary efforts when they believe in why they're doing the work.

[00:14:26] Leaders who protect their people, building the circle of safety we just talked about a little bit, create loyalty and belonging that unlocks that effort.

[00:14:38] There's only two ways, aren't there, to influence behavior? We can either manipulate or inspire. Manipulation creates compliance, if you're lucky. Inspiration creates commitment, voluntary effort.

[00:14:52] And when employees belong, they won't be working hard for you, they'll be doing it for themselves. So hire people who are as passionate about your why as you are. Think Steve Jobs at Apple. The Circle of Safety is where leaders separate the security inside the team from the challenges outside of it.

[00:15:17] So we strip out the political aspect, and protect our team members from that. When people feel secure, they will give their discretionary effort, that extra creativity, care, and commitment that transforms merely adequate performance into excellence.

[00:15:37] The biology of this you probably know. Safety triggers oxytocin and serotonin. Yes, please. Threat and internal competition trigger cortisol. You cannot cortisol your way to discretionary effort!

[00:15:54] The point here is companies don't hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them. Because working hard for something we don't care about is called stress, working hard for something we love is called passion. That's from Simon. He says, "Leadership is not about being in charge, it's about taking care of those in your charge."

[00:16:23] You can possibly spot a theme emerging from me here.

[00:16:25] So my question to you here: Can every person on your team articulate why the work they're doing matters? You know, beyond their job description or their revenue target. And can you articulate that? Because it's not WHAT you do for your customer, it's WHY that matters to them.

[00:16:46] If you haven't watched Simon Sinek's TED Talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action, go for it. It's one of the most viewed TED Talks of all time. So that's Simon.

[00:16:59] We move on to, I couldn't make this episode without talking about Jim Collins. He wrote two books that are applicable here, Good to Great and Built to Last, about companies that have outperformed others in their industry for sustainably long periods through the way that they operate within, particularly around their people.

[00:17:19] So his core idea is that discretionary effort is a people-before-strategy problem. Before you even decide where you need to go as an organization or team, you need the right people on the bus and the wrong people off it. When the right people are in the right seats on the bus, you barely need to manage motivation at all. It's self-generating.

[00:17:44] Good to Great leaders first got the right people on the bus, and then they got the wrong people off the bus, and then they put the right people in the right seats, often by experimentation. And when they've done all of that, then they figure where to drive the bus. They can drive it almost anywhere within the Why.

[00:18:05] Because really, people are not your most important asset unless they're the right people.

[00:18:11] And a side note on that is letting the wrong people stay on the bus is unfair to the right people already sitting on the bus. Strong performers are intrinsically motivated and become quite frustrated when they're impeded by carrying the extra weight of non-performers.

[00:18:30] The Hedgehog Concept, people give maximum discretionary effort at the intersection of three things: what they're passionate about, what they can be best at, and what drives the organization's results.

[00:18:44] The Flywheel Effect, consistent pushes on the right things compound over time, bit like the stock market.

[00:18:51] Discretionary effort doesn't come from grand gestures or one-offs. It builds with steady momentum. And what Jim calls Level 5 Leadership, the leaders who got the most from their people weren't the most charismatic. They were marked by personal humility combined with fierce professional will. Look outwards to give credit, look in the mirror to take responsibility.

[00:19:19] He concludes that a big, hairy, audacious goal is a catalyst for team spirit. It grabs people and unifies effort around a clear finish line. So that's the clarity of goals that we talked about earlier on.

[00:19:33] Let me remind you what Jim says, "People are not your most important asset, the right people are."

[00:19:39] So my question for you: If you're honest, do you have the right people in the right seats on your bus?

[00:19:46] And where is someone carrying weight that isn't theirs to carry? And where is someone underutilized in a role that really doesn't let them shine?

[00:19:57] For more on Jim Collins, you can go to jimcollins.com where you can find his book, Good to Great, or his other book, Built to Last .

[00:20:06] So we've been hearing from some leaders a lot of theory and a lot of practice of great leadership, and when we put all of that together, we can build a Six-layer Discretionary Effort Stack.

[00:20:20] They're six frameworks that form an integrated system, and each layer enables the next or empowers the next. You can start anywhere in it, but for the most durable gains, you'll work on all six at some point.

[00:20:36] The first layer is Positivity by Shawn Achor. Am I creating an environment where people feel good?

[00:20:43] I'm going to put this in the show notes if you need to refer back to it.

[00:20:46] The second layer is Clear Direction, Greg McKeown. Do people know exactly what matters most?

[00:20:53] The third layer is Strengths, Dan Sullivan. Is everyone working in their unique ability?

[00:20:59] Fourth one is Safety, Timothy R. Clark. Can people speak up without fear?

[00:21:05] The fifth one is Purpose, Simon Sinek. Do people know why their work matters?

[00:21:11] And the sixth layer is Right People, Jim Collins. Are the right people in the right seats?

[00:21:19] ' Cause finally, when you're assembling or working with a team, you don't squeeze discretionary effort out of people, you create the conditions for them to choose to give it.

[00:21:33] So here's what I suggest you do next. Review the six-layer stack in the show notes, and honestly score your team in each layer out of 10.

[00:21:42] Some of this you're scoring your own contribution. Then pick the lowest score. This is where your 30%, or almost certainly more than 30%, is hiding. So take the layer which is the lowest score and work on that first. When you've succeeded with that one, you can move onto another layer.

[00:22:00] I would suggest you have a crack at all six layers, and really watch the revolution. And find out what a fun game it is to uplift your team together.

[00:22:09] That's what I've got for you today. Please do share this episode with any leader you know who needs to hear it. And subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and also send me your questions for future Q&A episodes if you would like to.

[00:22:26] Catch you next time!