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Everybody craves impact. We all want our work to matter. When we ask people, "What is the work experience like when you're working hard but yet you're strangely underutilized?" Or maybe You're doing work that isn't landing, that doesn't seem to have impact, where you feel like you're working hard but you're not getting anywhere or nobody sees or notices. People describe this state of work as frustrating, draining, demoralizing, and exhausting. Now when we ask people, "What is work like when you're doing work that matters, that's visible, that gets noticed?" You're using all of your skills and knowledge and capability and every IQ point. What people will say, it's totally exhilarating. It's fulfilling. It's energizing. It's impactful. The way that you work has really important implications for burnout, for our own burnout, for burnout that's happening inside of an organization. Studying how we think and how we operate can end up creating extraordinary differences in impact. And what that means is without working harder we can increase our impact and avoid burnout.

Let's follow Liz...

Everybody / craves / impact. // We all want / our work / to matter. / When we ask people, / "What is the work experience like / when you're working hard / but yet / you're strangely underutilized?" / Or maybe / You're doing work / that / isn't landing, / that doesn't seem / to have impact, / where you feel like / you're working hard / but you're not getting anywhere / or nobody sees / or notices. / People describe this / state of work / as frustrating, / draining, / demoralizing, / and exhausting. // Now when we ask people, / "What is work like when you're doing work / that matters, / that's visible, / that gets / noticed?" // You're using / all / of your skills / and knowledge / and capability / and every IQ point. // What people will say, / it's totally / exhilarating. / It's fulfilling. / It's energizing. / It's impactful. // The way that you work / has really important implications / for burnout, / for our own burnout, / for burnout that's happening inside of an organization. // Studying how we think / and how we operate / can end up / creating extraordinary differences / in impact. / And what that means / is without working harder / we can increase our impact / and avoid burnout. //

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The idea of impact players is a metaphor that I borrowed from sports. In the sports world, we all know who the impact players are. There are people who make this valuable contribution, but teams play better because they're on the team. They're the people we turn to in the high-stakes situation and the people we hand the ball to in the moments that matter. People we know are going to go out there and get the job done, but they're going to do it in a way that secures a win for the whole team. In my research, what I began to see is that the workplace has impact players as well. When situations are messy, ambiguous, uncertain, the impact players move toward it and they take charge of it. While the ordinary contributor tends to pull back and maybe even run from the chaos, the impact players dive into it. They dive into it much like a surfer when they see this kind of big oncoming wave instead retreating, they dive through that wave to get to the other side where there's play, where there's opportunity, where there's a chance to innovate.

Let's follow Liz...

The idea of impact players is a metaphor that I borrowed from sports. // In the sports world, / we all know / who the impact players are. / There are people / who make / this valuable contribution, / but teams / play better / because they're on the team. // They're the people we turn to / in the high-stakes situation / and the people / we hand the ball to / in the moments that matter./ People we know / are going to go out there / and get the job done, / but they're going to do it in a way that secures a win / for the whole team. // In my research, / what I began to see / is that / the workplace / has impact players / as well. / When situations are / messy, / ambiguous, / uncertain, / the impact players / move toward it / and they take charge of it. / While the ordinary contributor / tends to pull back / and maybe even / run from / the chaos, / the impact players / dive into it. / They dive into it / much like / a surfer / when they see this kind of big / oncoming wave / instead retreating, / they dive through that wave / to get to the other side where there's / play, / where there's opportunity, / where there's a chance to innovate. //