The Stoic test says control what you can and let go of what you can't, but this piece quietly files organizational choices under the uncontrollable column right alongside tariffs and wars. Nobody legislates anticipatory compliance or unnecessary status meetings into existence. Those are decisions, not weather. Asking a team to find joy while the actual controllable sources of dread go untouched treats a design choice as a force of nature, which is the one move the Stoics would have called out first.
You’re right. These are different groups of what you can actually control. And yes, as a leader, you have a responsibility to understand and execute on what you can do to improve the core fundamentals of your operation.
And if you’ve done a lot of that work, you might still find a that injecting more joy can help your team feel that much more energized.
The Stoic test says control what you can and let go of what you can't, but this piece quietly files organizational choices under the uncontrollable column right alongside tariffs and wars. Nobody legislates anticipatory compliance or unnecessary status meetings into existence. Those are decisions, not weather. Asking a team to find joy while the actual controllable sources of dread go untouched treats a design choice as a force of nature, which is the one move the Stoics would have called out first.
What a brilliant observation.
You’re right. These are different groups of what you can actually control. And yes, as a leader, you have a responsibility to understand and execute on what you can do to improve the core fundamentals of your operation.
And if you’ve done a lot of that work, you might still find a that injecting more joy can help your team feel that much more energized.
1:1 deep conversation; comedy; excellent food/drink; exploring new places; playing with my kids outside and seeing them laugh!