At ADDO, we serve many of these kinds of businesses. Most of them have a corporate office and then many different geographically dispersed locations, with customer-facing workforces. Leaders in these corporate offices are working hard to inspire their frontline workers, and this is where we step in and help. We work to help them connect meaning to their work, even when it is hard—because serving the general public isn’t easy!

However, we are finding that there are two fields in particular who are struggling more than others to inspire their people: healthcare and education.

On the surface, this doesn’t make sense. Healthcare workers enter that industry to help people who are sick or hurting, and educators enter their field to make a difference in students’ lives. They are very clearly making a real-time impact, so why can’t they see it? Why are they so difficult to inspire?

It’s because they suffer from compassion fatigue.

Compassion fatigue is being worn down by constantly caring for the needs of others.

Though it existed before the pandemic, this fatigue has greatly intensified because of the lingering effects of COVID-19 on these groups of people and their jobs.

Even though we are three years removed from the first COVID cases, reports indicate that not just doctors and nurses are experiencing burnout, but every level of the healthcare workforce.

The same is true in education. Post-COVID burnout and anxiety are at an all-time high for teachers. One study found that U.S. teachers were 40 percent more likely to report anxiety symptoms than healthcare workers! You don’t need me to tell you that teachers are stressed.

So we know that healthcare workers and educators suffer from compassion fatigue, but other people are prone to this, as well. When employees are exhausted, they need inspiration. So what can you do to help?

One of the most important ways to inspire those struggling from compassion fatigue is to keep them focused on and connected to their mission. Here are three practical ways to encourage them:

1. Use the power of one:

‍If you ask people today how many people died in the Holocaust, most of them can’t tell you. But if you ask them if they have heard of Anne Frank, almost everyone would say yes. Data can be emotionally disconnected, so it’s important to tell individual stories that help confirm the impact of the work they are doing. It could be one student who was failing as a freshman and is now going to be the first member of his family to go to college. It could be one patient whose injury could have bound her to a wheelchair, but because of the skilled work of surgeons and care of doctors and nurses, she is walking and able to have a normal life. Leverage the power of one in your organization.

2. Shift the methods or the medium:

‍Mix up the mediums you are using to share stories with your team. Instead of the talking head at your weekly meeting, consider hiring a video team to capture a story to share with your team or hire a writer to find and share inspiring stories on a blog you can send out to your team. Another great thing about shifting the medium is that other forms of communication can also be shared with the people you serve!

3. Go back to the Why:

‍Ask your team members to tell you why they took this job in the first place. Remind them of their original desire to impact the lives of others. There are times when my wife gets frustrated because I don’t know where my keys are, and she always says, “Go back to the last place you remember having them.” We need to do the same thing when it comes to our passion: “When was the last time you had that passion?” It’s amazing how remembering when we were inspired in the past helps inspire us in the present.

Remembering when we were inspired in the past helps inspire us in the present.

If you’re in education, healthcare, or any other position suffering from compassion fatigue, thank you for reading, and thank you for the work you are doing. My hope is that you’ll be inspired to keep going. Your work matters, and you’re making a difference.

If you’re a leader working to inspire a team of people who are experiencing compassion fatigue, I’m so glad you’re reading. I hope you’ll work hard to inspire others. Be creative and help connect the work they are doing to something much bigger than themselves. You know their work matters, so remind them that they matter to you too.

Although I’m grateful for my degree and proud to be a college graduate, I can confidently say that I learned more from experiences outside of the classroom than from my academic work. It wasn’t that the academics weren’t important or challenging; it’s that the things most valuable to me now are the real-life leadership skills I learned from involvement in organizations working alongside others. There are some great books about habits that effective people embody, theories about laws of leadership, and even essential exchanges that leaders should make. But when you boil it all down, I believe the three most essential skills that every leader needs are communication, collaboration, and critical thinking.  

1) Communication:

In order to work well with a group of people, the lines of communication have to be open and clear. To communicate well, you need to have empathy for other people. Communication isn’t as much about what’s being said as what’s being heard. And you can’t downplay the importance of persuasion. If you want to get people behind a goal, you must convince people that it’s worth achieving in the first place.

Former President Gerald Ford once said that if he would have gone back to college he would have focused on two things: how to write and how to speak before an audience. President Ford understood that to be a leader, you must learn to communicate effectively.

2) Collaboration:

No project of significance can be completed alone.

My experiences in college helped me learn to work with people who think differently, believe differently, and work differently than I do. A team full of Kevins is a bad team, but if I can learn to work alongside a diverse group of people and leverage the unique strengths of individuals to achieve a common goal, we can accomplish anything. Some of my favorite colleagues are those with vastly different skill sets than me. When we can put aside our egos, our pride, and our desire to have complete control, it’s amazing what we can accomplish.

3) Critical Thinking:

Critical thinking is crucial to problem-solving and overcoming obstacles. Are you able to see what’s not working? Once you know, are you able to come up with new ideas and then persist until you’ve accomplished your mission? While it’s true that everyone has leadership potential, if you don’t possess the ability to think critically, your leadership will be limited.

While it’s true that everyone has leadership potential, if you don’t possess the ability to think critically, your leadership will be limited.

I’ve now been out of college for more than 15 years, and these three skills help me in any endeavor. They are the underpinning of Chick-fil-A Leader Academy, the leadership program we’ve co-created with Chick-fil-A. Don’t misunderstand me; there are certainly other philosophies and processes that matter in leadership, but these are the practical pieces every leader must master: communication, collaboration, and critical-thinking. Proficiency in these three areas will be the greatest contributors to your success and ability to succeed in any job, within any role, and at any organization.

No, really. Research suggests that all of us develop an opinion of another person in less time than it takes it to blink after that first glance.

How? We don’t know these people, and all we have to go on is how they look in that particular moment that we meet. Isn’t that shallow? Well, maybe, but it’s also just part of being human. We make opinions about other people based on the way they make us feel.

A person smiling will make us feel differently than a person grimacing.

A person with a relaxed posture will make us feel differently than a person who looks stiff and uncomfortable. A person who looks like they got ready for the day will make us feel differently than a person who looks like they just rolled out of bed.

First impressions aren’t the only decisions our minds make based on how we feel. In fact, many of our daily decisions come from our emotions. Some of you reading are starting to get defensive because you are logic-based, fact-confirmed decision makers. But even for those who don’t lead with their emotions, they still have a far greater impact than you might think.

Consider these questions:

Why do some people buy a particular brand of car that functionally does the same thing as a much less expensive car?

Why do people pay more for a shirt that has a particular logo on it?

Why do people eat food that they know is bad for them?

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In each of these scenarios, people make decisions based on what makes them feel good! That feeling may be pleasure, or it may be the perception that others will think highly of them. People want to feel good, and smart businesses capitalize on this truth. One way they do this is to invest intentionally in their marketing teams and to hire individuals gifted at helping them create narratives that will reach the hearts of their consumers. Research suggests that people are far more likely to buy a product based on how an ad made them feel than the actual product. So, creating better feelings can lead to bigger profits.

Creating better feelings can lead to bigger profits.

Former Vice President for Marketing at Chick-fil-A, Inc., David Salyers says: “Endearing is enduring.”

And this truth applies beyond a business proposition. When a politician endears themselves to their constituents, they are more likely to be reelected.

When you endear yourself to your neighbors, they will be more eager to help you when you need them.

When a principal endears herself to her teachers, they will embrace her new vision for the school more quickly.

In other words, when people like you, they are better to you.

I know what you might be thinking; how do I do this? How do I get people to like me? How can I practically endear myself to others?

Here are three practical ways:

1. Connect with people on a human level.

2. Show you genuinely care.

3. Practice a generous attitude toward others; one that is to add value, not extract value.

Maya Angelou said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Feelings matter.

They matter in our relationships.

They matter in our businesses.

They matter in our communities.

Don’t underestimate the power of feelings, and seek to endear yourself and your organization to others so you can leave a greater impact.

By June of 1979, they had dreamed up The Home Depot and opened its first two stores in Atlanta. Marcus and Blank were two very different personalities, but they worked together to achieve a common goal: “to provide [customers] with the products, services and knowledge they need to create the homes of their dreams.” They wanted to empower people to do home projects on their own, so they prioritized hiring skilled employees who could do more than just show a customer where a product was in the store—they could provide instruction on how to complete almost any home project!

Decades later, The Home Depot began to wander away from its core values and vision, so they hired Frank Blake as their new CEO to help right the ship. Shortly after he was given this new role, he flew down to have breakfast with founder Bernie Marcus to gain some wisdom and insight. Surprisingly, Marcus told him:

“I want you to remember this: You have a prominent role at Home Depot, but you do not have a significant role. The significant roles are held by the people who serve the customers every single day.”

In one simple statement, Marcus recounted the heartbeat behind The Home Depot’s original vision. In order to succeed as a business, they needed the most engaged, passionate, and competent front-facing employees. The Co-Founder believed those roles are more significant than the CEO’s to the success of the business.

OK, that’s a lot about Home Depot, but consider this question: Where does the magic of your organization happen? It might be the high school student taking orders at the counter at the fast food restaurant.

Maybe it’s the delivery driver bringing the package to the customer’s front door.

It could be the customer service representative answering the phone throughout the day to address every issue or question under the sun.

In your company, it might be the salesperson knocking on another door to get the product into another person’s hands.

For many medical providers, the front office assistant checking in patients for their appointments is critical to the patient experience.

I love leadership. I’ve written books for leaders, and I consult with C-level executives. I believe their roles are immensely important, but the best leaders understand, value, and place disproportionate value on the right people inside each organization.

Showing you value people can go a long way. John Templeton said, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.”

“It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” –John Templeton

When you have the right perspective, you don’t have to pretend the front-line employees in your organization are important—because you know they truly are. In fact, they are more important than you. Your job is to lead, train, and support them to serve your customers well.

Here’s my encouragement to you today: Align your focus as an organization on these pivotal moments, experiences, and interactions with your customers. In doing so, you’ll elevate the importance of those individuals who are crucial to customer experience.

But Dario would not tell you he sells clothing. If you ask him what he sells, he says, “I sell compliments and confidence.”

It’s catchy and compelling. He’s not pointing to the clothing he sells, but the impact that wearing his clothes will have on people.

Said another way, he isn’t selling the features of his product, he is selling the benefits.

This makes me think back on my first job, working in retail at Brookstone, a store in our local mall. Our initial training focused on the features of the products we were selling. So when we talked to our customers about Tempur-Pedic mattresses (one of the highest priced items we sold), I would highlight how the mattress foam was originally designed for NASA, that it provides pressure relief, and prevents motion transfer. All of these were true, but it didn’t help me sell many mattresses. One day one of my managers showed me the flaws of focusing on features. He explained how highlighting benefits for customers would improve my ability to sell.

The mattress will help you sleep better.

It will relieve pressure on joints. You will wake up more refreshed because you won’t feel your spouse tossing and turning at night!

Whether it’s clothing, mattresses, or anything else, if we want to sell effectively, we need to talk about benefits more than features. A feature is what a product does.

The benefit is what it does for you.

A feature of my book Inspired Every Day is that it is full of research-backed information on how to engineer inspiration in your daily life.

The benefit is that if you apply what you find in this book, you will wake up inspired every day.

A feature of our Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Program is that it is a highly engaging, video-driven curriculum.

The benefit of this program is that it’s easy for a teacher to facilitate, making it possible for them to make a big impact with less effort.

Because each of us have a desire to sound smart and credible, we often highlight features over benefits. This happens a lot in the world of technology. A group of engineers has worked tirelessly to create a new product, and they want to tell you all about how it functions. But in order to sell it, they need to emphasize how it will make your life easier, save you time, and help you move on to the next thing.

The more we are enamored by what we’ve created, the more we will emphasize the features rather than the benefits.

So here’s my advice to you today:

Whatever you’re selling, every time you share a feature, share a benefit as well.

When you’re recruiting a new team member, don’t just tell them about the job; highlight the benefits of working with your team.

When you’re encouraging your kids to eat healthy foods, don’t just tell them it’s good for their bodies; tell them it will help them run faster when they play tag with their friends!

When you’re raising money for your school, don’t just say the money is going toward books; say that the money is investing in the next generation of readers, thinkers, and leaders.

All of us are selling something. We will do it far more effectively when we clearly communicate the benefits!

I’m speaking to a group of 3,000 people next week, and I’m so excited. I’ve been asked multiple times if this will be the biggest group I have ever spoken to—and my response is that it’s not.

The biggest live audience I have ever spoken to was at my own college graduation . . . and all 12,000 people in attendance gave me a standing ovation. OK, you’re probably rolling your eyes right now. But I’m actually not sharing this to brag. I’m giving you this context because I want to confess something to you: Since my college commencement ceremony, I haven’t spoken to a group that big. I don’t know if and when I will ever speak to a group that large again. This might sound ridiculous, but I haven’t even hit 40, and I sometimes wonder if my biggest speech is behind me. And not only speeches, but what if the most fun projects and the biggest ideas are in the rearview mirror? If it’s true for me at my age, how much more prevalent might this feeling be for my friends in their 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.

I believe this feeling of decline isn’t something we should ignore or give in to. The feeling is rooted in something much deeper, and it’s where we find our worth.

Let me provide some context:

Arthur C. Brooks wrote an article about this phenomenon in The Atlantic. He calls it the Principle of Psychoprofessional Gravitation. He explains that when people reach their professional peak, they often suffer greatly when they begin to decline (whether real decline or perceived decline.) One of the best examples he uses to explain this principle is Olympic athletes. They dedicate their whole lives to train for a chance to compete to win the gold medal. They may even win many medals, but eventually, they age. Their bodies wear down, and they can’t compete at the same level they did when they were at their peak performance.

It’s likely our professional success is not based on our physical fitness. But the reality for all of us is that we will eventually decline. That decline isn’t devastating unless our identity is completely wrapped up in our professional performance. Regardless of industry, we won’t be at our peak performance forever. So what do we do?

Here’s the short answer:

Don’t base your self worth on your job.

It doesn’t matter who you are or how important your work is; you can’t let it define you. Because when it’s gone, you will be aimless.

If you’re ambitious, it’s likely you’ll need this reminder.

Who you are and why you exist is much bigger than your job.

When your professional life shifts, changes, slows, or even halts, you still have a purpose.

Here’s my encouragement to you today: Know who you are outside of your work. Define your purpose and make sure it is anchored in something deeper than yourself or your present circumstances.

Though I’m confident in the presentation I have prepared, it’s unlikely that what I share will be new or ground-breaking to every person in the audience. Chances are—if what I’m saying is true—most of them have heard some version of it before . . . and I’m OK with that.

The Hebrew word for teach is “alaph.” Translated it means to “become familiar with.” I’ve heard another leader say that in many contexts, the word really means to “relearn.”

Think about it this way: the role of a teacher is not always to explain a new idea. Many times, the role of a teacher is to articulate an old idea in a new way—a way that’s engaging, accessible, and applicable. But why do we need to be retaught old, good ideas over and over again in different ways?

Because we need to relearn them.

Most of the time, when we hear a good idea, we’ll consider it for a moment (or maybe a day if we’re really thinking about it), and then we’ll go about our daily lives and allow it to fall out of our brains. Because we don’t put the concepts we learn into practice, we forget them almost instantly! We need to learn new concepts in a way that will cause us to put them into practice and make them stick.

This is why Paul ends chapter four of his letter to the church in Philippi with this statement: “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things…”

Paul didn’t just want the early church to know how they should live, but he wanted them to practice these things. It’s not enough to know these things are true; practice shows you believe a good idea to be true.

Here’s my belief: Every single one of us has learned things that would make our lives better, but we aren’t putting them into practice. Maybe we need to do some relearning and then start implementing.

Do you need to relearn how to communicate with your coworker?

Do you need to relearn how to have high standards of quality control?

Do you need to relearn your spouse’s love language?

Do you need to relearn how to control your anger, by responding calmly to your toddler? (ouch).

Do you need to relearn ways to diffuse conflict over written communication?

Do you need to relearn how to set meaningful goals for your personal and professional life?

It’s likely you don’t need some new approach, you just need to relearn and implement what you’ve learned in the past.

Don’t dismiss that old idea or the tried and true approach. Pick up the old book.

Listen to the old message.

Go back to that process from a few years ago.

Relearn and apply. This is the way.

Most people are actively chasing this often fleeting feeling in their personal relationships, in their jobs, and in the nitty-gritty of their daily lives. Not convinced of the happiness obsession? Check out the self-help section of the bookstore. Here are just a few titles from a quick search on Amazon: The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life, The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living, The Art of Happiness, and Stumbling on Happiness.

People have been pursuing happiness since the beginning of time, but recent studies are shedding light on its negative effects. On a recent commute to work, I heard the morning host say, “The quest for happiness always leads to misery.”

At first, it sounded a little harsh, but as I mulled it over in I-75 traffic, I realized it was true. The people I know who spend the most time working to make themselves happier are the least happy people I know. The people fixated on this elusive, evasive thing called “happiness” are often miserable.

Former Formula 1 race car driver Alex Dias Ribeiro wrote, “Unhappy is he whose success is to be happy.”

Unhappy is he whose success is to be happy. – Alex Dias Ribeiro

In other words, if your primary goal is happiness, you will never be happy.

But I have good news for you (and for me). There is actually a time-tested formula to be happy. Instead of pursuing happiness, make it your goal to serve others. To add value. Pour out your life for another person.

Jesus told his followers that it’s “more blessed” to give than to receive.

What does more blessed even mean? It turns out that when you give, you have more joy and you experience greater happiness.

So if we want to be happier, we should stop thinking about how to make ourselves happy. Instead, consider how we might encourage another person, make their day, or at the very least, make them smile! Choose to pursue the happiness (and ultimate good) of others in your life today. I believe you’ll feel more satisfied and happy in this pursuit than you ever would focusing on yourself.

But financial capital is just one of the many types of capital.

There’s manufactured capital, which for a company could be buildings, technology, tools, machines, and even systems in place to help run the business.

Intellectual capital is a person’s knowledge, competencies, or even expertise based on their education or unique set of experiences. Human capital is the collective group of people in an organization and the strengths and skills they bring to the table. And yes, there are even more types of capital!

But today, I am going to talk about social capital.

Your social capital are the meaningful connections you’ve made with people in your personal and professional life. This might sound simple and superficial, but these connections are vital to our success. And social capital isn’t just important for someone in sales. Author Tim Sanders famously said,

“Your network is your net worth.”

To be clear, your social capital is not reflected in the stack of random business cards you have accumulated on your desk from people you’ve met once at different conferences throughout your career. Your social capital is more accurately reflected by the group of individuals you can pick up the phone and call if you need something.

We could all use more of that, right?

So how do we go about that? Creating meaningful connections looks a lot like building friendships. Zig Ziglar said, “If you go out looking for friends, you're going to find they are very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere.” If you’re trying to build social capital with a self-centered mentality (What can this person do for me?), you’ll find your network crumbles quickly. However, if you set out with the hope to help, encourage, and invest in others, you’ll find it much easier (and more enjoyable) to build and maintain relationships.

With this in mind, here are five strategies to help you build your social capital:

‍1. Set aside time to connect.

‍Building social capital takes intentionality and thought. Consider who you would like to get to know and take the first step: pick up the phone, schedule the meeting, offer to take them to lunch. And after your first meeting, follow up. Find ways to keep the conversation going and remind yourself to do so. Taking the time to make these touchpoints will help deepen each connection.‍

2. Build your network before you need it.

‍You don’t have to be in the prime of your career (or even know what you’ll be doing in the next five years) to have a robust network. Start as early as you can. If there are any high schoolers reading (thank you!) and start building your network now! Get to know people you admire, ask them good questions, and take their good advice. You never know how they could be in your corner (and you could be in theirs) in the future.

‍3. Form relationships with others outside of your industry and sphere of influence.

‍Get to know other people whose lives look different than yours. Learn from leaders in other industries and glean insights from people you wouldn’t normally rub shoulders with. These connections might be more difficult to initiate, so be intentional when you run into someone different from you that you want to get to know.

‍4. Establish credibility.

‍Be the kind of person others trust to get things done. The best way to be credible is to keep your commitments. Do what you say you’re going to do. Be reliable, and ultimately, trustworthy. Proving your credibility in these relationships will be the most important factor in maintaining them and making them mutually beneficial for years to come.

The best way to be credible is to keep your commitments.

‍5. Pay it forward.

‍Be genuinely willing to help others. Don’t always have the mindset of “What can this relationship do for me?” But consider how you could invest in this relationship or help this individual in their professional or personal life.

Remember, social capital is valuable for everyone—from the CEO to the stay-at-home parent. Building deep relationships helps us thrive where we are and gives us an outlet to pour into others. We all need people in our lives to help us, challenge us, and encourage us on our journeys.

Spend some intentional time on your social capital this week. I can promise you that it will be time well spent.