In the midst of the holiday season, Jason shares his wishlist for himself and all of his listeners as we bring one year to an end and shift our sights ahead.
SHOW NOTES
Jason introduces Season 9 episode 50 of the podcast, Wishlists for Me, You & Us. Welcome back to the podcast on corporate culture and leadership and thank you for listening. We engage thought leaders like CEOs, CFOs, managers, VPs, directors, and more for this podcast. We wish to create content that engages your mind and heart and allows you to step back and think and add some positivity to your life. We deep dive into today’s topic.
We can’t control everything but what we can control is our response. Still a lot of work to do but wanted to remind the audience what is within our control is the temperature we create in the organizations and teams we work with.
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
If any of these topics are interesting to you please or you want a deep dive on any specific topics, please reach out to us at info@jasonvbarger.com
Wishlists for Me, You & Us
As the year draws to a close, leaders and teams often find themselves caught in a paradox. The holiday season is frequently a frenetic, chaotic, and challenging time, yet it is simultaneously magical and restorative. For those focused on corporate culture and effective leadership in teams, this period offers a critical opportunity to pause the “doing” and focus on the “being.”
In the latest episode of The Thermostat, Jason V. Barger steps back from the tactical grind to offer a personal and professional “wishlist.” This isn’t a list of material gifts, but a mantra for mindset and presence—a guide to navigating the holidays with intention so we can enter the new year ready to lead authentically.
Summary: A Mantra for the Holidays
The best leaders understand that they cannot pour from an empty cup. To create a compelling corporate culture, one must first attend to their own internal “thermostat.” In this episode, Jason shares a series of reflections designed to help us navigate the rush of the season.
He explores the duality of this time of year—how it can be exhausting yet exhilarating, draining yet relaxing. Rather than succumbing to the stress of the holiday rush, Jason proposes a shared wishlist for himself, his listeners, and the collective “us.” The core message is that by slowing down and grounding ourselves, we become better equipped to support our families, communities, and teams.
The 5-Point Wishlist for Leaders
Based on Jason’s reflections, here are the five key wishes for cultivating a healthy mindset during this season:
1. Slow Down
In a world that prizes speed, the act of slowing down is a rebellious and necessary act of leadership. We need to find “sacred moments” of calm, beauty, and stillness amidst the noise. This isn’t about laziness; it’s about recovery.
2. Reflect
True growth in leadership in teams comes from looking back before moving forward. This wish is for the time to analyze what happened over the past year, assess where we currently sit, and anticipate what is on the horizon.
3. Experience Joy
Joy is the fuel of a positive culture. Jason wishes for moments of “unbridled laughter” and “simple pleasures.” Leaders often fall into the trap of constant achieving—reaching for the next goal. This is a reminder to stop striving for a moment and simply enjoy the present.
4. Awareness of Hardships
While we seek joy, we must remain empathetic. A strong culture is built on the understanding that not everyone is in the same emotional space. This wish focuses on being mindful of those facing challenges and finding ways to contribute, however small, to their well-being.
5. Hope
Hope has been a recurring theme in recent conversations about organizational health. This isn’t blind optimism, but a “glimmer of hope” for what lies ahead. It is the excitement about the role we get to play in impacting the culture of our teams and organizations in the coming year.
Notable Quotes
“I’ve never been more convinced the best leaders in team cultures in the world are the ones that make time to step back, breathe in good oxygen, and calibrate their thermostat.”
“The holiday rush can be both exhausting, but also exhilarating. It can be relaxing and it can be draining. It can be joyous and it can be challenging.”
“Instead of always searching or trying to achieve or reaching for that next thing, I hope we find moments to just stop and experience joy.”
“We are all ambassadors for the culture we want to create in our life and work. We have to own the vision we want to be a part of.”
Questions to Ponder
As you prepare to step into the next few weeks, Jason invites you to calibrate your own thermostat with these questions:
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How can you help yourself slow down and experience joy and calm in the midst of the holiday rush?
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What are you hopeful for in the days and year ahead?
Links and References
Follow @JasonVBarger on social media for even more insights and new video content.
For more insights and practical tips, be sure to check out Jason V Barger’s book Breathing Oxygen. This book dives deeper into the concepts discussed in this episode and provides additional strategies for fostering a positive mindset and effective leadership.
By incorporating these practices into your summer routine, you can breathe new life into your personal and professional endeavors. Remember, as Jason says, “The best leaders, teams, and cultures on the planet stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.”
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
If any of these topics are interesting to you please or you want a deep dive on any specific topics, please reach out to us at info@jasonvbarger.com
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Remember, the best leaders, teams, & cultures stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.
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ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT
Conversations and micro-thoughts to engage your mind and heart.
A thermostat is proactive. It sets the temperature in a room. Controls the temperature. Regulates the temperature. But in today’s distracted, fast-paced and digital world, it’s easy for individuals and organizations to act more like thermometers, slipping into reactionary thinking, becoming scattered and inconsistent. The most compelling leaders, teams, organizations, families, or collection of humans of any kind operate in thermostat mode. They calibrate their mind and heart to set the temperature for the vision and culture they want to create. Jason Barger, globally celebrated author, keynote speaker, and founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, is the host of The Thermostat, a podcast journey to discover authentic leadership, create compelling cultures and find clarity of mission, vision, and values.