By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

Last weekend, along with 1,500-plus others, I landed in Miami for IFS Unleashed in South Beach. My suitcase included workout gear for every day of the trip – clothing that once would have been packed with good intentions but returned home untouched. Since the beginning of this year, I’ve lost 35 pounds and have re-committed myself to daily movement, so the clothes were put to good use (Ok, maybe the morning after the beach parties I didn’t make it). 

I’ve shared before that I am a Peloton subscriber and enjoy the company’s instructors. They’ve recently teamed up with actor Ashton Kutcher, who is preparing or a marathon to benefit his charity, to create a series of runs based on his training. They recently had a session where Peloton instructor Adrian Mills (one of my personal favs) and Ashton were joined by psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant to talk about why and how we as humans are motivated. On a rainy morning in Miami, I decided to take this run in the hotel gym and really enjoyed not only the workout but the discussion. 

Knowing not everyone in our audience is a fellow Peloton subscriber, I thought I would share some of the points from their discussion that stood out me:

• There’s more than one kind of workaholic. In a discussion around work ethic and how they each perceive productivity, Adam shares that there are two types of workaholics – engaged and compulsive. Engaged workaholics work a lot because they genuinely enjoy what they do and want to do it, whereas compulsive workaholics work a lot because they feel pressure and a sense of obligation. I really appreciated this distinction because I realized I’m the engaged type and gave some more context to what that means. However, it also reminded me that while he pointed out that the engaged workaholic is a healthier type, it’s still important to maintain balance and set boundaries. 
• Altruism is rarely just that. As the group explored what was behind Ashton’s frustration with himself for falling short of a goal, Adam questioned if he’s running the marathon solely for his foundation – or if there are some personal motivations woven in. In doing so, he made the point that altruism is rarely just altruism alone – and that it is OK to enjoy and even love the ways that you can change the world. This stood out to me as well, because it highlights one of the many “either/or” ways of thinking we often have – if it’s doing good, it won’t be enjoyable – and if it’s enjoyable, it isn’t doing good. It can be both! We can give of ourselves in ways that have a positive impact and that we enjoy. 
• The basement holds up the house. This part of the discussion was all around building a strong foundation for yourself, in whatever ways work for you. This can be everything from rest to nutrition to movement to therapy to meditation to hobbies, and beyond. But the point is that everything we do builds upon our own foundation, so we must make sure that foundation is strong. I use this analogy a lot when discussion digital transformation, too, because often companies try to race to the flashier, more exciting layers without first putting in place that strong foundation – and it’s like building a house of cards. 

In our fast-paced world where burnout is a major challenge and how leaders must motivate teams is evolving, I thought these points were universally helpful to consider. If you do happen to use Peloton, I strongly urge you to look up this ride and take it – it’s a good one. 

As for IFS Unleashed, what a week! Stay tuned for this week’s podcast on Wednesday recapping the highlights for those who weren’t with us in person.