Fired Up!: A Guide to Transforming Your Team from Burnout to Engagement

Imagine this . . . you are leading a team that is full of energy, enthusiasm, creativity, cooperation, and participation. Team members enjoy working with one another and the nature of the work itself. Simply put, the team is a pleasure to engage with and they help you achieve organizational goals - on time and under budget. Sounds great - right? Of course it does . . . but it may not be your reality.

Your team’s success is impacted by changes within the work environment, and as a leader, manager, human resources professional or organizational development consultant you are constantly striving to address threats to employee engagement and well-being. One such threat is the global phenomenon: burnout.

Fired Up! offers a framework and collection of interconnected principles that can help you build a positive and effective work environment. It serves as a starting point for people leaders (and those that work with people leaders) to understand burnout and engagement while developing a plan of action. Inspired by the stories, anecdotes, and strategies included in the book, you will find support and tools for creating an environment that fosters engagement for your team.

Gain an insight into the causes and consequences of burnout, learn how to assess your team and work environment and become aware of the conditions that can shift your team from burnout to engagement.

Dr Mia Baytop Russell serves as a vice president in Wells Fargo’s Corporate Responsibility and Community Relations department and is an adjunct lecturer at John Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. She brings more than 20 years of financial education experience to Wells Fargo’s Hands on Banking(R), a leading program that provides free, non-commercial financial education to children, teens, adults, seniors, military and entrepreneurs throughout the company’s national footprint. In her role, she is responsible for content strategy and integration. Before joining Wells Fargo, Mia was an Extension Educator at University of Maryland Extension leading the financial education program in Central Maryland. In that role, she delivered programs and conducted research on broad financial topics including youth entrepreneurship and health insurance literacy. Mia is a firm advocate of financial capability and education, especially among diverse and traditionally underserved populations. In addition to teaching financial courses and financial education workshops, designed to spur positive behavior change, Mia has presented research nationally and internationally. Mia received her doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership from University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, which examined the effects of job characteristics on burnout, employee engagement, and turnover intention among Cooperative Extension educators.

Dr Girvin L. Liggans is Technical Lead, Retail Food Policy for the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and is based in College Park, Maryland, USA. He was awarded a PhD in Organizational Leadership in 2017 from University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Maryland. He is an experienced environmental health professional and researcher focused on advancing evidence-informed and equitable public and organizational policy-making. Girvin has proven expertise leading policy analysis and research initiatives to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of public policy, instructional programs, and organizational change. He is experienced in both natural and social science research methods and has a research portfolio that spans environmental science, environmental health, organizational behavior, and legal epidemiology. He has published articles on ecotoxicology, food safety, regulatory compliance, risk assessment, diversity and inclusion, and employee engagement and conducted research at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Maryland, and the University of Natal in South Africa.