Today, I tuned into an Alumni Learning Consortium webinar titled, Why Are We Here? Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants, led by Jennifer Moss. Jennifer’s presentation was about her newest book, Why Are We Here: Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants. It was packed with insights about burnout, trust, flexibility, and the deeper reasons so many people feel disconnected from their work. While the lecture format delivered a lot of information quickly, it also surfaced something deeper: how much we’ve normalized exhaustion since the pandemic and how hard it is to imagine a different rhythm.
This post is part reflection, part practice. I’ve been thinking about what resonated with me, and how I can apply it—not just as an idea, but as a leader trying to do things differently.
We are still stuck in a mode of pandemic-induced productivity obsession. Yes, we innovated and adapted quickly. But that speed came with consequences: burnout, detachment, time poverty, and a cultural valorization of being “always on.” Moss made the case that it is time to relearn the basics of how to behave like healthy humans at work.
That starts with a few uncomfortable truths. First, burnout is not a personal failure. It is a design flaw. A system problem. Leaders often drive burnout without realizing it, setting the tone, modeling urgency, never taking time off themselves. It is no wonder the rest of us follow their lead, right into chronic exhaustion.
Second, the old idea of work-life balance is no longer useful. Moss proposes something better: work-life harmony. A flexible, personal, purpose driven approach to how we spend our energy. Harmony does not mean equal time. It means intentionality. It means asking, Where does work fit into the goals of my life? not the other way around. After all, no one on their deathbed wishes they had checked more email at 6 a.m.
What stood out to me most was the framing of passion driven burnout. Moss distinguished between harmonious passion, where work energizes and coexists with life, and obsessive passion, where work controls us, making everything else feel secondary. That framing hit close to home. For many of us in mission driven roles, the danger is not disengagement. It’s over engagement without boundaries.
So what do we do? Moss suggests starting small and starting local. Pick one of the six root causes of burnout: unsustainable workload, lack of control, unfairness, lack of recognition, mismatch of skills and values, or social disconnection. Then ask yourself, Where can I push for clarity or change? Talk with your manager. Identify inefficiencies. Suggest shorter meetings. Focus on reducing stressors by just 5 percent this month.
She also reminds us that trust is the foundation of all healthy teams, and that it must be built through consistency, not charisma. Checking in, not checking up. Asking what someone needs, not just what they are doing. Creating rituals of transparency and feedback. Replacing exit interviews with stay interviews.
Perhaps the most future facing part of Moss’s talk was her handling of AI anxiety and ageism. With half of all workers expected to need re-skilling in the next two years, and intergenerational friction still strong in many organizations, she argued that peer mentorship and flattened learning hierarchies will be essential. Gen X, in particular, is often caught in a quiet struggle. They are promoted slower, caregiving more, and least likely to speak up. We need better models for leadership across generations, and clearer invitations to let everyone’s wisdom in.
This talk was not just about what we have lost. It was also a reminder of what we gained during the most surreal years of our lives. The moments of humor, of flexibility, of emotional honesty. Moss urged us not to forget what the pandemic revealed about our capacity to adapt, our hunger for meaning, and our ability to connect, even in chaos.
Workplace wellbeing will not be solved by perks or posters. It is built through trust, autonomy, and reflection—and by leaders and colleagues willing to ask (and re ask), Why are we here?
Practicing What She Preached: Questions for a Leader (and Those Who Hire Them)
After sitting with Moss’s message, I began thinking not just about culture, but about leadership at every level. This is not just about CEOs or campus presidents. It is about department chairs, project leads, IT directors, and anyone trying to foster trust while navigating complexity, burnout, and the push toward hybrid work.
If we are serious about building the kind of workplace Moss describes: flexible, purpose-driven, humane. It has to start with questions.
Below are two sets of questions I have begun using:
– One for myself, as a check-in tool to stay aligned
– One for hiring or mentoring senior leaders, especially CIOs, who often sit at the heart of systems change
Five Self-Reflection Questions
When have I modeled vulnerability and transparency? How did my team respond?
Trust starts with visibility and imperfection.
How am I giving my colleagues autonomy and clarity, not just assignments?
Checking in, not checking up. It matters.
Where might I unintentionally be contributing to burnout? How can I reduce friction this month by 5 percent?
One meeting canceled. One unclear process improved. Small moves add up.
What hidden stressors are affecting me and others around me, and how do I make space to hear them?
Ask better questions. Listen without solving.
Am I managing up with the same honesty I ask of my team?
It is not just about leading down—it is about naming inefficiencies and clarifying priorities upward too.
Five Questions to Ask Any Human Centered Leader Like A CIO
Can you share a specific example of how you have led with empathy and self awareness during a high pressure project, especially when your team was under resourced or feeling burned out?
This reveals servant leadership under stress, not just tactical decision making.
How do you ensure that your IT strategy and operations are aligned with the broader goals and pressures faced by students, faculty, and staff—especially when everyone is being asked to do more with less?
Tests for vision and situational awareness.
Describe a time when you had to build up your team’s morale and sense of value in an environment where recognition, compensation, or resources were limited. What specific actions did you take?
Looks for creativity, values based leadership, and retention thinking.
How do you foster collaboration and open communication across departments, especially when you need buy in from stakeholders who may not initially support IT initiatives?
Evaluates cross silo influence and cultural fluency—core to 360 degree leadership.
When you feel insecure about your own knowledge or abilities, how do you model both vulnerability and assertiveness to your team?
This probes for humility, clarity, and the balance between transparency and guidance.
These two lists, one inward and one outward, are part of the same project: building workplaces that work for people.
Jennifer Moss reminded us that culture is not a product. It is a set of choices, repeated often, guided by questions like these. And the more we ask them—out loud, together—the closer we get to the kind of workplace everyone wants.
