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.

Mia Baytop Russell, PhD has served in various roles across nonprofit, academic, and corporate sectors. Currently, as lecturer in the Center for Leadership Education at Johns Hopkins University, she teaches leadership and management courses. Drawing from personal interests and challenges with work-life integration and work-family conflict, Mia has spent decades exploring well-being in multiple contexts. Her research focuses on the sustainability of well-being, specifically family economic well-being and career/work-related well-being. As a contributor to the field of financial education and organizational behavior, Mia has published dozens of interdisciplinary articles, developed programs, and consulted with organizations.

Girvin Liggans, PhD is an expert in policy analysis and a lecturer in the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University where he teaches management, leadership, and technical communication. Rooted in decades of work within public health agencies, Girvin is dedicated to advancing health equity and employee well-being through a focus on evidence-informed decision-making in public and organizational policy. His research is multidisciplinary and spans environmental health, organizational behavior, legal epidemiology, and diversity and inclusion. Girvin holds an MS in Environmental Health Science from the University of Michigan along with a BS in Environmental Science and PhD in Organizational Leadership from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.