YORKTON – Creating a better workplace is good for business, said Yorkton Chamber of Commerce Business Dinner speaker Jennifer Barroll, but it takes effort from everyone involved.
“We are whole people. We don’t just exist at work,” she explained during a media scrum before her presentation Oct. 8.
Barroll, who in 2026 will release her first book, Make Work Not Suck: A Conscious Leader’s Guide for Building Teams That Thrive, providing insight for leaders seeking to foster environments where teams flourish.
Barroll said each person needs to identify their own strengths and then determine how to best “take that into the workplace.”
That doesn’t mean it’s an easy process to recognize and build on our strengths.
“We’ve lived long enough to know life is hard,” said Barroll, you can “put in a lot of effort” and still not win a prize.
But even losses are lessons and those lessons are important, said Barroll, a leadership consultant, known for her ability to inspire lasting change, build resilient leaders, and foster high-performing teams.
For example she pointed to the Toronto Blues Jays who had lost to the New York Yankees the night before her presentation. She said the Jays would not have sat around lamenting the loss, but rather would have studied video to see where they could improve.
“They use the opportunity . . . to get better,” she said.
In that regard Barroll said failure never needs to be the end of a journey, only a reason to redouble efforts and try again.
While admitting “it’s hard out there right now,” Barroll said everyone has the ability to learn and to “not just survive but to thrive.”
There is an element of self-analysis in the process.
“We know our deficiencies. We know our weaknesses,” said Barroll, “But, I want you to know your strengths.”
It comes down to how one focuses effort “so you’re bringing your best,” offered Barroll, adding people should want to “do our jobs in an efficient way,” which is made easier by a good workplace environment.
It’s easy to get trapped in the philosophy of not thinking “too big,” said Barroll, but she said people need to think big to be “an eagle” willing to soar to new heights. In taking that flight Barroll added people should endeavour to be role models for others, encouraging them to soar too.
“Always remember there is something to look up to.”
Part of the encouragement is about being willing to communicate.
“I think we all know a thing or two about communication,” said Barroll, adding you really need to give everyone “the benefit of the doubt right out of the gate,” and build relationships through communication.
“. . . As human beings we are more alike than we are different. . . See the best in people.”
In building relationships you create supports.
“Life is a team sport,” said Barroll, adding people need others to be successful, so create the relationships.
