Written by By Stephanie Diana Eubank
There is a concept called “Spoon theory,” and there is an excellent TED talk by Larner (2019) that discusses what spoon theory is (you can find the link in the work cited). As a layman and Wicked B, I refer to my spoon management as F’s I have to give on any topic. Spoon Theory or F Theory is where one has a select number of spoons or F’s to give to a person or subject. Those like me who are neurodivergent have fewer spoons or F’s to give per day than neurotypical people. So, it is easier to mismanage our F’s.
The concept is a good rule of thumb as a business leadership and followership principle related to burn-out prevention and stress reduction in the workplace. Administration operating with fewer spoons, like neurodivergent ones, will allow more delegation of issues and better long-term time management planning. This also helps to support the better mental health of the workforce.
I refer to my spoons as F’s because there are items that, in life and work, I just have no emotional bandwidth for. Like office gossip and office politics, that doesn’t directly affect me. That just makes the vibe for me. I have no F’s to give about the topic. Also, sweating small details that are not compliance concepts or incredibly detrimental to a project is not worth my Fs. It’s kind of like when you are planning a fancy Thanksgiving dinner and forget the napkin rings. You just fold the napkins instead. If people talk about it negatively, I have no F’s to give to that or into being upset with myself about forgetting napkin rings. It won’t make or break my event, and I have no control over other’s thoughts. This frees up my emotional energy to focus on bigger things like the hard work I put into my turkey and doing the turkey injections or Turkey Botox, as I call it. I care more that my friends and family are happy and healthy after eating my cooking during events like Thanksgiving/ Indigenous People’s Day to play to the metaphor.
Decreasing stress in leadership and the followership members of your workforce is key to keeping productivity high. Better-managed workplace stress reduces turnover and lowers workplace PTSD and workplace violence probability.
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Work Cited
Larner, O. (2019, February). Confronting the invisible. Olivia Larner: Confronting the Invisible | TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/olivia_larner_confronting_the_invisible?autoplay=true&muted=true
Dr. Stephanie Diana Eubank DBA Remote Team Research (AKA Dr. Bear) 