How Are They Doing?

While a good manager always pays attention to their staff, right now is a critical time to lean closer to hear how they’re doing.

With so much uncertainty still facing us, and with the personal pressures your staff may be experiencing because of virtual learning, anxiety of getting vaccinated, and who knows what else, you should be paying close attention to just how people are feeling.

Here’s a simple idea to try—ask, “How are you feeling today or this week or right now?” Of course, you must sincerely want to know how that person is feeling, and you must listen carefully to the response you get. Be sure to ask all the employees on your team.

Don’t be surprised if you get a casual response at first because they aren’t sure you really want to know the truth. How can you convince them to open up? By sharing how you’re feeling and that may not be easy for some of you.

We’ve shared tips in previous blogs about the power of showing vulnerability, but this is even more personal. What if you shared how stressed you are and what you’re doing to move through the stress? Your team will see an entirely different side of you and that you are just as vulnerable to the stresses of our current work environment as they are.

You should have the “how are you doing” conversation privately, but you can share your own stressors with your team at your weekly meeting—whether it is virtual or in person. 

If you hear things from your team in your one-on-one conversations that you can change or impact in some practical way, move as quickly as possible. Maybe it’s a change in their schedule that could make their day a lot simpler to navigate. Maybe it’s a deadline that could be adjusted. Maybe it’s a report that they think has outlived its usefulness and if they could stop doing it, the time they saved could make all the difference in their productivity or in their personal life.

So, show your human side and don’t worry—they will respect you even more than they already do, and you could make a real difference in a life. That difference might save an employee from resigning due to competing schedules and wouldn’t that be worth it all?

Barbara Mitchell

We Will Get Through This

When Covid-19 hit us last March, I sure didn’t imagine that we’d still be fighting an extremely complicated pandemic at the end of the year. But here we are, and despite all the good news of multiple vaccines, we now know there is still a long road back to what might be called “normal”. And most likely some of the changes we’ve made this year will now become the “new normal.”

Hard as it is, we have to admit that we can’t manage the way we used to. Alternatively, maybe it’s time to stop trying so hard to make things fit the old definition of what it meant to manage others.  A recent post on FastCompany.com had some good advice. If you didn’t see it, here are some nuggets that should make any manager’s job a little easier.

Gather information from your staff.  Ask what would work for them. Leaders used to make the decisions then tell people when the decision was final. But now we are all operating in the dark, so ask for input. Think about various situations. An employee whose kids are self-sufficient teens can work from home during what used to be called “work hours”. Conversely, a single parent with young children who has to monitor on-line school would be grateful if they could alter their hours to work later in the evening when the kids are in bed. Flexibility is a concept we all need to embrace. The phrase one size does not fit all has never been more appropriate, and FastCompany.com reports that employees who feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered and successful. There are positive outcomes of being flexible.

Share what you know with your teams. Be as open as you can be with your staff members. With so much uncertainty, any bit of solid news can make a big difference. One important example, if you are still working remotely, keep people informed about your plans to return to the office. Some organizations have said they will be fully remote until the end of first quarter 2021. If you have yet to make a decision, be sure there are no surprises such as announcing on Friday that effective Monday, everyone is expected in the office.  A good practice is to let people know that they will receive at least six weeks’ notice before asking them to return to the workplace. There are a lot of moving parts to something that sounds as simple as no longer working remotely. Remember the chaos when everyone was suddenly sent home.

Recently we posted a blog on building trust. We reminded our readers that showing vulnerability is a great way to build trust. So, let your employees see that you are human and be there for them to the best of your ability. 

A final note on 2020, we are grateful for you and wish you a happy 2021. And remember, we will get through this.

Barbara & Cornelia 

Trust, Transparency, and Vulnerability

 

Sometimes, people link trust to transparency as if they are either interchangeable or one is dependent on the other. I do believe a successful leader must be trusted by their followers and that a leader should be as transparent as humanly possible -- especially when so much of our work is being done remotely.

We know that trust isn't something a leader can demand or even build. Trust must be earned. Trust is earned when we demonstrate competence, reliability, honesty, and kindness. According to Rachel Botsman, an academic and author at Oxford University, "trust is earned in the smallest moments, not through heroic deeds or highly visible acts."

We also know that employees always seem to want to know more than they probably need to or should know. And if you say you are being transparent and then legitimately hold back information the staff thinks should be shared, will their level of trust be diminished? Maybe yes, and then what?

Here's a thought. What if we didn't link transparency to trust but instead coupled it with vulnerability? How might that help leaders earn trust?

Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, says that strong leaders are the ones who aren't afraid to show vulnerability -- especially when they admit they don't have all the answers. When we show vulnerability to our employees and it is authentic, we're going a long way toward earning the trust of our teams. A vulnerable leader can inspire greatness and engender trust.

Showing vulnerability can also encourage questions that might lead to workplace solutions. When the leader acknowledges they don't have all the answers, it encourages others to share their ideas and maybe even share their own vulnerability. 

Other ways to build trust are:

• Live your values every day
• Listen more than you talk
• Get to know your employees and trust them to make good decisions
• Operate in a way that encourages openness and transparency
• Treat everyone with respect
• Show your employees that you value them as individuals -- not just for their work
• Communicate often
• Set clear expectations and hold people accountable

Be transparent when you can, trust your team, and let them see your "not so perfect" side from time to time, and odds are you will earn the trust of your staff. 

Becoming a Great Manager Tips From The Manager’s Answer Book

It happens all too often. Someone is hired or promoted into a management role without being prepared for the people management responsibilities that accompanies the position.  They were a good engineer, sales professional, or financial guru—all the best technical skills. Often overlooked when these hiring decisions are made is the people side of management.  This can cause a new manager to struggle, and those struggles affect the whole team.

Manager’s Tips: Managing people is challenging. No matter if you’re a new or seasoned manager, you should always be working to sharpen your people management skills. That is exactly why we included a question in The Manager’s Answer Book on how to up your managerial game.

Here are a few of those suggestions:

• Take advantage of books, webinars, podcasts, YouTube videos, and so many more ideas from experts
• Get to know your employees so that you understand what motivates them
• Listen carefully to your staff
• Reward successes and learn from failures
• Be a positive role model—live your values
• Find a mentor and be a mentor

We also think it is important for managers to be able to show vulnerability. Many managers make the mistake of thinking they need to have all the answers. They feel that if they admit they don’t know everything, they won’t be respected. In fact, the opposite is true. Letting your employees see that you are human actually builds respect and loyalty.

For more information, check out page 114 of The Manager’s Answer Book.  Remember that management development begins with you, so take charge of your own development.

Everyone Has a Story

Think about the last presentation you sat through or the latest speech you heard. What do you remember? Odds are, you remember a story the speaker shared but maybe not all the details that were also included in the presentation.

Why? Because people love to hear stories and people connect to stories. Stories are interesting. Stories can be emotional. Stories can be humorous.  Stories are easy to remember and easy to repeat! 

Our friend and colleague, Sally Strackbein, (www.definingstories.com) says it best: “Facts bore. Stories score.”

Wherever you are called upon to present, if you can tell stories, your odds of being heard and remembered go up exponentially. 

I remember being at a client’s office just after a new CEO had been introduced at a town hall meeting.  People couldn’t wait to share how excited they were about what he was bringing to the organization. They repeated stories they’d heard from him. Some were funny and personal, while others told them about his values. One story he shared was about something he’d been part of that hadn’t been a success.

They loved hearing him honestly share that he didn’t think he was perfect and that he wasn’t going to expect perfection from them.  

 Here’s the best part — everyone has stories! Keep yours short and simple and practice before going public with your story. Odds are, you will begin to see the impact you’re having on your team or others in the organization.

Your story needs to be jargon-free and relevant to the topic — don’t be that person who tells a story that gets the group off target! Your story should have a beginning, middle, and end.  And, if you possibly can, include something in the story that your audience won’t be expecting.  If appropriate, use emotion — that’s where your story will have the greatest impact.

And speaking of stories, we told you last month that we’re working on a new book that will be released during 2020. It is a very different type of book from our usual business books. It’s based on stories we collected from business colleagues around the world. So, we’re committed to the power of telling stories, and as the months go by, we’ll be sharing more about what’s to come next year.

In the meantime, we hope you’ll incorporate some powerful stories of your own into your work!