Sustaining the Leaders Who Sustain Us

Recognising the challenges the workforce has faced throughout 2020, and knowing the impact to mental health and wellbeing perhaps not even nationally but globally; not surprisingly, some of our powerful work this year has been supporting businesses, their people and leaders to feel supported through the myriad of challenges around connection and wellbeing. 

A simple but shining moment evolved for us during an intensive virtual session our team facilitated recently. Leaders paired up and were asked to undergo a support conversation – with each other. Now this seems pretty straight forward for leaders – how often do we as leaders engage in this type of conversation? What became evident however following the session was the immense power of what we had asked them to do. Many people talked of it being hugely transformational. A recognition eventuated that while leaders are used to engaging in support conversations, rarely, are they at the receiving end of one.

This powerful reminder helped them to acknowledge the stress and challenge they have experienced this year and in fact, tapped into some significant emotional reactions - which brings to the surface two things- the need for us to own and consider the impact that circumstances have on us so we are proactively putting strategies in place to have an outlet – this leaves us stronger and more equipped to stay in a supportive position.

And – it reinforces that when we are feeling strong – we are better able to take a positive role in acknowledging and supporting others. This is paramount -so people can focus and bring their best self to the job.

Collectively what we expect of our leaders is huge. They will be the force to determine our ability to drive our business to a successful outcome. Making sure appropriate mechanisms for their support are firmly in place will help to distinguish the organisations who emerge from this and flourish.

R U OK Day – A Reminder to Check-In

On R U OK Day, what a great reminder for us to be thinking about and checking in on the wellbeing of our teams and in fact those around us more generally in our lives.

With such a tumultuous year, we know that it has created hardship for many. Personally, professionally, financially. Our worlds are colliding in unprecedented ways – relationships; parenting; working – all suddenly finding themselves crammed into the same zone.

For many – our programming to put on a brave face and ‘show-up’ professionally is heavily ingrained. Beneath the surface though, it may be a bit like the proverbial duck paddling – calm above the water, frantic below. Some time spent reaching out, checking-in and connecting will naturally start to release Oxytocin and can have the most profound impact – on us and on those we are talking with.

So, I encourage you. Take time to ask the question, and then to be really tuned into whether the answer needs just a little more probing to get to the heart of how things really are. The time we invest in doing this will create strength of relationship, importantly help lift wellbeing so our teams and other important people in our lives can navigate through these times in one piece, emerging, feeling fiercely loyal and ready to grasp the opportunities that present.

Pack or Herd – Humans Need Social Connection

As people, as leaders, as businesses operating anywhere globally today, we are faced with new and unprecedented challenges. Particularly in certain geographies, the extent of intensity around this is at an all-time high. Taking time to contemplate the impact of this and acknowledge the complexity is wise if we are to navigate our way through this in one piece: ready and energised to emerge and thrive on the other side.

We are built to be social beings. To engage with and rely on community. Relatedness, along with certainty and autonomy are social domains we crave at a base level. And all of this is currently stripped away to varying degrees. When we instead find ourselves anxiously awaiting daily updates, with limitations on our freedoms and varying levels of isolation imposed on us, our autonomic nervous system kicks in to prepare us to deal with the threat at hand. When this pervades over time, hormones such as cortisol build up, increasing our experience of anxiety, stress, even depression. This creates a ‘fog’ around the logic we so desperately need to access.

It can be tempting to block this reality – to put pressure on ourselves and others to rise above it. “Things could be worse”.  We know however that blocking emotion in this way; pushing it down, while apparently productive, in time will result in it reappearing – frequently with vengeance; shaping our behaviour or inhibiting our coping in a way that is unintended and possibly harmful.

The fundamental challenge for us right now is to acknowledge and be kind to ourselves and others and to face realities. We need to value and nurture the things that allow people and our teams to be emotionally healthy, despite the tidal wave of adversity. To do this well gives the space for people to have some of their base needs fulfilled. This positions us to move from reactive survival and to access the parts of our brain that allow us to think clearly to collaborate, innovate and create a new way forward.

The Long Haul

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt this year, it is to expect to be stretched and be able to pivot – and sometimes to pivot hard. For Melburnians, this has never been truer following the recent announcement of further lockdowns.

Regardless of city or state however, the truth remains that we are in this for the long haul and we must consider the implications for our business – what it was, what it is and what it needs to be as we continue on this roller rcoaster to the new normal.

No doubt, as this pervades and draws on, it is impossible to avoid the impact and fatigue. As I talk to different businesses, there is acknowledgement that while early energy and commitment to new conditions was strong, time has created some kind of leakage – personal energy waning, lack of visibility over when people are struggling, signs starting to show in previously strong cultures of lower productivity and attendance. These are all small signals that there is a lot of work in front of us if we are to come through this not only in tact as a business, but having taken the opportunity to build strength through adversity and position ourselves to capitalise for success – on the other side….

Through this, leaders face some of their toughest challenges. The need to lead from the front has never being stronger, or to be more inspirational, more connected, more available, and yet leaders are not immune to the personal realities and vulnerabilities that these times bring to all of us on some level.

So, it becomes a double whammy. 

How do leaders draw on personal emotional awareness and fortitude, to have deliberate personal coping strategies so they are able to step into that important space of connection and care that our people so yearn for and seek right now. And yet to find the strength to allow that sense of vulnerability and authenticity that allows leaders to shine-through in incredibly tough times.

We know when this happens, it creates space for psychological safety, where people can reveal the truth, seek the support they need to deal with the real hurdles they face and move beyond issues that can otherwise become insurmountable.  We know we need positive emotion to collaborate, innovate and problem solve, and yet it seems everything is working to challenge this right now. Leaders have a role and responsibility here to create opportunities for this – and yet – are they supported as they need to be?  Are our people?

Investing time and resources in leaders, or in people can feel completely counter-intuitive over a period of economic hardship. However, not doing this runs the risk of the leakage turning into a gaping hole and the proverbial ship taking on water. Putting a band aid in place and trying to lead an under-performing, disconnected team out of the fog will shift the hardship being experienced now and instead, energy will need to be spent rebuilding at exactly the time that opportunity opens up.

Those poised at this moment, with in-tact, developed culture, strong leadership and focused, centered people who have learnt to work strongly through dispersed and tumultuous circumstances will lead the charge out of this chaos strongly – and despite the fact this currently feels a long way away, we know from many years of history and experience that: this too shall pass.

To hear more about the impact the current COVID-19 environment is having on the traditional work landscape, and how leaders, teams and broader organisations are being affected, register for our upcoming webinar series, Leadership in the Face of Crisis.

The Future of Work Has Arrived

‘The future of work’ has been hot topic for a few years now. Leaders, People and Culture and Organisational Development professionals have rightly invested in addressing advances in technology, the end of nine-to-five, increased global connectivity, changing organisational design, and more recently, climate change and resource depletion. We had the luxury of looking through a ‘future proofing’ lens when we explored the future of work and asked ourselves, “what is coming and how do we prepare for it?”  Many of us thought we had it covered - as much as was possible. But no-one foresaw a global pandemic disrupting both our current work and anything resembling the future of work as we thought we knew it.

The aim of any business is to plan for a future where our teams and businesses are set up to thrive, but the speed at which change has whipped through our social and commercial landscape means that we’re doing very well just to survive. Businesses large and small have been required to make rapid adjustments to ways of working and have quickly dispersed teams to work from home for a currently unknown period of time.

Huge numbers of us are now dispersed and set up to work remotely, which has been driven by our need to stay safe, rather than by any sort of organisational ‘future proofing’ strategy, and it’s fair to say this has had varying degrees of success across different businesses. This is a moment where future of work arrived – unannounced and without apology – and this moment will fundamentally change the way we operate in business. The decisions and reactions from here will shape the success of each business, in the short and longer term.

So now, as we find ourselves in the thick of an event we could never see coming, it feels more important than ever to look ahead and revisit the question of “what is coming and how do we prepare for it?”  If we can get this right, our organisations are not only better equipped to take a leading position and remain effective and profitable, but also to achieve the elusive but desirable accolade of being known as an Employer of Choice.

We must prepare our leaders to lead boldly through this unparalleled environment so they can navigate these unforeseen challenges, help our people to adjust, notice and call out red flags, stay focused, connected and to rebuild and maintain productivity. Without the normal scaffolding provided by the usual office environment, can we pivot quickly, collaborate and hit the ground running cohesively, or are we feeling isolated, unfocused, unable to self-motivate?

Will we return to business as usual where we breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate that life is back to normal? Is ‘back to normal’ even achievable, or desirable? Or will we instead emerge with new knowledge and a broader repertoire of skills that enable increased agility with less burnout, remote working with deeper connection and more effective collaboration? What we do now will ultimately give us greater ability to make the right decisions as we come out of this crisis; to gain the accolade of Employer of Choice and to ultimately position ourselves as a force to be reckoned with.

Beneath the Brave Face

As our current reality extends before us, and without a clear end in sight, I’ve found myself reflecting on how far we’ve come in the last month or so.  It’s likely that like us, many of you have found some kind of rhythm by now, and you may even be experiencing some sense of security: we’re operating, we’ve transitioned, we’ve arrived at the ‘new normal.’ To a large extent, and certainly compared to the shock and endless aftereffects of those first few weeks, I’m sure this is true. And yet, are we even capable of wrapping our minds around the extent of impacts we all face? Perhaps we’re clear on the personal impacts (which may also still be forming for us) but how deeply do we understand the impact to those in our teams and the broader business around us?

What I’m learning over this time is that the impact to individuals varies greatly, and in ways I wouldn’t always have anticipated. Significantly, I see that that on the whole, people are pretty good at smiling, putting on a brave face and getting on with it. But the question that’s been forming deep in my mind is: ‘at what price?’ It can feel confronting to ask this and undoubtedly takes energy we may not always feel we have at this time, but if we always accept the smiles at face value and fail to make space to ask our people how they’re really going, we may miss what’s also really important: that a brave face could be a front – or morph into one – for ‘barely coping’.

Someone who’s barely coping in the current situation – entirely understandable by the way, given the enormity of what we’re facing – is obviously suffering at a personal, individual level. But the fragility of the partition between our work and personal life has never been so glaringly obvious and if someone is struggling personally right now, their focus, capability and productivity at work are going to be even tougher to maintain.

It’s obvious that good leadership requires agility and quick decision making right now. What perhaps isn’t as obvious is that leaders need to tap into a strong sense of curiosity and compassion and be prepared to make time and space to reach out and check in with their people more deeply. Doing this informally is great, doing it with regularity is imperative. You’ll start to understand where pressure points exist, see where support and broader connection points are necessary and ultimately, you have a better chance at preventing things from going off the rails.

It’s typical and understandable for us to focus on ticking the ‘work’ boxes, and let’s be honest, busy schedules and competing priorities don’t allow for much more. But despite the fog and uncertainty in our world, the thing that is super clear to me right now is that ticking the ‘people’ boxes is even more important….

Social Connection in Disruption

As leaders, it’s more important than ever before to step-up and support our teams and stay connected with them during what is an extremely challenging time for all of us.

Here I talk a little about how we as an organistion are handling the change to a virtual environment and being aware of the impact this can have on people and strategies to manage this, along with how we’re helping our clients to do the same.

Director, Kerrie Adaway shares insights into the importance of maintaining social connection during times of disruption.

Insights for Staying Connected

In this strange, new world we find ourselves in, many of us face some degree of unprecedented isolation. We’ve gone from experiencing multiple, daily human interactions – many taken for granted – to living, eating, working in just a few rooms at home, often by ourselves. The hustle and bustle to get out the door, morning greetings, chats in the kitchen, collaboration in meeting rooms, conversations: our daily experience is so much quieter and so much more isolated. Choosing social isolation, was unthinkable for most, even a few weeks ago.

And for businesses, it is a tough time right now, adding unending stressors. There is no ‘business as usual’ anymore: the usual rules of operation, engagement, procedures are being re-written, then written again.  Businesses are doing all they can to keep moving forward and it is clearer than ever that in order to remain productive through this, we are fundamentally relying on our people to be at their best.

Can we see the tension here? It’s a big ask, to be at our best, at a time when our personal and professional anxieties are converging and we know that anxiety gets in the way of clear thinking and concentration. How do we adapt to this, how does this impact our personal wellbeing and that of our teams, how do the stressors of safety, change and uncertainty influence our ability to remain focused and productive?

To encourage creativity, productivity and focus, it has never been so important to truly understand how to support health and wellbeing of our people. No-one has all the answers just yet, but we can start by focussing on some basics; looking at our fundamental human needs and finding creative ways to fulfil them together.

From a wellbeing perspective, we know without question that connection is one of those core needs. The quality of our connections and relationships has a profound impact on our mental and physical health, so during stressful times, we want to make sure that we stay connected and nurture our relationships, and in turn, they nurture us.

When we apply this to a work context, we can help our people by creating and supporting ways to keep these connections and relationships strong, and to consciously cultivate them if they’re not. Let’s be really clear – there is a strong correlation between anxiety and an inability to think clearly and problem solve. If we need our people to be at their best right now, we need to place the utmost importance on caring for their mental and physical wellbeing.

To support you during this time, we thought sharing some of our weekly highlights as a fully-fledged work from home business may prove useful. Here’s one to get you started:

Hats off to Jean, from our Design team. Gone might be the Friday night drinks in the office or at the local bar – but why not create an online meeting for virtual drinks on any given night of the week – everyone in their kitchen with their favourite drink. You can absolutely convert this to a group coffee/cake/cup of tea date if this is more suited to your team/timing or organisational culture. And while it’s not a necessary ingredient, utilise team talents where possible – in our team, we had someone’s son playing live jazz in the background!

This created invaluable connection time, much needed laughter, a positive talking point in a world where so much of what we’re reading right now is soul destroying. Smiles that we are still enjoying, jokes throughout the next week about the wicked jokes shared. We’re getting to know each other that little bit more.

Some practical tips to help translate these moments to a really enjoyable, inclusive experience:

• A simple tool like Google Hangouts is excellent and user friendly.

• Encourage people to wear headphones to keep control of noise.

• Have a protocol of muting when you’re not talking and un-muting when you want to talk or laugh.

We don’t know how long we will be living our lives like this, but we know it will feel long at times. Let’s make sure we look out for each other and make good decisions to nurture things that matter – like the connections we maintain along the way. Stay tuned for more learned insights in days and weeks to come.

Dispersed and Disrupted, Not Divided.

The Covid-19 outbreak is rapidly and fundamentally changing the way organisations operate, with large-scale remote working practices becoming our new reality. Unfortunately, we don’t know how long this disruption will continue, and organisations are relying on their leaders to adapt and re-adapt to find new ways to work safely, sustainably and effectively.

The technology we have access to now makes this challenge less daunting than even five years ago, and some business have made incredibly rapid shifts to enable remote work. But the job of leaders to support their teams to regroup and continue to ‘work well’ doesn’t end with setting up the technology...

Connection is a core need for human beings.  When we are busy or working remotely, finding ways to fulfill our need for connection can be challenging and many people who are experiencing overwhelm or working through difficult emotions tend to withdraw rather than reach out. At this time, it’s vital for leaders to be able to drive positive culture and integrate inclusive leadership practices for a suddenly-dispersed workforce.

At a time when most of us are feeling some degree of professional and personal anxiety, organisations and leaders need not only to guide their workforce through this period of unprecedented change, but to give more widespread support to their employees. They need to be able to support connection and engagement in a remote workforce, to be able to set-up systems to encourage transparent discussion and for whole-of-business to encourage open and honest interactions. The organisations and teams who already have or who can build a culture that encourages people to have meaningful and supportive conversations and deeper working relationships will navigate this uncertainty with far better outcomes for their people.

Acknowledging the myriad personal and professional challenges we’re all facing, if we can make space to focus on the wellbeing and social connectedness of our workforce now, we have an incredible opportunity to play a hugely positive role in the emotional and mental resilience of our people. As confusing and worrying as this time is, it will not last forever (although at times, it’s easy to feel otherwise) and as leaders, we have a powerful opportunity to provide the best possible support and to continue to build increased capability for a changed future.

You can find out more about maintaining business continuity through disruptive times by visiting our Virtual and Digital Learning page. Or for more information on how we can help your organisation through this challenging time, focussing on strength of leadership, maintaining positive culture using agile, immersive digital platforms, please contact us.