Stop Asking This Question!
It’s fair to say 2020 has been quite a year for us all and yet, we are only halfway through it. With all of the challenges presented, it’s easy to get stuck on the negative aspects (there are plenty!). However, it has also become clear that it’s a year of rethinking how we do things.
As a leadership coach, I am often asked by other leaders how they can best lead their teams through these turbulent times and still be able to keep their teams engaged.
Let’s be real for a moment in thinking this through. No one knows where we are all going to be a year from now as things continue to evolve so fast. Any time we try to think about creating a strategic plan, something else shifts that plan and sends us back to the drawing board. This is the time for short term goals and being able to adapt as things continue to change.
With leaders concerned about maximizing engagement and how to refocus we need to stop asking the question we keep asking: When will things go back to normal?
Here is your answer – they won’t. We will never be back to what once existed. It is time to begin asking yourself: How can we innovate in this new normal?
Leadership is about changing the order of things and management is the production of acceptable results through known constraints and conditions. Nobody on earth wants to be managed, but we do want to be led. If leaders are waiting for things to return to normal, they are going to be left behind and their teams are going to be looking for leaders who can inspire them and let them bring ideas to the table to make an impact.
According to the Gallup organization, 63% of the workforce is now working remotely. Leadership is not about all being in one central building. Leadership is about flexibility and understanding that it is not a one size fits all scenario when it comes to employee engagement.
It doesn’t matter so much where your employees are working from on a daily basis. What matters is WHO is leading them.
Leadership accounts for 70% of employee engagement which requires leaders to keep thriving and innovating. It is critical to be mindful of this since it will have a direct impact on how employees perform through the crisis and how they engage in their work.
Below are some examples of what the best leaders are doing to lead through this period of crisis:
1. Playing to strengths: Knowing what each employee does best and what energizes them in their work can make a huge impact on employee engagement. If employees feel that their leader truly understands who they are as a unique individual, you will likely get the best out of them as it connects to their own well-being. Those employees who feel valued and that they can be themselves in the job will naturally work harder.
2. Communicate often and truthfully: Anxiety is a huge part of what is distracting many employees during these turbulent times. They want to know their jobs are safe, but also how the organization's future is taking shape. When leaders fail to share information or speak truthfully with employees, it leaves a stronger sense of fear of the unknown, and panic sets in. Put yourself in their situation, wouldn’t you rather know something, even if it’s bad news, versus continue wondering? If employees know what they are facing, most often they will rise to the occasion to work through it.
3. Involve your team in the process: By involving the team in the process, they become a part of the solution. They feel they can make a difference, even if it’s in a small way, and that they are part of making the organization a better place. When leaders fail to include the team or select only certain people, it can appear as favoritism or that other perspectives don’t matter.
You may not decide to go with every idea brought forward, but at least you are allowing each team member to have a voice and contribute to what change would look like. If the team feels they are part of the solution, they will work harder to see it to fruition and feel a sense of significance in the process.
As leadership expert, Dr. John Maxwell often teaches, “People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision”.
To your growth,
Kelly