What our teams need from us
The past few months have been unprecedented. We’ve lived through a reality that 6 months ago we would never have thought an option. As a leader, this has probably been one of the toughest tests of your spirit than ever before.
The past few months have been unprecedented. We’ve lived through a reality that 6 months ago we would never have thought an option. As a leader, this has probably been one of the toughest tests of your spirit than ever before.
The past few months have been unprecedented. We’ve lived through a reality that 6 months ago we would never have thought an option. As a leader, this has probably been one of the toughest tests of your spirit than ever before.
The weather has turned – get out your scarf.
The past few months have been unprecedented. We’ve lived through a reality that 6 months ago we would never have thought an option. As a leader, this has probably been one of the toughest tests of your spirit than ever before. It suddenly makes that international placement to lead a team of 50 look like a walk in the park. It has tested you as a leader, tested you as a parent, tested us as human beings, and we are far from done. It’s like that exam paper when you’ve almost run out of energy but see those dreaded 3 words at the bottom of the page... please turn over...
So now we are starting to turn over. To think what life and work needs to look like. To re-imagine our reality. Our teams are looking to us for guidance, and the stakes have never been higher.
To bring our teams with us we need to be able to connect with them, empathise and understand that how their brains are currently seeing the world may be completely different to how they used to work.
What can we learn from neuroscience to help us re-engage and re-focus our teams in the coming months? Dr David Rock at the NeuroLeadership institute talks about 5 key things we can do to turn these fears into a real positive advantage in the coming months.
1) Dial up the positive encouragement
Our brains automatically track our perception of status, and at a time when we may be questioning ourselves, doubting our ability, worrying about how we will balance everything in the new way of working, we can be particularly sensitive to any potential power imbalance or things that could make us feel inferior. For example, if you’re checking in on project progress, shift your language from “have you finished that yet”, to “how is the project going”, or from “can I give you some feedback”, to “let’s chat about how it’s gone”. Whilst it may say manager on your badge, the past few months have certainly been a leveller.
2) Create focus and certainty
The more elements of unknown, the greater the potential worry and overwhelm as our brains go into autopilot to try to fix the gaps in info, usually catastrophizing into the worst case scenario. Keep talking to your team, even if you think there is nothing new to say. Try to create some certainty... even if you can remove one unknown, this will me a difference. When we give people any information, it activates the reward networks in the brain, reducing the stressors, and creating more of a feel-good feeling. Don’t leave people hanging... make decisions, even on the small things. If you have bad news, don’t wait - Some studies show that ambiguity creates a stronger threat response in the brain that the actual bad news itself.
3) Give back some unexpected control and autonomy
Our brain needs to feel like it’s in control, and some of us need this more than others. Without it, even a small stress becomes overwhelming. Think about what you can do that’s unexpected... for example, Rock talks about if you’ve been asking your team to report in every day, and then suddenly say “I trust you, check in if you need help, but no need to report anymore”, this will have a positive reaction.
4) Continue to show empathy
Our brains naturally sort everyone into one of two categories – “in group” (people you believe are similar to you and can be trusted) or “out group”(questioning motives, should not be trusted). As a leader, which group would you be in? Based on how you’ve shown up in the past few months, would your team feel that you’ve got their back, that you’ve taken time to really understand their reality? It’s really important to create a sense of “in group” , a community built on trust, within your team. Make sure you keep the great habits of connecting with each team member, making time for “nothing”... a good catch-up without ticking the work boxes, and keep sharing a bit about you. Your team want a boss who is a human, not a robot.
5) Emphasise fairness and co-operation
Being fair doesn’t mean treating everyone the same. At the moment, you probably have different team members with different challenges, and delivering different levels of output than they normally would. Some may be more productive than normal, others finding it harder to balance work with life and homeschooling. Are you being fair to each person in what you expect of them? If you’re now having to make difficult decisions about resourcing in your team, are you being fair in how you approach this and transparent in how you communicate?
These 5 areas, are summarised by the NeuroLeadership Institute as SCARF.
Status. Certainty. Autonomy. Relatedness. Fairness.
A recent Limeade study showed that 1 in 3 people leave a job because they don’t feel cared about as a person. Now is the time to keep connecting with your team, with their heads and hearts. The situation may be new, but lessons from brain science stay the same.
So as you make plans to kickstart your team over the next few weeks, remind yourself...
The weather is turning... get out your scarf.
Reference: Limeade Employee Care Survey 2020 – The hidden causes of turnover
A bit about Bounce…
At Bounce Coaching & Development Ltd, we use the clever bits from brain science and mix them with oodles of positive thinking and a sprinkle of fun to create learning solutions that stick.
Contact us to find out more about running virtual laughter blaster sessions for your team.
“You’re not here to be average... you’re here to be AWESOME!”