For Leaders and Managers — 3 Ways to Get It Right This Time Around
It looks like a winter of continued (and in some countries enforced) remote working is upon us. We stumbled through all this last time, unprepared and inexperienced in how to lead and manage the reluctantly remote. It’s a little different this time around.
Things are a little different now.
We have amassed many months experience of leading remotely; we have pretty much learned the technology and the best working rhythms; we have got past the shock of the abrupt changes and adapted to both the pleasures and pitfalls of rarely if ever seeing our people face to face. We have even got past much of the nostalgia for our old ways of working, and started enjoying the benefits.
We have settled into many of the things that have changed. So much so that necessary adaptations have been declared to be permanent changes; trends have been identified as “the new normal” and decisions have been made based on the past few months, ignoring the inevitable truth that “this too shall pass” and the new normal is far from today’s experiences. But no matter..all these things will work themselves out. And in the meantime, we all have increasing restrictions, worsening pandemic numbers and incredibly tough economic and practical problems to address.
It will not be easier this time
The experience of the past few months does not mean that things will simply be easier for everyone this time. If you are a leader or manager, you need to be alert to the high chance that your people will struggle more. Without the novelty and the need to learn and adapt on the fly, things might be worse for many of those we lead: there’s less excitement, less positive intention, more resignation and weariness, and more economic and social damage, before you get anywhere near the strengthening health concerns and the fear for families and friends as everyone heads warily into the coming winter.
So for leaders and managers everywhere, here’s a few words of advice as we move into what is looking like a rough ride to come. We learned a lot, and a lot has changed, but sometimes advice and guidance is still needed. So in the spirit of helping us all get it right this time, there’s three things you need to be doing now.
1. Expect personal volatility. The prevailing emotion for your team members this autumn might be one you haven’t seen too much of before. It’s grief.
No longer confined to people facing significant life events, everyone’s sense of loss is becoming profound. Loss of freedom. Loss of liberty and choice. Loss of trust. Loss of momentum. Loss of opportunities, of hopes, of a sense of a bright future. Loss of a feeling of certainty, of control, of clarity. Loss of confidence, of faith, of things to look forward to. Loss of things we used to assume and take for granted. Loss triggers lots of negative emotions, so you need to expect more of these from more of you people. You should expect more sadness, depression, anger, upset, defeat, frustration.
As a result of these heightened feelings of loss, there’s a really high chance your people — even the normally calm and unemotional team members — will be more emotional, more upset, less likely to find silver linings and roll with it. Assume you will have to be more patient, to listen more, to empathise and console a little more. Two things to bear in mind.. “get over it” is not a good response. Nor is ignoring it. Be the leader who lets their people express that grief. You can’t solve it and you shouldn’t even try. But you can be supportive through it.
2. Double your visibility. However much you feel you are visible now to your teams and maybe even the company — double it.
If you are with your team once a week, make that twice from now on. If you already meet twice, make it four times. If you talk with your people every day, make that twice a day. I don’t mean double the time spent necessarily, but I do mean create many more points of interaction. If that feels over the top, please just do it anyway. If you are in the privileged position of leading others, now is the time to be accessible and available. So please, double your visibility, even if you don’t think you need to. You can tune it down later.
And remember, in these extended interactions, share what you know — even if there’s nothing new; say how you feel, even if you don’t feel good; create space for conversations even if there’s nothing more to talk about; listen with care as well as focusing on work items.
And if you are not yet hosting regular town halls and call-ins and virtual fireside chats and general outreach to your team and beyond, it’s not too late. But it’s almost too late, so start scheduling them in now for the balance of the year.
3. Be the realistic optimist. Whether you lead a team or an entire company, you are the one who your people look to for cues and clues. What you project, your mood and approach, your apparent priorities and preoccupations, your decisions and your actions, will shape much of how people view the current situation and the likely future.
Important therefore to be the leader they need — which means being appropriately positive about the future. Not naïve, not complacent, not superficial — but thoughtful and measured in looking through current reality into a future which will be ok. Talk about the path to that future, the possible scenarios and how they might play out, the ways you are getting ready now for the good things to come.
Don’t be unrealistic or foolish, you have to be grounded in the reality of the pandemic and the economy and how countries and people are reacting; but don’t be the leader who is so caught up with today that you cannot see the paths to the better tomorrow, who is so caught up with minutiae that they cannot see the bigger trends, who mistakes today for forever, who cannot lead through the gloom.
There’s a question you need to ask yourself.
The question to ask yourself is, when you look back, will you be pleased with how you led your people during the pandemic? Were you present, not absent? Were you positive not defeated? Were you determined not fearful? Were you proportionate not swamped? Were you inventive and adaptable not risk averse and stuck? Did you adapt, learn and shift? Did you care for your people as well as for your business? Were you available, engaged and forward looking?
Will you have been the leader your people needed, the leader you hoped to be?
If you want help on these topics, leaders and managers can apply to attend “Managing Now” — three 2-hour virtual workshops delivered remotely by the Self Determined Training Company, when I teach small groups of leaders how to be a great manager and how to lead during these tough times. For more details: david@thetalentoffice.org
