David Dye's Blog, page 48

Retaining High-Performing Employees: Practical Ways To Support Your Best Talent [VIDEO]

7 Simple Ways to Give Your High-Performing Employees
What They Need Most

This Asking For a Friend question comes up so frequently in our leadership development programs, particularly now with such a focus on retaining high-performing employees.

“I worry that I’m not giving enough attention to my really high-performing employees, you know, the ones that seem like they don’t need my help. I’m so focused on the employees that are struggling. How do I ensure I give my high-performers what they need too?”

Retaining High-Performing Employees- What They Yearn For Most

We’ve been listening to so many frustrated high-performing employees over the years, and their complaints are remarkably similar. They yearn to be seen and noticed for the hard work they are doing.

They wish for more “wows.” And, they desperately want to have an advocate and supporter.

Here are 7 relatively easy ways to support your high-performers.

Say Wow, Thank youAcknowledge how hard they are workingHave them show you what they are doingAsk them for their ideasRemove roadblocksHelp them envision a possible futureAdvocate and support them1. Say, Wow! Thank you.

“Wow” is a great secret weapon for retaining high-performing employees. It’s more than okay to be impressed.

Your high-performing employees are not going to slack off because you were wowed. You get more of what you encourage and celebrate and less of what you ignore… particularly from top talent.

A big “Wow” followed by a genuine and heartfelt “Thank You” from someone a high-performer respects will trump almost any token of appreciation you can offer.

2. Acknowledge How Hard They’re Working

No matter how easy they make it look, it’s not. Your high-performing employees are juggling a lot they’re not bothering you with (and may even think you don’t understand).

They would love to tell you some stories. And the stories are worth hearing.

Pull up a chair and listen.

A bonus for digging a bit deeper here, this conversation helps to ensure that their hard work is focused on what will have the biggest impact on the team’s results.

Your high-performing employees want clarity and reassurance that their work is having a strategic impact.

3. Have Them Show You What They’re Doing

Think about the last time you figured something out that you were wildly proud of. What did you long for most?

For me, I know it’s someone to share it with. Ask for details and if you’re amazed, show that. Side benefit: this is a remarkable way to uncover best practices.

Some of the biggest turnarounds I’ve been a part of began by asking a few high-performers what they were up to.

4. Ask them for their I.D.E.A.s

If you want to retain your high-performing employees, one of the best things you can do is ask them for their ideas.

We heard so much frustration in our research for Courageous Cultures:

49% said they were not regularly asked for their ideas. 67% said their manager operates around the notion of “this is the way we’ve always done it.”

Your top talent has ideas to improve the customer experience and productivity. They know what could make things easier for their peers. Ask them.

5. Remove Roadblocks

Just because they’re not complaining, doesn’t mean they don’t have a list.

Every time I’ve asked this question I’ve been surprised by some of the easy “asks.”

No, you can’t fix everything.

But, if you can fix a few small things getting in the way of your highest performers, can you imagine the ROI?

6. Help Them Envision Their Possible Future

Help them see beyond the obvious next steps, looking around corners and expanding their peripheral vision for their career.

Our Developmental Discussion Planner works remarkably well for having these important career conversations. You can learn more about that and download it for free here.

7. Advocate and Support Them

Find ways to lift them up and advocate for them to your boss, your peers, and their peers.

Be sure you know they have their back.

Your highest performing employees likely do a lot on their own, and might not ask for help– even when they need it the most.

If you want to retain your high-performers, re-recruit them by showing them just how important they are.

See also: Coworker Conflict: 7 Ways to Get Along With Other High-Performers

The post Retaining High-Performing Employees: Practical Ways To Support Your Best Talent [VIDEO] appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Yet Another Change at Work: How to Help Your Exhausted Team

To prevent constant change from taking a toll on your team start with empathy and inclusive conversation

“It’s not that my team’s resistant to change. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. It seems like all we’ve been doing for the past few years is dealing with change at work. And it’s not that this next change is bad, I think it’s the right thing to do. But I’m tired. My team is tired. I’m just not sure how to rally them through another major change.

What should I do? How can I help them deal with  yet another change at work?” #AskingForAFriend

We’ve been fielding this and other questions about dealing with constant change at work in nearly every leadership development program we teach.

7 Ways to Help Your Team Through Constant Change at Work

If you and your team are tired from all the changes, even the good ones, you’re in good company.

Even good change requires adjusting. Here are a few tips that can help.

1. Start with empathy and authentic conversation

If your team feels like they’re stuck in a vortex of constant change, the worst thing you can do is to show up with toxic positivity and a shiny sales pitch. Give your team time to talk about what’s on their hearts and minds and acknowledge their emotions.

You could say something like, “I know there’s been a lot of change at work this year. How are you feeling about the latest announcement?”

Or, I know you put a lot of work into getting your team collaborating. This reorganization will likely mean you’ll lose some of those players and get some new ones. How are you are feeling about that? How’s the team doing? What can I do to be most helpful to you and the team?

And it’s okay to show up authentic too (just avoid coming across as complaining or blaming).

You could say something like, “I know this is a lot of change in one year. I’m feeling the pressure of all the pivots too. Quite frankly it’s a lot. But I believe in us and I know we can figure our way through this change, just like we did the others.”

2. Create clarity

Change can be scary because it comes with so many unknowns. If resilience reserves are low, it can be particularly hard to rally toward an unclear future. When your team has faced a constant barrage of change at work, create as much clarity as possible.

If the next big change comes with a sidedish of uncertainty, be candid about what you know and what you don’t know yet.

Narrowing the timeframe can help here too. You might say, “I don’t know exactly how the next six months are going to play out. But, here’s what we need to accomplish this week.

This article offers some really practical clarity tools and techniques.

3. Be honest about the benefits (for everyone)

The notion that all that employees care about is WIIFM—what’s in it for me?—is just not true.

Of course, employees want to know what’s in it for them. Most people ALSO want to know what’s in it for you, for their coworkers, and for their customers.

I’ve seen so many managers lose credibility in an attempt to spin a “what’s in to for you” story without disclosing the real reasons behind the change.

It’s not enough to be clear about the “What?” – they’ve got to know the “Why?” behind what’s changing as well.

In the absence of information about a change at work, people often jump to the worst-case conclusion. They fill in the blanks with assumptions about why you’re not telling them the truth (e.g., “they must be getting ready to do layoff).

4. Think it through

If your team has faced a bunch of change-at-work, do your best to think through the change before implementation. Sometimes too much change at work is a symptom of under planning.

Don’t advocate for an idea or change that’s half-baked or full of flaws. If an idea is half-baked, have the managerial courage to speak up and share your concerns.

If possible, test it first with a small group, take their feedback seriously, and get it right.

It’s tough to regain credibility. “Oh yeah, I admit this idea, process, or change stank before, but now it’s better,” only leaves people wondering why some bozo made a choice to sing praises for an idea, system, or process that was full of problems.

Even if it looks great on paper, your boss is sold, and it worked well in the IT war room, field test the change first.

Yes, this takes time. Go slow to go fast.

Take the risk of making some waves to make it easy for your team. You might be slower out of the gate than others, but when you get it right and everyone owns it, you’ll sustain your results and be ready for the next change.

5. Establish easy-to-access listening posts

This is perhaps the most important part. Really listen to what your people tell you. Respond to feedback with solutions, not selling. When you fix something, communicate it back using the 5×5 method – 5 times, 5 different ways.

Ask, “How can we address this concern and still make the change serve its purpose?”

6. Leverage reluctant testimony

Share as many testimonials as you can, especially from people who were doubtful (or the most tired) at first.

Have team members share how your new idea, system, or process changed their work for the better.

Your most influential stories will come from those who were least likely to value the change: the sales guy who never bothered with this stuff before, the new rep who’s now running circles around her seasoned co-workers because she uses the new system, the supervisor who got his entire team (including the union steward) to understand why this change is so much better for customers.

7. Involve the team in key decisions

No one wants stuff done to them, or even for them. With them goes a lot further. Ask employees, “what’s working well and how do we leverage it? What enhancements do we need? Where should we head next?” All these questions go a long way. Include employees by involving them in your change efforts.

The best way to truly support your team through constant change at work is to show up empathetic and authentic, interested, and supportive.

Your Turn

What are your best practices for helping your exhausted team deal with yet another change at work?

Related Articles:

How to Change Your Mind: Without Losing Their Trust and Support

How to Lead When Your Team is Exhausted

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Compassionate Leadership with Donato Tramuto

Compassionate leadership is not weak. Compassionate leaders are tough leaders who understand that they can be good to their people and deliver stronger results. In fact, taking care of your people actually leads to better results and creates sustainable commitment to an organization’s mission and values.

In this episode, Donato Tramuto, recognized CEO, business leader, innovator, and philanthropist makes the case that compassion is a key leadership principle that drives trust, success, and innovation while raising morale, building stronger teams, and improving overall performance. Most leaders have an innate desire to be compassionate, but many don’t know how to put it into practice. Tune in to get actionable examples of how proven leaders have accomplished this and how you can too. The bottom line on bottom lines: compassionate leadership is about better people and better business.

Compassionate Leadership

10:28
What is the definition of compassionate leadership?

12:55
Listening to understand, not listening to react.

15:33
When leaders lack empathy, they lose the ability to adapt their approach because they can’t see further than their own point of view.

30:13
It’s not whether a leader should be compassionate. That’s a given based on the proven positive impact it has on people and profits. The real question is how to practice compassionate leadership so that it’s effective.

30:49
What are some of the steps to practice more compassionate leadership?

45:44
What is your collaborative IQ, and how does it help you get more done.

46:55
Collaboration is something that we all can practice. When you have empathy and you have the ability to know that empathy is about collaborating and innovating together on the ideas that will solve the problem, you’ll get more done.

Connect with DonatoWebsiteTwitterFacebookLinkedInGet the Book

The post Compassionate Leadership with Donato Tramuto appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

How Do I Create More Inclusion on Hybrid Team? (Avoid Proximity Bias) [VIDEO]

Is proximity bias really a thing? #askingforafriend

Karin, with our new work-from-home policy, and flexible work arrangements, I have some of my team working from home most of the time. And, other team members are choosing to come into the office (as am I). How do I ensure I don’t give preferential treatment to the people I see most often? How do I prevent this thing called proximity bias #AskingforaFriend.

1. Talk about proximity bias WITH your team.

You could start the proximity bias conversation like this.

“We want to create an inclusive work environment where we respect, value, and support every team member no matter where they choose to work. What’s working now? What’s getting in the way?”

2. Be thoughtful and deliberate in your one-on-ones

There’s no better way to know what’s really on your employees’ hearts and minds than a truly great approach to one-on-ones.  Take time for creating clarity and removing roadblocks, building genuine connection, and proactively asking them for their ideas.

3. Lead your meetings from both sides of the hybrid table to avoid proximity bias

If you primarily lead meetings from a physical office with remote members dialing in, try leading your meeting from a remote location from time to time while others are still gathered in the conference room.

Giving yourself the experience of remote participation will also help you be mindful of creating a common, shared experience (eg: avoiding side-bar conversations or inside jokes that don’t include everyone – this is one reason many hybrid team leaders move to a “one screen-one face” approach, even for those in person.)

4. Be purposeful with your time together

If it’s feasible to bring your team together in person, consider the most important work to accomplish during that time (e.g. strategic planning, raising ideas, sharing concerns, building trust, gaining exposure to executives, navigating tough performance conversations). And if you require in-person days, ask your team what would make that time most worth the commute.

5. Measure it

If you’re serious about overcoming proximity bias, you need to know when it’s happening. Just like other unconscious biases, it’s important to measure behavior.

One easy way to do this is to keep a list of each member of your team and track your interactions. For example, you might track the time and duration of one-on-ones, informal conversations, and other meetings. Then, look or the patterns.

Read more here for deeper insights into overcoming proximity bias

How to Overcome Proximity Bias for a Better Hybrid Team

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How Managers (unintentionally) Roadblock an Empowered Team

Empowered teams will transform results, solve problems you didn’t know exist, and rapidly respond to change. Most managers will say they want those outcomes and that they believe in an empowered team, but unintentionally prevent their teams from doing their best. Avoid these common roadblocks and you’ll release your team to be their best:

Soak up their timeUnclear definition of successBe a chokepointMisguided supportKeep information to yourselfFear new ideasLack of accountabilityWhat is an Empowered Team?

“Empower” is one of those business lingo words that risks losing its meaning because it’s used so often – and often incorrectly. Even the core meaning of the word (to give power) is challenging. There are some times you do “give” power over…for example, when you ask someone to make a decision or offer an opportunity to try something new.

But most of the time, empowerment isn’t about you giving your team anything – it’s about helping them understand and own the power they already have. This means removing roadblocks, supporting them, giving them the information they need to make effective decisions, and helping navigate relationships with other teams.

An empowered team solves problems on their own, they think critically, the own their outcomes and work together to achieve them. They are confident and competent, while continuing to learn and grow.

One Big Reason Managers Disempower Their Team

The most common mistakes that disempower teams often result from a manager’s insecurity. Insecurity looks like a manager who feels they have to demonstrate their value by taking up everyone’s time, being the source of all knowledge, or unwillingness to consider new ideas because of the risk involved.

If any of those sound familiar, we invite you to reframe what success looks like in your role. It isn’t the work you do or how smart you are. Your success is how successfully your team performs, how they grow, and the quality of problems they solve.

Seven Common Mistakes that Roadblock an Empowered Team

As you build an empowered team, focus on removing these roadblocks and watch your team flourish.

Soak up Their Time

People need time to do the work that’s at the core of their function. Take up too much of that time with meetings or endless discussions and they end up working after hours to make up the gap (or not). Either way, it’s a problem.

At the same time, your team needs to meet. You should have one-on-ones. You should discuss and make decisions together. How do you find the right balance?

The shortest way to answer this question is to ask, “Is this meeting for the team/employee’s benefit or for mine?” Will it truly help them be more connected, productive, effective, visible, or equipped? If it’s not an effective use of their time, consider eliminating, consolidating, or automating that process.

If it is a good use of time, lead your meetings efficiently with a clear outcome for the discussion. Protect your team’s time—in today’s workplace, it’s one of the greatest acts of service you can give.

Unclear Definition of Success

When we talk with managers about empowered teams, one of the first questions they ask is “How can I empower my team when they don’t get the results we need?”

The answer to this question almost always comes back to two things: unclear definitions of success and/or a lack of training.

The challenge for most managers is that they think they’ve communicated what success looks like, but their team doesn’t have the same picture at all. It often takes far more communication up front than you think it will.

Take the time to check for understanding, schedule the finish, and describe in detail what a successful outcome looks like or will accomplish (and if you don’t know yet what success looks like, be upfront about that. Include future time and emotional energy for edits).

As your team works toward that goal, revisit those outcomes – will their current approach achieve those goals?

Be a Chokepoint

How often is your team waiting on you for information, your opinion, or a decision? If you are a consistent chokepoint, there are several solutions. You may need to give the team more information. You might need to invite them to trust their judgment (and respond with regard as they learn). It’s possible they need more training in how you would think about the subject or make a decision.

If you’re a consistent chokepoint, set aside consistent time to invest in growing your team’s skills and abilities. Get comfortable with not being a part of every decision – remember, that’s not your job. Helping your team know how to make good decisions is where the magic happens.

Misguided Support

Like the people in them, teams have natural life cycles. They usually start needing training and equipping, then need to grow their competence and confidence on the way to mastery. Give your team the support they need when they need it.

Some managers over-rely on one type of support. For example, if you’re an ace at coaching and accountability conversations, and you tend to see everything through that lens, you will miss opportunities to help a low-confidence team build their belief in their own ability. Encouragement would be more effective.

The confidence-competence model is a useful way to think about the specific support your team needs.

Keep Information to Yourself

There are usually two causes when managers don’t share information with their team. First, the manager doesn’t want to share it for fear of becoming irrelevant or losing the value their knowledge gave them. The second cause is time – you’re moving fast and hadn’t realized the team didn’t know or could really use that information.

If you worry about losing value when you share information, remember:

Success isn’t the work you do or how smart you are. Your success is your team’s performance, how they grow, and the quality of problems they solve.

To help your team get the information they need, include five-why questions (ask why five times until you get to foundational reasons) to uncover needed connections and purpose. Another useful technique is a pre-mortem – done well, you’ll uncover critical information and opportunities.

Fear of New Ideas

Another common roadblock for empowered teams is a manager’s reluctance to consider new ideas. It’s understandable: if what we did yesterday worked, why would we want to change it?

It’s a natural way to think and, unfortunately, it doesn’t serve you or your team well. The world is changing. Your competition is changing. Technology evolves.

New ideas and solutions are critical for your long-term success. You don’t have to embrace every idea, but the more you create a culture where solving problems and daily innovations are the norm, the more relevant and effective you and your team will be.

Start here to help your team think through and contribute game-changing ideas. And here’s a resource to help you share your ideas (and be a role model for your team).

Lack of Accountability

A poorly performing team member or someone’s disruptive, negative behavior are roadblocks to team performance. In highly effective, empowered teams, the team may address it internally. If not, healthy accountability and feedback conversations are another place where you help remove obstacles to a truly empowered team.

Here’s a resource for more on how to have effective performance conversations that achieve results and build relationships.

Your Turn

Leading empowered teams can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences you’ll have. But it requires reframing what success looks like in your role. Become a leader who removes roadblocks like the seven mentioned here and watch what your team will achieve.

I’d love to hear from you: what would you add to this list? What other common roadblocks can frustrate or undermine an empowered team?

The post How Managers (unintentionally) Roadblock an Empowered Team appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Leading with the Psychology of Belonging with DDS Dobson-Smith

Does your company or organization have trouble attracting and retaining people from diverse and underrepresented communities? Does your organizational culture suffer from low morale, exclusive cliques, or microaggressions you don’t know how to address? If yes, this episode is for you to help discover how to facilitate a culture of belonging, with practical tips for creating inclusive workplaces where people can show up as themselves.

Tune in as DDS Dobson-Smith lays out the deep psychology of our need to belong, its critical impact on workplace performance, and the practical steps any organization can take to make everyone feel welcome and included. Learn how diversity and representation can lead to a greater experience of belonging for everyone.

 

Leading with the Psychology of Belonging

05:14
The power of internalizing somebody else’s belief in us and creating that as our own as a part of our own growth.

06:08

Viewing belonging as an experience and empathy as a learnable skill.

17:26
We experience psychological safety when we realize that it’s not expensive to be ourselves.

19:41
Are the processes, the policies, and the platforms that an organization deploys in its being an organization inclusive to you?

20:45
Thinking equitably not equally to cultivate a sense of belonging.

32:03
When we are learning, we’re gonna be wrong and we just gotta get comfortable with being wrong.

42:01
Employee satisfaction or engagement and employee attrition and the correlation between those two metrics.

44:52
Two or three practical suggestions for leaders to start implementing, and taking action over time to start growing in that direction.

 

Connect with DDS

Website

LinkedIn

Facebook

Youtube

www.soultrained.com

Get the Book

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How Can I Be More Resourceful (When Resources are Scarce)? [VIDEO]

Getting Scrappy And Resourceful with What You Have
From Where You Are

This week on #AskingforaFriend I speak with Scott Lesnick, a resourcefulness expert about how to be more resourceful– particularly when you’re really stretched and stressed.

Scott offers some solid before-dinner wisdom straight from my living room.

Repurpose existing resources, talent, and technologyReduce stress (it’s hard to innovate when you’re feeling anxious)Check-in at an individual level to connect and remove roadblocksFind the others (talk to people, expand your network)

Before you begin trying new ways to show courage, start by recognizing what already makes you a strong leader.

Additional Ways to Be More Resourceful

If you’re looking for additional ways to be more resourceful, don’t underestimate the benefits of involving your team. In this article, I share practical ways to help your team be more resourceful (for all 7 click here).

My favorite is starting with a solid infrastructure.

You don’t sabotage natural creativity and resourcefulness with your infrastructure, rules, and words.

For example, consider a highly competitive culture where people or regions are stack-ranked against one another. They’re not likely to reach out and ask one another for help or share best practices.

Be sure your team knows that their competition is mediocrity, not the guy in the Zoom window next door.

Similarly, if even small decisions require multiple layers of approval, your team will lose energy to try new things. Or if people think they’ll get in trouble for their creativity, they won’t risk it.

A good place to start is to set clear parameters for decisions so employees understand where they’re truly empowered to try new approaches and get scrappy—and where you’d rather they not.

Of course, sometimes an abundance of resources can actually sabotage your ability to grow resourceful leaders.

The most resourceful leaders I know learned how to do more with less because they had to.

Be sure you’re giving your team some opportunities to get resourceful and scrappy.

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How to Overcome Proximity Bias for a Better Hybrid Team

Avoid the Unconscious Proximity Bias Frustrating Your Hybrid Team

Like most forms of accidental discrimination, proximity bias is tricky. Human-centered managers don’t set out to treat remote workers differently. And yet, it’s easy to screw up in subtle, often unconscious ways.

Sure, there will always be old-school managers like Elon Musk, whose bias towards in-person work is deliberate and vocal—requiring employees to spend “a minimum of forty hours in a physical office a week.”

And certainly, if you’re running the company, it’s your prerogative to define your culture and make the rules. You’ll attract and retain the employees who resonate with your approach and deal with the fallout. And everyone also has the choice of whether to work in a particular culture or go elsewhere.

But let’s be real. Until recently, Musk’s approach would not be so shocking or controversial. Many big companies, including Verizon where I (Karin) worked for two decades, were quite clear that being in-person mattered—a lot.

To be promoted past a certain level you had to relocate to headquarters. In fact, our 9 box talent review forms had a defining check mark about relocation. During the years I worked remotely, I obtained lifetime Titanium status at my favorite hotel brand. Just like many of my peers.

Showing up in person was expected and noted. Everyone knew if you couldn’t pull that off, you were slow-tracking your career.

Not today. Most companies with similar histories are proactively undoing their explicit proximity bias—making a complete 180-degree shift on such policies. They know that attracting and retaining the best talent requires flexibility.

The New Challenge for Hybrid Teams

And it’s tricky. Because those policies and attitudes were there for a reason— proximity bias is real and it’s challenging to overcome.

We both have life-long friendships with people we worked with years ago. It’s hard to imagine that level of trust without all the shared meals, experiences, and impromptu mishaps and adventures.

Most people will bond better over a real lunch than even the best virtual taco party. It’s human nature to turn to the co-worker in the cube next door when you need help or advice. It takes effort to remember all that your co-worker three time zones away brings to the table. Without a proactive approach to managing proximity bias, inertia wins, and your out-of-arms-distance team members can feel (and be) excluded.

Of course, they might not share their concerns about proximity bias. Or even know to call it that. They stay silent for fear their complaints will be met with a call to spend more time in person.

What is Proximity Bias?

Proximity bias is giving intentional or unintentional disparate treatment to the people closest to you in geography or time zone. Proximity bias, like all biases, is an instinctual and often unconscious response when making decisions. It’s a tendency to collaborate more with people we trust, without stopping to consider why we trust them more than others. It can happen from leader to team member when a manager favors those they’re physically around. And, less frequently discussed or challenged is the proximity bias that happens among team members who have a less formal obligation for inclusion.

Examples of Proximity Bias

So, how does proximity bias show up in hybrid teams? Here are a few examples.

You need to make a decision quickly so you call a quick huddle in the office to get a few ideas. You don’t circle back to include your remote team members.You’re running a meeting with two-thirds of the team in person and a few people on zoom. You’ve shared the slides on the screen, so now the zoom attendees are tiny little squares so it’s difficult to read their facial expressions. After a while, your remote team members just turn off their cameras— because, why bother?Your boss flies in for an executive visit. You do a great job hosting a town hall meeting and a Q&A that includes your remote team members. That evening the in-person team goes out for a few beers and that’s where the conversation starts to get real.You give the special project to the people you trust the most, without considering what’s underneath that deeper relationship.When you go on vacation, you default to an in-person team member acting for you, because it’s “easier to navigate” the politics in person if something comes up.Your in-office team stays after your hybrid meeting to brainstorm ideas.Practical Approaches to Being More Inclusive in Your Hybrid Team

Just like the other work you’re doing on diversity, equity and inclusion, overcoming proximity bias takes deliberate focus and practical, tactical approaches.

Talk about proximity bias with your teamBe thoughtful and deliberate in your one-on-onesLead your meetings from both sides of the hybrid tableBe purposeful with your time togetherMeasure it1. Talk about proximity bias WITH your team.

Yes, your corporate policies and resources matter. Technology matters. We applaud all the important time and effort being invested to find systemic ways to overcome proximity bias. What happens at a team level also matters. One of the best things you can do to eliminate proximity bias is to help your managers have these conversations well with their teams.

For example, you could start the conversation like this.

“We want to create an inclusive work environment where we respect, value, and support every team member no matter where they choose to work. What’s working now? What’s getting in the way?”

Spend time communicating about how you communicate. Our free 6 Habits of Highly Effective Hybrid and Virtual Teams assessment can be a useful way to start this conversation. During this conversation, asking your remote team members (with sincere, open curiosity) about their experiences, challenges, and what’s missing will help you surface opportunities you wouldn’t be aware of otherwise. The Own the U.G.L.Y. framework is one way you can structure these conversations.

2. Be thoughtful and deliberate in your one-on-ones

There’s no better way to know what’s really on your employees’ hearts and minds than a truly great approach to one-on-ones, taking time for creating clarity and removing roadblocks, building genuine connection, and proactively asking them for their ideas.

With that said, one trap that’s easy to fall into in hybrid teams is to have too much of the conversation flow through you, and not enough collaboration among the team. Look for ways to have your hybrid team members work together on special projects, brainstorm ideas, or solve problems—be deliberate to pair up people who work in different locations.

One of the very best ways to build shared history, trust, and connection is by collaborating on work that matters.

3. Lead your meetings from both sides of the hybrid table

If you primarily lead meetings from a physical office with remote members dialing in, try leading your meeting from a remote location from time to time while others are still gathered in the conference room.

This was such an important experiment for us as we were refining our hybrid team leadership programs (where some participants were in person with us and others were dialing in). We quickly learned how important subtle issues were like camera and mic position, how you take notes, and what happens when you share slides to breakout rooms (note; that can make it very hard to see the people and can diminish connection).

It’s important to experience the frustrations that your team members may be afraid to speak up and mention. 

It can also help to rotate responsibility for facilitating your meetings to a different member of your team each time and equipping all your team members with the basics of remote team facilitation.

Giving yourself the experience of remote participation will also help you be mindful of creating a common, shared experience (eg: avoiding side-bar conversations or inside jokes that don’t include everyone – this is one reason many hybrid team leaders move to a “one screen-one face” approach, even for those in person.)

4. Be purposeful with your time together

Whether you are gathering in person from time to time or planning a hybrid special event, be deliberate about designing your time for maximum ROI. Being in back-to-back virtual meetings is exhausting. And remotely participating in a poorly designed virtual event can feel like you’re just watching bad TV.

If it’s feasible to bring your team together in person, consider the most important work to accomplish during that time (e.g. strategic planning, raising ideas, sharing concerns, building trust, gaining exposure to executives, navigating tough performance conversations). And if you require in-person days, ask your team what would make that time most worth the commute.

Another proximity bias to consider is the proximity of time zones.

We’ve been working with some global teams that only have a two-hour window when any of their schedules can reasonably overlap. They’ve learned to use that time deliberately for their most important synchronous communication, and then establish careful norms and response time expectations for their asynchronous interaction.

5. Measure it

If you’re serious about overcoming proximity bias, you need to know when it’s happening. Just like other unconscious biases, it’s important to measure behavior.

One easy way to do this is to keep a list of each member of your team and track your interactions. For example, you might track the time and duration of one-on-ones, informal conversations, and other meetings. Then, look or the patterns.

If you’re a senior HR or operations leader, you can also track as part of your DE&I measures. For example, comparing data about promotions, compensation, or special projects of employees working in a physical office and those working from home.

Building highly effective virtual and hybrid teams takes time. You’re going to learn what works best by staying close to your team and iterating along the way. If a team member raises concerns about proximity bias take that conversation seriously. Talk about practical ways to remedy the situation.

Share your ideas and keep the conversation going.

 

The post How to Overcome Proximity Bias for a Better Hybrid Team appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Courageous at Work: A Managerial Challenge [VIDEO]

Being Courageous at Work Creates a Deeper Influence and Impact

Being challenged to be more courageous at work can feel overwhelming. You might find yourself asking (for a friend) just how to demonstrate courage as a manager.

Here’s the good news. Most acts of courage don’t require big bold actions. It’s consistently doing the right thing time after time.

So this week, on Asking For a Friend, I bring you this very special managerial courage challenge to help you be more courageous at work. Or, to encourage courage in others.

I encourage you to complete a challenge each day and notice the impact. Or even better, share this article with your team and complete the “courageous at work” challenges together to encourage courage in one another.

Your Courageous at Work Managerial Courage Challenge1. Own your strengths

I’m going to bet you have a talent or strength you’re holding back. Maybe it’s not directly related to your job description and you want to “stay in your lane.” Or, you’re trying to stay humble, so you hold back your ideas.

Your first challenge is to consider one strength you could leverage a bit more.  If you’re doing this Courageous at Work challenge as a team, take a few minutes and ask one of these conversation starters.

“What makes you a rock star in your role? How could we be leveraging that more as a team?”

“What’s a skill or talent that you bring to the team that we might not know about or fully appreciate?”

Before you begin trying new ways to show courage, start by recognizing what already makes you a strong leader.

2. Ask for feedback

When people are really honest with me behind closed doors (or in a private zoom chat), I hear a few reasons people don’t ask their peers for feedback:

1) they don’t want to bother people or appear needy
2) there’s an underlying conflict or tension and they don’t trust the motives behind what they will hear
3) they perceive what they’re doing is working and so they don’t want to change
4) they’ve received feedback before and it was delivered poorly or was just stupid (like the time my boss told me a smiled too much)
5) they don’t have time

So today’s managerial courage challenge is to go ask a peer for feedback.

The easiest and most effective way to do this is to ask a specific courageous question. 

Rather than asking a big open-ended question, like “How can I be more effective as a leader,” you can encourage their courage by asking, “what’s ONE way I could be more supportive of you?” Being specific (just asking for one idea makes it easier to provide feedback. Of course, be sure you respond well (our REAP method can help with that). 

As a manager, showing your willingness to hear feedback from your colleagues goes a long way in being courageous at work.

3. Share an idea

If you’ve been following us for a while you know how passionate we are about this one. You can read about our Courageous Cultures research and download the first few chapters of our book Courageous Cultures: How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers, and Customer Advocates here. 

If you’re doing this challenge as a team, imagine how powerful it would be if you each shared one idea to make things easier or better

An idea can only make an impact if it’s shared. Hopefully, you will inspire your peers to be courageous at work and share their ideas as well.

4. Address a performance issue

When employees come to me frustrated that their boss “LACKS COURAGE,” their biggest complaint is usually that they let slackers slide.

They don’t have the courage to maintain a culture of accountability or build a team who knows how to do that for one another.

So, here’s your next “Asking for a Friend” challenge to help you to encourage courage and be more courageous at work.

I mention our I.N.S.P.I.R.E. method for feedback. If you aren’t familiar with that approach to accountability conversations, start here. It’s one of the most popular techniques we teach in our leadership development programs. 

 Though challenging, this can also help to quell the frustrations of your team members. Here’s the #1 tip for mastering the art of the tough conversation.

5. Try a new approach

Your next challenge to help you be a bit more courageous at work is to try something new.

If “It ain’t broke, don’t fix it” feels comfortable, experimenting with a well-run pilot can go a long way in upping your managerial courage while managing your stress.

67% of the employees in our courageous cultures research said their manager operates around the notion of “This is the way we’ve always done it.”

If this could be you, this is a managerial courage challenge for you.

It takes a lot of courage to break from the routine, but it can lead to game-changing results.

6. Ask for help

I imagine that this nex managerial courage challenge might be tricky.

Ask for help.

This Harvard Business Review article is full of reasons why asking for help builds trust, reduces burnout, and increases job satisfaction. In case that helps encourage this aspect of being courageous at work.

And, I know it’s still hard.

We don’t want to be a bother.
We don’t want to appear needy…

AND if you’re looking to make the biggest difference possible, why wouldn’t you get all the help you can on your important mission?

Asking for help is really a sign of strength, not weakness. Doing so demonstrates your humility and humanity.

7. Lift up your peers

Sometimes it takes courage to lift others up– to find and encourage heroes around you.

This one can be tricky, particularly if you’re working in a highly competitive environment. And, it’s one that I wish I learned sooner.

It’s natural to support your team and your boss, but it’s also so important to keep your peripheral vision open and notice and celebrate your coworkers.

So that’s your final challenge in our 7-part, Asking For a Friend Managerial Courage Challenge.

Find a coworker to celebrate and advocate for them.

Having the courage to advocate for a team member will give them the courage to do the same for someone else.

I’d love to hear about how you’re using this managerial courage challenge to be more courageous at work. Drop me a note in the comments!

To learn more about each of these ways to be courageous at work, click HERE

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Leading Skillful, Connected, Adaptive Teams with Gerald Leonard

How can you lead more connected, adaptive teams that think critically, and adapt to change? In this episode, conservatory-trained jazz musician, author, and CEO Gerald Leonard gives you leadership approaches to help you build teams that operate like a jazz ensemble. Teams that connect with one another, respond to each other’s talents, and work together under pressure with less defensiveness. That’s the gift of workplace jazz.

Tune in and get a team development system that provides clarity, purpose, and structure to support individual and corporate responsibility in building cultures that are healthier and more productive.

Leading Skillful, Connected, Adaptive Teams

6:18 – Developing influence without authority

7:12 – How your leadership roles can outgrow your capacity

9:51 – The importance of realizing you don’t have control

10:55 – Why a vision of something bigger than themselves is vital for adaptive teams

13:00 – Leadership and love

14:05 – How teams of skilled experts pull together to honor one another’s strength

19:59 – Why good jazz, and great teams, require skillful team members

21:33 – How dedicated practice and study give you the confidence to connect, adapt, and respond to change

25:12 – Neuroscience and conversational intelligence

26:57 – How your brain develops fast pathways where you develop expertise

30:41 – Recognizing the different phases of team’s work and how adaptive teams leverage the abilities of their people

35:13 – Risk and reward: how jazz musicians incorporate “wrong” notes into the music and how teams and leaders can learn from healthy risks and “failures.”

37:35 – Creating the psychological safety to take risks

38:53 – The leadership (and jazz) principle of surrendering to support

44:51 – How leaders can build adaptive teams by putting people forward

Connect with Gerald

Website

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook

Get the Book

 

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