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+ Communicating key messages:
In tough times how leaders and managers communicate with each other and their teams is essential to being able to ride out the storm. A lack of information will lead to lead to high levels of anxiety and low productivity so one of the most important things for leaders to do in difficult times is communicate - consistently and clearly.
While a little stress is good for performance, high stress reduces our ability to process and remember, so your ability to understand and communicate new information is going to be impacted.
Communicating essential information is for anyone, but particularly managers and leaders, who need to share key information clearly and consistently with their peers and reports in a way that is both engaging and easily understood.
+ Everyday inclusive management:
We try to treat everyone fairly but sometimes our instincts can be off.
There’s a danger we may be making assumptions or have preconceived ideas that we aren't even aware of.
To get the most from everyone in all circumstances and ensure a collaborative, trusting, high performing culture, it’s essential that you treat each person equally, making sure that you are provide the same amount of support and opportunity to everyone.
Everyday inclusive management will help you overcome your unconscious biases and also help your team get the support from you they may not have known they needed.
+ Amplifying voices:
Have you ever noticed how some people are listened to more than others? Sometimes they are the loudest, sometimes not, but for some reason they are always heard while others are spoken over.
Not only is experience of being talked over or ignored disengaging and upsetting for both the individual and those watching, it also means valuable insights and ideas are likely being lost. In contrast, being listened to encourages people to share their ideas and concerns more confidently - increasing motivation and engagement whilst reducing risk.
Amplifying voices will help leaders and managers ensure everyone's voice is heard, in a way that promotes collaboration, recognition and innovation.
+ Encouraging dissent:
If you aren’t hearing regular (respectful) disagreement or people raising concerns, it might feel like a good thing - that everyone is getting along and projects are being delivered smoothly. But you run the danger of getting blindsided by your own assumptions - that people who have critical information are simply not being heard because they are too nervous to voice their concerns.
In order to ensure this doesn’t happen you need to help people feel safe to share their concerns and opinions by taking their views seriously, acting when they are valid and giving reasoned explanations when they cannot be acted on.
Encouraging dissent is for leaders and managers who need to encourage innovation by allowing all voices to be heard, even (especially) when it is something that hurts to hear.
+ Making good decisions:
It’s hard making good decisions at the best of times but when we are stressed it’s even more difficult.
We are more likely to act on our biases, ignore critical information and rush into what we feel is the least risky.
Unfortunately this is also the time when making the right decision could make all the difference and the wrong decision can have a long lasting negative impact.
Instead learn how to pause and find the ‘good’ information that will lead to the best decision.
Making good decisions helps people distil information quickly, discern the credible from the fake and do it all at pace!
+ Engaged listening:
High levels of stress can derail even the most effective and empathetic communicator.
Under pressure we become distracted, our body language changes, we’re more likely to misunderstand others or not hear them at all.
When everyone is under pressure at once, this effect becomes magnified, causing communication channels to break down and an already highly difficult situation to get worse.
By paying attention to people you can prevent this, ensuring they feel listened to and comfortable coming to you to share information and concerns.
Engaged listening will help you understand the unexpected challenges people are facing and give them the support they need to manage these situations.
