What does it mean to be a good leader?
How can leaders empower their teams during uncertain times?
What are 5 key actions to boost your company culture in challenging times?
During our last online Webinar we were discussing the above questions with 3 amazing speakers, human impact and business transformation leaders who were sharing their ideas on the effective leadership.
While no one can predict with confidence what will happen next, it is likely that uncertainty will generate volatility for some time to come. I think it is important to note that leaders and others in management positions have no immunity from feelings of helplessness and anxiety fostered by these events. And that’s why the main goal of our online webinar was to support leaders and managers, so they are better equipped in times of uncertainty and are able to show the way forward to their employees and instill a sense of energy and inspiration that their organizations need.
Majeed Hosseiney shared his expertise on leadership and mentioned that the most powerful tool for leading is to use the ¨emorational¨ approach. This means that as leaders we are not just focusing on the rational side of the leadership (planning, reviewing, approving the budget, etc.), but even more important is that we use our emotional intelligence to connect with people and our teams. ¨Good leader is always on the back stage, since it’s not about him or her, but about their people¨ – says Majeed.
What is the most challenging for you as a manager while leading in uncertain times?
Another important ingredient of any leadership is to be able to connect with your team, to show a way forward and to empower them.
How?
I shared another technique that leaders can use in order to empower their teams. And this is about focusing on the team strengths. It is important for leaders to know their team strengths, to discuss them openly and to use them during challenging times. And the first thing you might want to do is to plan to discuss your team strengths in your next team meeting. One of the easiest way to do this is to start with the following exercise:
- create a questionnaire that would reveal your team strengths, asking each member of your team to complete it individually
- create a nurturing environment to have an open discussion with your team, where each of the members can share their outcomes on this exercise
I always advise for the managers and leaders to be creative with their own questionnaire and to adapt it to their companies needs.
However below are some questions that you might consider to include in your team strengths questionnaire:
1. What activities and skills are core to your day-to-day work?
2. Among the skills you previously listed, which are you most proud of? Why?
3. For which skills you are seen a go-to resource, or “expert” by your peers?
4. Which skills or activities that you listed do you feel least confident about?
This exercise has several advantages: first, it allows team members to work on their self-awareness about where they stand in terms of their strengths and the needed skills. Second, it gives visibility to leaders on the current needs of their team and creates an idea on how can team strengths be used in challenging times.
What about the importance of the company culture?
Mareike Müller shared 5 key actions to boost company culture in challenging times, which are the following:
- Vertical recognition. It is crucial for the leaders to recognize their team efforts and especially those teams that were the most affected during challenging times.
- Horizontal recognition. This is peer to peer recognition and leaders can even promote it by offering rewards.
- Online team buildings in order to re-focus on the core company values.
- Implement several surveys on the satisfaction and well-being at work and act on it after analyzing the answers.
- Do fun things! You can be creative and do some fun videos and share with the whole company (especially applicable in order to include a social element while working remotely).
The entire recording of this online discussion is available in my YouTube Channel, you will find it by clicking the following link: https://bit.ly/2AwiDrd
We invite you to become a part of this important conversation on personal and organizational well-being!
Stay well and safe,
Jelena
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