It doesn’t matter what role you have or where you sit in an organisation’s hierarchy, the words resilience, wellbeing and self-care are popping up constantly. There are also plenty of discussions about how tired folk are feeling, even after a break.
I’m still hearing more about burnout, disengagement and a rise in presenteeism (showing up but not performing at your best) among many other challenges. And I’m getting more enquiries about how leaders can help themselves and their teams to find a way through the turbulence we’re all facing. At the same time, streamlining and efficiency continues.
Conversations about people’s personal as well as their work lives are increasingly common. People are striving for ‘life balance’ (a phrase one client uses rather than ‘work-life balance’). You’re probably reading this and thinking you want that too.
Drawing on my own research, and lessons I’ve learned with my clients over the last couple of years, here are eight things that could help you lead better through all this uncertainty in 2023:
Image: Jehyun Sung, unsplash
1. EQ not IQ will be a game-changer
We’re all in a state of constant test and learn, drawing on approaches like agile working that can offer adaptability and flexibility when they’re needed. People are looking for more from their employers – a greater sense of purpose, more choice, flexible and hybrid working and support for better ‘life balance’. At the same time, organisations need to be efficient and keep an eye on the bottom line – it’s tricky.
You will have heard this before, but this demands very different leadership styles to the ‘command and control’, toxic approaches of the past (think Lord Sugar in ‘The Apprentice’).
That means more collaboration, listening, honesty, compassion and celebrating people – in short, more focus on emotional intelligence or EQ. The bonus of this approach? A better place to work with more engaged and happier employees – including you - which can only be good for everyone and can help the bottom line.
So, investing in coaching, training, mentoring that will help shape and develop your emotional intelligence as a leader or manager will be invaluable.
2. Clear communication is essential
Humans don’t like change or ambiguity. When our brains don’t know what’s going to happen it can make us feel unsafe. We can move into a mode of threat response – fight, flight, freeze or fawn.
When things are continually uncertain both inside and outside organisations, keeping people updated with clear and understandable messages delivered in an accessible way, will help to keep that ambiguity at bay. Even if you don’t have all the facts, share what you know and let people know when you’ll be back with more details.
3. Recognise ‘work-life’ balance is a thing of the past
People turn up as whole human beings at work. Organisations, leaders and managers need to consider how they can support employees in their personal as well as work lives.
You can no longer rely on an Employee Assistance Program or benefits to do this. You need to build belonging and the right, safe environment for people to do their best work.
Being comfortable with acknowledging that everyone – including you – has ‘stuff’ happening that could impact their work performance, takes practice and can feel uncomfortable. But we need to do it if we’re to create that sense of safety and belonging to get the best from ourselves and others.
4. Focus on certainty to make progress
There is so much uncertainty right now. Focusing on what you are certain of can reduce the power – and so the fear - of the unknown. It can help you and your teams make progress on what’s in your control and plan around the risks of the unknown.
5. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
An increase in uncertainty can lead to more conflicting priorities inside organisations and that can feel very uncomfortable. For example, you can compete and make a profit at the same time as looking after people and the planet.
6. Resilience and wellbeing are a team game
In pretty much any research or guidance you read around wellbeing and resilience, social support and connection comes up every time. Humans are social animals. I joined a client’s team awayday last year and it was the first time many of the attendees had met in person or seen one another for almost three years. The sheer joy you could feel in the room from this connection seemed to make the overall learning experience so much better.
Bear this in mind for you and your team.
7. Remember - you help to shape your organisation’s culture
I’ve worked with many different types of organisations, each with their own culture - ways of working, structures and governance that drives and supports decision-making, meeting approaches, the overall cadence of the organisation and behaviours.
This sets expectations on how things are done, how people treat one another and what’s acceptable – or not. Culture isn’t something that leaders create but as role models, they absolutely play a vital part in shaping culture – positively or negatively.
8. Ask for help if you need it
With the need for greater adaptability, time (and budgets) being squeezed, and speed of decision-making still at a high, asking for help is essential. You might need help with your own development, bouncing ideas or getting a second opinion. To paraphrase the author Charlie Mackesy, asking for help is definitely not a weakness – it’s sometimes one of the most courageous things we can do.
The world isn’t going to get any slower any time soon. We need a fine balance between running to keep up with the amount of change that’s coming at us, pausing when it makes sense and leading effectively through it.
If leaders are to help drive change for the better, we’ll need a different perspective on how we lead, the stories we tell ourselves and how we take care of ourselves and each other.
If support would be helpful in tackling any of these issues, I offer facilitation, coaching, mentoring and consultancy to help create change for the better . Please get in touch if you’d like to chat about any of the topics in this blog.