Focal Leadership

Leadership

Is a rest enough?

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Rest

Is a rest enough? Many leaders are hoping that employees can get a vacation break over the summer and then get back into the swing of business as usual. As a result of burn out arising from the pandemic, I think the most common response to the question of “how are you?”, is “worn out”, “really tired”, “I need a break”, or something along those lines. And of course, leaders are saying the same thing.

If you keep up with the latest headlines you cannot fail to miss discussion about The Great Resignation – the notion that over 40% of employees are looking for another job. I would not be surprised if the number is higher! I am also not surprised by the number of people quitting their jobs without another one lined up. The pandemic has enforced layoffs, furloughs, working from home, kids home-schooling, family/friend separations, and travel restrictions. That is without mentioning the most serious repercussion – death and illness. Our world of norms has been rocked to the core.

Companies and leaders are negotiating the difficult challenges of what happens next. Some have reacted by insisting that employees return to the office on certain dates – “we are an office-based company, and we are going back to the way we used to be before the pandemic”. I cannot help but feel how tone-deaf this approach is. It ignores the psychological turmoil that people have been through and the fundamental changes that the pandemic has brought to people’s lives. Other companies are negotiating a blended approach – back to the office for some days and work from home for others (if people wish). Others are still hedging their bets and not deciding about a return to office working yet.

Parents, students, and teachers are all hoping that in-person schooling is the guaranteed norm for the next school year. People are trying to take vacation breaks over the summer, although international travel is pretty much ruled out because of quarantine requirements. Businesses are facing a talent shortage, brought on by attrition, the challenges of recruitment at the tail end of the pandemic, and the upturn in economic activity. Vaccination numbers are inconsistent depending on where you live, and rules of mask wearing vary from building to building. All of these are challenges that bring uncertainty into the minds of many.

So, will taking a break and having a rest resolve all of the issues and can everyone get back into the swing of things with a new mood of optimism after the summer? No.

Taking a week or two off may help to recharge the batteries for a short-term impact, but it does not address the deep weariness and disillusionment felt by so many. People’s paradigms of the world of work have taken a battering. Work has invaded people’s homes, their family time, their rest time. Not all leaders have led well. Virtual working has changed expectations of work satisfaction and engagement. There is a strong need for something different – one of the main drivers for the Great Resignation.

Leaders need to lead through this unique time in our history. Overload in empathy, listening, communicating, and most of all change. One of the best initiative’s leaders can take right now is considering how to bring positive change into the working lives of their employees. This is not just about where people work! It is about the need for people to get renewed vision, passion, and purpose in what they are doing. It is about people feeling a sense of connectedness right through the organization. Changing people’s jobs, rotating roles, new project opportunities, and switching the old norms into new norms – all of these will help to keep employees engaged. Opportunities to involve people, switch up social gatherings, free lunches, novel reward schemes – all of these can help. Just do something!

Employees appreciate gestures made to them in the form of compensation and more time off. But essentially, they want a do-over in the psychological contract they have with the world of work. Now is the time for innovation, initiative, and inspiration. Leaders – get together, work out a plan, revisit Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and create a new normal for all your employees. Create a work experience, not just a workplace. Develop work community not just work commitment. Change the paradigms of work and you will be rewarded as a leader in the new world of work.

Is your boss emotionally unintelligent?

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bad leader

Awhile ago I spoke with a business leader who told me they had a boss who is emotionally unintelligent. Taking Daniel Goleman’s definition of emotional intelligence, this means that the boss is not self-aware, does not manage their emotions well, is socially unaware, and does not manage relationships effectively. Not the best boss imaginable!

So, what do you do with a boss like this? Especially if this boss is very senior in your organization – a position they probably attained through their genius and business prowess, not people management skills.

Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Try to convert them

    If you are a very emotionally intelligent leader yourself, you may fancy your chances at converting this emotionally unintelligent leader. Some might say good luck! Reach out to them with a human touch, offer them feedback, and try to appeal to the small amount of empathy that lies within. Who knows, you may unlock someone who has become the person they are because no-one has tried to help them discover a better version of themselves. Sitting down and talking about the style of leadership they exhibit may be risky, but you may find them receptive to feedback offered with humility and best intentions. I have always felt that there is good in everyone – sometimes it is just buried quite deep. The leader might of course be completely impervious to your approaches and backing off may eventually be a wise course of action.

  2. Leave them be

Some leaders are tough nuts to crack when it comes to personal behavior change. You might just be best off going with the flow. Accept that they are unlikely to ask you how your weekend went, host a celebration event, or care about building a relationship with you. They might be 100% business and 0% personable. Sometimes it is not worth getting stressed or upset about a leader like this. Try and work with it. Acknowledge the way they are and go with the flow. This might be an emotionally bankrupt approach but make your emotional deposits elsewhere in relationships that offer a return on investment. When interfacing with your boss, tune yourself into the way they are. This way you will meet their expectations.

  • Stay authentic

    Carry on being the person you are. This can a tough road, especially as you are unlikely to get any response to your emotional investment. But some people can pull this off. Stay true to the emotionally intelligent person you are. Ask your boss how their weekend went. Invite them to a social gathering. Share things that are going on in your life. You may hit a brick wall and be ignored, but at least you are filling the airwaves with the positivity that you appreciate. If you are in the company of others as well as your boss, they will latch onto your attitude and appreciate you. Your boss might bark at you to focus on the business at hand, so be careful that you do not show any disrespect. At least you can feel fulfilled in continuing to be the person you are and not compromising your behavior just because it is not reciprocated.

  • Keep your network alive

    No person is an island. Even a CEO has a Board to be accountable to. When faced with an emotionally unintelligent boss, it is important that you keep networking with their peers, other direct reports, and skip level (if appropriate). Take big precautions not to gossip or side with others who bad mouth your boss. The last thing you need is to have your relationship poisoned, no matter how legitimate that might be. You can say that the relationship with your boss is challenging and laugh about some of the incidents that you have experienced but try to stay professional and positive as much as possible. Building relationships with others who share your boss’ circle of influence will ensure that you are inclusive and politically savvy. You might also discover ways of improving your relationship with your boss – others may have learned a secret or two.

  • Talk to a coach

    Sometimes you just need someone to vent to. Let your frustrations and need for validation spill out onto someone else. If your need for emotional connection and relational understanding are not met by your boss, you do need to find a safe place where you can get these. Your partner or family may not be the best place to find counsel. Maybe an HR Business Partner or a coach can help you best. Talk it out. You may find gems of wisdom, but you may not find a resolution – be prepared for that.

Do not be a victim. This person will not be your boss forever. Be true to yourself. Develop your own emotional intelligence and be the best colleague and leader you can be to others.

Is homeworking killing family life?

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homeworking

Whether or not homeworking is impacting family life is a question that urgently needs addressing. Why? A report from Stanford in June 2020 stated that 42% of the US labor force was working from home full-time. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that 50% of his staff will likely be working from home within the next 10 years. Many other companies are also following suit. Of course, the biggest stimulus for this is the global pandemic that has restricted access to offices, travel, and many types of employment. There is also a realization that much work can be done as effectively from home as in an office.

There is some evidence that people who work from home are putting in more work hours than when they would otherwise travel to an office or a place of work. There is also converse evidence that people need closer monitoring when working from home to ensure that they get work done. These diverse perspectives depend largely on the individual, but also on the type of work being done.

There are many remote working examples where employees enjoy greater relaxation and connection between their work and home lives – kids in the background, pets invading the meeting, or flexible workout times. While this has had a positive impact of “humanizing” people, and bringing a lot of flexibility, it may also have negative implications due to the blurring of work and home life. There is an argument that work and home life can exist very well together, especially when they are supportive of the passions and balance enjoyed by those involved.

A recent survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of CBDistillery, found that 56 percent of respondents are more stressed about work than ever before. 62 percent of respondents felt pressure from their company to be working beyond what is required of them as they work from home. 67 percent of respondents also said their company has pressured them into being available at all hours of the day since their work from home period started. This kind of data does not evoke a healthy work/home balance.

The instances of employees working all hours, responding to every email as soon as they can (regardless of time), and working at weekends as well as vacations, are many. The duty of care for employers not to build cultures of expectations such as these is paramount. Also essential is that employees establish clear boundaries for work and home life. Indeed, I champion employees checking out of their work life at weekends and during vacations. I recently read a report that taking a true vacation is important to avoid burnout, reduce vulnerability to illness, protect family relationships, and generally build a healthier outlook on life. All very significant benefits! Seeing people work double the amount of their contracted hours and compromising the time they spend with family and friends should not be a cause of happiness.

As we see the embedding of new working trends following the pandemic experience, we will undoubtedly witness homeworking increase as a proportion of the whole. Homeworking saves companies money on real estate, travel, and other benefits. What companies must do, but often do not, is understand their responsibility to their employees who transition to homeworking. Having worked in Europe for many years, one of the good things that came out of European working rights legislation and directives, is the requirement for employers to bear some responsibility for the homeworking environment of their employees. In my opinion, this should not just be the physical environment and financial implications, but also their mental health and work/life balance.

When work and home life are under the same roof, many people will need to establish new ways of living and being. Exercise routines, breaks during the day, eating habits, and work boundaries are just some of them. I would also suggest that homeworking requires intentional planning as to how to build and maintain healthy relationships and friendships. These will become increasingly under threat if not enough attention is given to them. Spending quality time with your spouse, children, extended family, and friends should be as much a part of everyone’s calendar as answering emails and attending meetings. Homeworking has and will kill family life. To build a healthy and sustainable culture where family life is the foundation of a balanced existence, means ensuring that homeworking should be an enabler not the executioner.

3 Reasons to be a Passionate and Patient Leader

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yin yang

Being a passionate and patient leader embodies a combination of virtues that demonstrate a very powerful style of leadership. Taking each of these virtues to the extreme, with the exclusion of other complementary attributes, could have damaging outcomes. Just demonstrating passion can mean being overly excited, over-powering, or having a disregard for others. Just being patient can mean being slow, unfocused, or lacking drive. Here are three reasons why passion and patience are such good companions.

  1. Be intentional about both

    Leadership is never about just one style, one approach, or one dominant behavior. It is about different attributes working together. Emphasizing these behaviors at different times and being intentional about practicing them in the moment. For example, passion is so important when people need to see a vision, need inspiring, and motivating. Patience is so important when people need to be listened to, understood, or change is not immediately evident.

A passionate and patient leader can balance these attributes in a skillful way to demonstrate energy and drive while simultaneously showing the capacity to engage, listen, and wait for others to get on board. An agile leader can show more passionate leadership when the need is to enthuse and inspire, while practicing patient leadership when the need is to help others understand implications or when events need to align before progress can be made. Great leadership is being able to consciously flex styles and not to be overcome by personal impulse or preference, nor to be swayed inappropriately by external events.

  • Increase your emotional intelligence

    Being emotionally intelligent is to understand your own emotions and their impact on others, and also to understand how your own emotions are influenced by those around you. Where this plays into passionate and patient leadership is to grow a personal level of emotional intelligence and understanding that consciously impacts behavior. For example, if a leader knows that they are particularly passionate, then knowing whether to let this come across full-bore or to moderate it is an emotionally intelligent state. Alternatively, a particularly patient leader will know when to raise the pace and move the agenda forward rather than slip into procrastination or indecision.

    Others may want a leader to be more passionate or patient at any given time. Reading the situation and understanding the source of this insistence is also how an emotionally intelligent leader decides whether to adjust their style or not. Passionate people may wish for a passionate leader. The same goes for patient people. But wholeheartedly passionate or patient people may need a leader with different attributes to get the best from them.

  • Be future-focused and present-conscious

    Agile leaders can often plan to adapt their levels of passion and patience depending on the circumstances. For example, if a leader is giving a presentation about future vision, a passionate description of the future might need to be accompanied with a more patient representation of timeline expectations. Or a patient conversation with an underperforming employee might need to be accompanied with a passionate commitment to their development and confidence in their ability to deliver better performance.

    Mindfully developing a passionate as well as a patient response to circumstances is the mark of a leader who understands that leadership is not just being in the moment, but who also understands the impact their leadership has on future engagement and commitment.

Passion and patience are just two leadership attributes. Comparing and contrasting them in the manner above demonstrates how leaders need to flex behavior to be at their best. During the Covid-19 pandemic, both passion and patience are essential leadership attributes – passion to bring energy in finding ways through current difficulties, and patience to lead those who are inundated by circumstances beyond their control.

3 ways organizations are investing in people not buildings

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Investing in people not buildings has never been more pertinent than the present fall-out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only have office buildings been less accessible due to shut-downs, travel restrictions, and hygiene concerns, but virtual working has proved more effective than many would have dared to anticipate. Very large companies, as well as many small to medium size ones, have chosen to extend some virtual working arrangements for employees indefinitely. Many are re-evaluating their commercial real estate portfolio and creating strategies which have a much greater component of virtual working. The main reasons for this being (a) virtual working can be effective, (b) technology has enabled more virtual working, and (c) virtual employees can obviously be located anywhere with reduced overheads.

The three examples below highlight how companies are investing in people not buildings:

  1. Build your talent pool

    The pandemic has resulted in significant job losses across the world. Not in every industry, but some sectors have been very badly hit. Taking decisions to rationalize the workforce, retaining those who have most potential to win back business, and investing in employee development for remote working, are all strategies that companies are investing in. Organizations should always have a lean employee population, all of whom add definable value to current and future successful performance.

    Corporations have had to make tough decisions about lay-offs and furloughs. While many of these decisions have accompanying stressful personal implications, they are primarily made with survival and organizational health in mind. With the increasing effectiveness of virtual working, the reduction in employees can be mirrored by a smart real estate strategy. This is sometimes not achievable swiftly, mainly because of lease clauses or just because disposing of real estate is very difficult in the current climate. But organizations can and should be shifting the balance of cost from real estate to value-adding employees wherever possible.

  2. Cost effective & flexible

    Not every role is possible to carry out remotely. But many are. The cost of engaging remote employees is more attractive than providing office space for them. I would add that managing remote employees requires a specific skillset that is different to office-based supervision. Managers need to be much more proactive in connecting with their team members, ensuring they have the right skills and training for remote working, establishing networks and collaborative opportunities, and proactively engaging employees who are experiencing remote working challenges in abundance.

    Hiring remote workers provides a great deal of flexibility in building the skill-base of any organization. Re-imagining compensation options for remote workers is also an opportunity to change things up, e.g. they do not need commuting assistance, or staff restaurants. But considering how remote employees access stationery, copying, and office furniture for home use, all provide an opportunity for HR departments to use their imagination. There is also the significant reduction in the cost of services (electricity, etc.) for organizations who reduce their real estate footprint.

  3. Fuel your strategy

    People strategy should never just be a short-term reaction to an external event. The opportunity for more strategic planning with an increasingly remote workforce means that a more inventive people strategy can be considered. The overheads of investing in buildings can be replaced by the investing in people. Not only from a skills perspective, but from a resource type and location perspective. Strategically, is it better to consider a more flexible mix of permanent, interim, contract, consulting, and on-shore/off-shore resources?

    The presence of global pandemics can only fuel the advance of AI and other forms of automated services/manufacturing. But some industries rely heavily on buildings in which to build products, hold inventory, or deliver services. For jobs that do not require presence in a building provided by the employer, remote working opens up many diverse strategic possibilities.

Investing in people not buildings is smart. But a world without buildings which house corporate employees is hard to imagine. I also do not know if the world-at-large is ready for the wholesale psychological impact of permanent remote working at scale. But if you are looking to buy or renovate a house, make sure you have a home office!