Are you the wind or the rock in a hurricane?
The only constant thing today is change. Our teams have shifting priorities, scope, and workloads.When a hurricane, small or large, comes through your office, as a leader, are you like the wind, whipping the hurricane into a stronger force? Or are you a rock to which everyone can seek stability from, knowing that this too shall pass if you all work together? Scientific research has proven what we already know, stress is contagious. The only way to keep the stress from tearing through the team like a category five hurricane is to lead through it.
Model the behavior you want
We all talk a good game. I know this is a challenge of mine. We, as leaders, say things like, let’s make sure we are all:
Getting enough sleep
Working a reasonable number of hours
Making time to exercise
Making time for family and friends
And the list goes on and on. What do our team members see us doing? Do we come in at 8AM and leave at 5PM? Are we announcing we are heading out at 3:30PM to make our kids basketball game or ballet practice? Do we say we are taking a long lunch with a friend? Do we talk about a new exercise we have tried? No...Most of us do none of these things because we are not modeling the behavior which will reduce our stress and that of our team. As Stephen Covey stated in The Seven Habit of Highly Effective People, we are not sharpening the saw. We need to go first in this area; we need to lead by example.
Being an example and taking care of ourselves first makes sense. We receive these instructions every time we fly. We are told that in times of turbulence, if oxygen masks are needed, we need to take care of ourselves before we help others. We are given these instructions because we cannot help others if we are unable to care for ourselves.
Be kind
As discussed in a research article from Stanford, when people are feeling burned out they do not feel caring or compassionate, for themselves or for others. Any pressure to “feel better” or “act happier” makes things worse. What can help? You! The researchers demonstrated that team members are likely to catch the emotions of their leaders. If you express authentic empathy, others will follow.
Set everyone up for success
No matter your office environment, some of us see it as a competition. The interesting thing is that some of us are competing on some level with our team members. I have seen som
e odd dynamics. I am sure you have too. To help ensure you are really the rock in the storm, and helping your team ground themselves, set them up for continual success. I am going through this self-reflection right now with Ken Blanchard’s and Garry Ridge’s book, Helping People Win at Work. It is a quick read and a great reminder that we all perform better during change if we understand what great performance looks like.
So as you continue to guide your team through the next storm, what tactics do you use to support your team members? Comment below. I’d love to hear from you.