Three C’s that your team need RIGHT NOW!

January 2020 – Employees are returning to work with a focus on their roles and the goals for the year ahead. Issues at home can take their toll but mainly, people are distracted by work and able to compartmentalise their personal life until the end of the day. Holidays, weddings and ceremonies are looked forward to and parents wave children off to school after two weeks that felt like forever. Routine is king! 

January 2021 – Employees are unsure of their future, anxious about changes announced by the government and wrestling with a perceived lack of control over their own lives. They may be home schooling children, missing loved ones, grieving for family, friends and missed events and generally struggling with their mental health. Confusion is king! 

In twelve short months the world has turned upside down for individuals, families and organisations. Although it’s impossible give one definitive way to help everyone with their unique personalities and issues, it is possible to suggest ways that may ease life for the majority. Many ideas simply boil down to comon sense and human decency (my ideas included) but it does no harm to be reminded of the ways that we can help our colleagues, employees and ourselves. So, here are three ways that I feel make a huge difference.

Communication, Candour and Compassion.

Communication 

In many ways this goes without saying but so many organisations are still falling short of the mark when it comes to communicating with their teams. The CEO of a company where my friend works was asked so many questions when he first mentioned furlough on the shop floor that he now refuses to appear; sharing decisions via last minute emails or brief tannoy announcements instead. The team are disgusted, many have left of their own volition and those who remain have less than little respect for him. It could so easily have been avoided.

Plan what you will be saying and try to pre-empt some of the common responses so that you are prepared.

LISTEN more than you speak. So many people think that communication is simply delivering a message and yet this is just a small part of the process and those who believe their work is done as soon as they have imparted their news or view are undoubtedly the ones who will have frustrated team members who feel unseen and unheard. 

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place” ~ George Bernard Shaw 

Be honest…which leads me to my second point.

Candour 

In his book ‘Happiness by Design’ Paul Dolan shares the findings of a study into the mental wellbeing of patients following information given to them about their risk of developing Huntington disease – an inherited genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and generally leads to psychiatric problems and early death. 

The researchers found, as expected, that those who knew that they had a decreased risk reported better mental health over the year of the study. Interestingly, so did the group who had an increased risk! The group whose risk was deemed to be unchanged were the ones who struggled the most. Why? Because uncertainty creates more anxiety and mental health issues than knowing the facts and being able to create a plan.

Even bad news, when delivered with compassion of course, is better than no-news.

The message in my mind is clear. Just be honest. Share the truth rather than dodge awkward conversations or give ambiguous answers. Not only will this reduce the anxiety of not knowing but will increase respect for the people who are strong enough to be straight.

“Lack of candor blocks smart ideas, fast action, and good people contributing all the stuff they've got. It's a killer.” Jack Welch

Compassion 

As a primary school teacher, I was convinced that some of my pupils believed that I popped myself into the store cupboard on a Friday and re-emerged on a Monday morning ready for the week ahead. The idea that I could be a person outside of the role they saw me in was quite surreal for a few of them and yet I see similar, albeit it more sophisticated, attitudes in workplaces. We are never simply ‘just’ employees, and employers who acknowledge and consider the many facets of our lives and the impact that this has on our ability to perform our role well are the ones who bring out the best in their people. Compassion is not simply about kindness but also about suspending judgement to consider the bigger picture before making decisions about individuals, it’s about listening as much as talking (see point one) and about understanding that perception is subjective and that we all create and live in our own versions of the world; one which may be very different from your own. Compassion is not weakness, it is a strength that few exercise but which can make an enormous difference.

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  Maya Angelou

Right now, more than ever before, people need clear, honest communication exercised within a space of compassion and consideration. We cannot control a global pandemic, but we can control the ways in which we support each other through it.

We can, and we must.

Charlie Beswick is a trainer and coach working with organisations and individuals who want to ‘make a difference’ to the lives of others. Email her today at [email protected] to find out how she can support you.

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