We're Not Out of the Pandemic Woods Just Yet

At PeopleNotTech we make software that measures and improves Psychological Safety in teams. If you care about it- talk to us about a demo at [email protected] ?

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No matter where we look around us, it is still undoubtedly a very strange time. We have been told it’s over -or at least over for now- in most places but not all;?we have formalised what the new ways of working are in most places -but not all; we have been back at full speed as the demands of the business seem to be increasing despite how none of us really missed a beat and that’s in most places and we’re in the middle of what looks like a cross between a midlife crisis and the only acceptable response to employers being disrespectful - “the great resignation” nearly everywhere.

And then there’s the fact that there’s still a tangible feeling of extreme volatility in the air. The pandemic could rage on again, the black swan after-effects are just beginning and the way in which we relate to work has undergone an incommensurable change.?

For those of us that lead people the added pressure of pretending it’s all going reasonably well so that we don’t burden our teams even further, translates into even more hardship.

A lot of this can be explained by reading about the terrifyingly all-encompassing “pandemic flux syndrome” which was I believe coined by Amy Cuddy and discussed with Brene Brown here. In short, it says that we have operated at “surge capacity” for so long that burnout, anxiety, depression and an overwhelming need for closure and change are natural effects. It’s a very obvious reality but the effects are not transient and I believe collectively they will amass into even more HumanDebt? in most places as they translate into an inability to BlueSky the design of the new reality.

If I had to estimate I’d say 80% of all enterprises haven’t done the work they should have in understanding collaboration in the new reality and using it as an effective kick-start with new rules for efficient interaction in place. They’ve added to their HumanDebt and they’ll suffer. But they’re trying. Most of them are. ?

On the positive side, good things are still happening. If we were fearing that the human aspect that the pandemic had taught us was going to only be a conversation for a while and then it would die down and be confined to the extraordinary circumstances of then. Not so. While the discourse may be far from being translated into practice, the dialogue has such personal, honest and human undertones that it would have felt utterly out of place before the pandemic. It’s enough to peruse LinkedIn these days to see how people from all walks of life, any industries and at all levels are monumentally more inclined to shed the “professional persona” and share things that matter to them be it wins or losses of their own or of their families or thing that inspire them and that they believe in.

It’s hard for everyone - a doubling down of efforts on empathy and compassion would not go amiss in any industry and for any team. Leaders need the support and understanding that moving from command and control to servant leadership requires, team members need to be seen and heard in terms of their needs in the world of hybrid and remote, new realities can still be forged if we keep the dialogue lines open but we have to admit we still all need each other and commit to being courageous enough to be vulnerable and open.?

If you’re a client using our software I’d advise you to take a look at the Empathy Hackathon and do at least the mini version of the play with the team. Never one of the more popular ones because it sounds even more “fluffy” and hard to stomach to tech people and scientists than say the "B!tch Fest" or the "Impression Management Counter", it’s actually immensely efficient once you get stuck into it after the initial rejection reaction. If not, at least focus on getting the team closer - a “Team = Family” play, some teaming exercises, whatever you think would work we have to treat each with kindness to overcome this state whether we call it flux or other.?

If you’re not a client and don’t have access to our Playbook come back tomorrow for the video that will give you some tangible ideas of how to present some of this work to the team “manually”. As usual, all human work is great work and it will tighten the team and increase Psychological Safety and therefore performance if done right, but to see truly lasting autonomous results in teams they need the means to see their own data and decide the next action through software that like ours, is able to close that feedback loop for them. ?

The bottom line is, that much as we may not be pleased to admit it, we’re not out of the thick of it in terms of the emotional effects of the pandemic on everyone and there is a lot of work to do. The good news? We can all agree it needs to happen so chances are, no matter what, there’s a much brighter future ahead for each and every employee.?

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The 3 “commandments of Psychological Safety” to build high performing teams are:?Understand,?Measure?and?Improve

Read more about our Team Dashboard that measures and improves Psychological Safety at?www.peoplenottech.com?or reach out at?[email protected]?and let's help your teams become Psychologically Safe, healthy, happy and highly performant.