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Self-Care for Leaders in These Uncertain Times

The past 7 months have been difficult for all of us. For leaders, it’s been especially challenging. How do I keep my team motivated and engaged in this environment? Will we be able to keep going? When is this going to end?

How do I lead effectively and model calmness and resilience when I have more questions than answers?

Just like when there’s trouble on a flight, when the oxygen masks drop, put yours on first to be better able to help others with theirs. Here’s how.

Be self-aware. Are you taking care of yourself physically and mentally? Be sure you are getting enough sleep, practicing some form of daily exercise, and eating healthy. Make time to do something that feeds your soul.

Draw boundaries. For many of us, working at home for the past 7 months has erased the line between work and home. As much as possible, have a clear and consistent start and end to your workday. Share the parameters with your team and suggest they do the same.

Vary the medium. Mitigate Zoom fatigue by holding some meetings via conference call (no video!). And take some time to evaluate whether all those Zoom meetings are really necessary. Can the information be shared via email? Can 2 short Zoom meetings be consolidated into one (not-more-than-an-hour) meeting?

Get support. Many of us are working fulltime at home with kids who are also learning at home, or younger kids at home due to childcare constraints. Consider adjusting your schedule, if possible, to relieve some of the burden. Also, some childcare centers are opening back up under strict health and safety protocols, which may be an option.

Seek help. These are troubling times. A pandemic. The related financial impact. Civil unrest. An election. Even the upcoming holidays can be stressful for many, especially since they will probably have to look a bit different this year. Many organizations have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that provides counseling.

If you are a leader – or have a leader in your organization – who is struggling in this current challenging environment, you may want to consider one of ConnecttoHR’s Executive Coaching packages. Contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com to learn more.

Leading Through the Drama in Challenging Times

In every organization there is a certain amount of “office drama.” In fact, studies show that, on average, employees spend about 2 hours a day on drama – conflict with other employees, grumbling about leaders, expressing frustration about work assignments or company policies, etc.

And it should come as no surprise that office drama has increased this year. There are several contributing factors:

Organizations are asked to do more with less
As employees work from home the lines are blurred between work and home life
A national sense of aggressiveness is flowing down into the workplace

So how do you lead through the drama during this challenging time? And how do you disarm those who prefer to live in the drama even in the best of times?

I recently attended a (virtual) presentation entitled, “Reality-Based Leadership – How to Peacefully and Effectively Lead Teams Through Transformative Times.” The facilitator was Alex Dorr, Vice President of People Evolution at Reality-Based Leadership.

Here are some key takeaways from that session that I think are valuable for every leader to consider.

Employee engagement is more critical than ever. About 70% of employees are quitting their jobs in their mind every day. They’re not actually quitting – yet. But the fact that they’re thinking about it means they are less engaged and more likely to get caught up in employee drama.

Complaining increases endorphins. Think about it. When you vent or “let off steam” by dumping your problems or issues on someone else you feel better. And it’s much easier than coming up with a solution and taking action.

Help employees be self-reflective. When employees come to you with problems or complaints, encourage them to envision a solution. First let them vent. Then let them know you heard them. Then ask, “What would an acceptable solution look like?” Put on your coaching hat and ask questions to help them be part of the solution.

Use the SBAR approach. (Situation, Background, Analysis, Recommendation). Teach employees that if they have a concern or want change, before they come to you, they should have an SBAR. This is a short statement that describes the situation (S) and explains why it is happening now and how it needs to look different in the future (B). It also includes best practices, data, and policies that provide insight and support the change (A). And finally, it includes 2 or 3 recommendations (R) that the employee proposes.

Discover your desired role – as leader. Don’t jump in with an immediate solution. Ask questions – coach – to make this a development opportunity and clarify the role the employee wants you to play. Ask: How do you want me to help? Just listen? Help you think through each of your recommendations? Make additional recommendations?

Gain commitment. Whatever you decide to do to move forward, make sure that both of you – leader and employee – are clear on what the commitment is before leaving the meeting.

Model the behavior. Don’t be part of the drama. Demonstrate that you also take time for self-reflection and that you are capable of just stepping back and letting employees take action to create their own solutions.

If you have leaders who tend to get caught up in the drama, executive coaching can be helpful. Please contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Virtual Meeting Etiquette – Tips for Successful Connections

Video conferencing has become the new normal for team meetings. While virtual meetings offer many advantages – no commute, no need to dress up, a way to safely “see” team members – they do come with certain drawbacks. In fact, many people are finding themselves in more virtual meetings now than they were in in-person meetings in the past. “Zoom-fatigue” is a growing phenomenon. And as a result, many participants have relaxed their meeting behaviors.

So, as a leader, how do you keep your team engaged and make these virtual meetings more successful?

Here are some tips.

Set the example. Be fully engaged as you lead the meeting and when others are speaking. Remember that your facial expressions are always visible to all participants. Be courteous and mindful of words and expressions that may be misinterpreted. In a virtual setting, you don’t have the opportunity to clarify your intent in the hallway after the meeting.

Keep meetings to a reasonable length. Try to keep meetings to 45 minutes or less. If a longer session is needed, break it up. Add a short stretch break or move participants into breakout rooms so they can engage in smaller groups. Start and end on time. Have an agenda. Strive to engage participants by asking for feedback, questions, ideas.

Allow time for personal connections. Start with a “check in” or brief icebreaker. Many are feeling a sense of isolation during this challenging time. Watch for signs that a team member might be struggling and make a point of reaching out to them individually after the meeting. Also, encourage team members to connect individually outside of the full team meetings.

Be present and be positive. Remember to praise in public and criticize in private.

Vary the medium. Consider having every other meeting via teleconference instead of video conference. Or have a safe, socially-distanced group meeting outside.

Communication is key. Working remotely, team members may not feel as plugged in to what’s happening in the organization, with their other team members, or on a team project. As a result, they may disengage. Be as transparent as possible and give them the opportunity to ask questions and discuss their concerns or fears.

Promote balance. Studies indicate that productivity has increased with employees working at home. The downside of this is that it could lead to burnout. Give your team members periodic reminders that they should create a boundary between work and home life for their mental and physical health. Share how you do it to set the example.

Need support in leading during these challenging times? Contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com to learn about our Executive Coaching services.

Balancing Leadership and Management During COVID-19

The terms leadership and management are often used interchangeably, but each has its own set of skills. And both sets of skills are needed to effectively lead a team or organization.

So, what’s the difference between management and leadership?

Management skills are focused on organization, processes and achieving goals:

Planning
Budgeting
Allocating resources
Establishing policies and procedures
Hiring and firing
Performance management
Problem solving
“Doing things right”

Leadership skills are focused on creating a vision, developing talent, and inspiring action:

Communication
Strategic thinking
Clarifying the big picture
Empowering others
Building and growing teams
Developing relationships
Embracing change
“Doing the right things”

Leaders need to be able to “dial up” management or leadership skills as appropriate for the situation. For example, we are currently in a challenging, uncertain environment, with many teams working remotely. Leaders may need to be more focused on management – planning, allocating resources, and establishing processes around the new ways of working. What are the priorities? What equipment do team members need so they can continue to work at home? How do we efficiently track progress and performance?

While the focus may be more on management at this time, it’s also important to pull on those leadership skills that will help teams continue to be motivated and engaged. This includes open and honest communication, connecting with individual employees to assess how they’re doing (not just what they’re doing), and providing opportunities for team members to connect with each other.

If you need additional ideas on how to lead during these challenging times, please feel free to reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

“The real challenge is to combine strong leadership and strong management and use each to balance each other.” – John Kotter

Acting on Feedback is Key to Leadership Development

In my last blog I shared the benefits that a 360 Review Process can provide for leaders and their organizations. Leaders become more self-aware and identify areas for development, and organizations have a development roadmap to strengthen their leaders’ effectiveness.

This time I’d like to talk a little more specifically about the process, the resulting report and some examples of the insight the process provides.

I typically interview between seven and ten stakeholders including the subject’s immediate leader and others they identify. All stakeholders are asked the same questions which inquire about things like the person’s strengths, their leadership qualities, how effectively they communicate, key areas for development, biggest risk for derailment, etc.

I then consolidate and summarize the responses (keeping them anonymous) to identify:

Strengths
Blindspots/Possible Derailment Behaviors, and
Development Recommendations

The 360 report includes a narrative of the consolidated responses, themes identified, a chart indicating how they scored in various leadership competencies (including self-scoring), and development recommendations.

When the report is complete, I meet with the leader and with their immediate leader (individually) to review the feedback and talk about next steps. I think it’s important to note that the 360 Review is not a “report card,” but a development tool. It’s designed to provide the leader with a better picture of how he or she “shows up” in the workplace and illuminate a path to becoming a more effective leader.

What’s important is that the leader is willing to hear, acknowledge and act on the 360 feedback.

Since effective communication is such an important leadership competency, and so many issues can be attributed to the lack of it, it’s probably the most frequently identified “area for improvement.” An example is the blindspot a leader had around creating an environment that encouraged two-way communication. Stakeholders indicated that they didn’t feel “heard” when they offered feedback or expressed their ideas. Another example is a leader who didn’t realize that because of the words he used and his manner of speaking he was perceived as having an unconscious bias. In both these cases, once the leader became self-aware of the pattern indicated by the feedback, they wanted to know how to correct the behavior.

And that brings me to the next step in the process. Acting on the feedback. On the final page of the report I provide a list of development opportunities with specific behaviors that can be improved in each area to become a more effective leader. And this often leads to a conversation about coaching.

If you are interested finding out more about the 360 process for a leader in your organization or about my executive coaching service, please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Grow Your Leaders with a 360 Review Process

The best leaders continue to learn and grow. And one of the most effective tools that can contribute to their growth is feedback. Not just from their immediate leader, but also from others they interact with on a daily basis – their stakeholders. It’s called a 360 Review Process.

Most performance management programs focus on performance only. Did you achieve your goals? Were they completed on time? Are you fulfilling your job requirements? But here’s the thing. Leaders also need feedback on their strengths and development areas in behaviors that impact the performance of their team, e.g., communication, leadership, employee development, motivation, etc. And this feedback is more meaningful if it comes from a variety of sources – immediate leader, direct reports, colleagues, and business partners, for example.

People are often promoted into leadership roles because they performed well as an individual contributor. But being responsible for a team or organization requires a different set of skills and behavioral competencies. A 360 Review helps leaders build self-awareness by shedding light on how they come across to others. It points up strengths and illuminates blindspots that may be preventing them from becoming a more effective leader. When specific themes emerge based on feedback from several stakeholders rather than just their immediate leader it’s harder to dismiss that feedback.

I recommend that new leaders go through a 360 Review Process about midway through their first year of becoming a leader. This gives them some time to settle into their role and establish relationships yet is early enough in their tenure to prevent solidifying behaviors that are working against them.

In a typical 360 process the participating leader identifies several stakeholders who then give feedback (anonymously) via a set of questions. The same questions are answered by all stakeholders. Responses are then consolidated and summarized into a report that highlights strengths, development areas and any emerging themes.

The 360 process benefits both the leader and the organization by providing a foundation for the leader’s development to build on strengths and address any blindspots or areas for improvement. Often the next step is coaching to help with the leader’s development.

If you are interested finding out more about the 360 process for a leader in your organization, please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Diversity and Inclusion – How to Walk the Talk

As I shared in my last article, there are plenty of statistics that indicate the positive effect a diverse workforce can have on business results. Now the question is, how do you get there? It needs to be more than just saying you practice diversity. Or that you make sure you tick the EEO boxes in your hiring and firing practices. It needs to be a concerted effort – headed by leadership – to create a culture that considers all activities – communication, recruiting, hiring, promoting, company gatherings, team assignments, terminations, etc. – through a lens of diversity and inclusion.

You need to walk the talk. Here are some tips for doing that.

Demonstrate your commitment to diversity through the images on your website and in recruiting collateral. Be sure they are actual images of your workforce and not stock images.

Review job posting language through the lens of diversity and inclusion. Words matter. Terms such as “rockstar, “ninja” or “guru” may discourage some perfectly qualified people from applying. Use gender neutral language. Sometimes it’s as simple as changing “manage” to “develop.” A recent KQED article noted that “if you say manage a team, the applicants are primarily male. If you say develop a team, it tends to be female. And when you say lead a team, it tends to be neutral.”

Emphasize the impact of the role. Studies show that men will apply for jobs when they meet only 60% of the requirements, whereas women don’t feel confident to apply unless they meet 100% of the requirements. Consider only including the must-have requirements (versus adding all of the nice-to-haves) and focusing more on the impact the candidate would make in the position.

Confirm your commitment to diversity and inclusion on a regular basis by ensuring that teams, projects, promotions and other opportunities are open to the broader definition of diverse individuals – gender, ethnicity, points of view, sexual orientation, etc.

Encourage conversation to promote understanding. Consider organizing group conversations of diverse employees where participants share their different perspectives and experiences.

Build awareness around microaggressions. Often, seemingly innocuous statements or questions can make others feel uncomfortable. “Where are you from originally?” “Wow! You are so well-spoken.” “You’re strong for a girl.” Statements and questions that subtly imply assumptions based on gender or race do not promote inclusion.

Building a culture of diversity and inclusion takes time and effort. It’s about changing mindsets and creating an environment that allows all to feel welcome and to thrive. It begins with you, as the leader, walking the talk.

If you need help in incorporating diversity into your hiring practices and/or culture, please contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Lead the Way to Diversity and Inclusion

Numerous studies have shown that organizations who are proactive about diversity and inclusion perform significantly better than those who are not. A Harvard Business Review study showed that companies with higher than average diversity had 19% higher revenues in innovation. A McKinsey & Company study found that organizations with gender-diverse executive teams are 21% more likely to outperform others in profitability. And 43% of companies with diverse boards of directors show higher profits.

In addition to better financial performance, companies with a culture of diversity and inclusion have higher employee engagement and attract more talent. According to Glassdoor, 67% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor when considering employment opportunities.

And yet, Silicon Valley is still struggling to diversify its workforce. Despite a variety of programs to increase diversity, data in a recent Morning Consult article indicated that at Facebook, Twitter and Google less than 6% of employees are Hispanic and less than 5% are African-American. Likewise, their executive teams and boards are made up predominantly of White men.

So, what does it take for companies to be more reflective of our increasingly diverse society and to create more opportunities for diverse candidates at the top? It takes leaders who show the way.

One such leader is Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, who announced recently that he’s stepping down from the Reddit board and urging Reddit to fill his seat with a Black candidate. He said on his Instagram site, “I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now.” Ohanian also pledged $1M to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp. Hear more of what Ohanian has to say about leading the way to increased diversity and inclusion both in hi-tech and in venture funding in this Instagram video interview.

If you need help in incorporating diversity into your hiring practices and/or culture, please contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Building HR Competence and Confidence

Managing the many aspects of the HR function can be challenging at the best of times. But when you are also trying to run the business, it can be especially frustrating. It can seem impossible to keep up with new employment laws and dealing with hiring and terminating employees.

Such was the case with a client of mine, who ran her own food services company. Like most entrepreneurs, she was highly skilled at her core business, but was learning about the HR function “on the job.” Her company was growing at a rapid pace and she wanted to be sure that her people processes were efficient and compliant with federal, state and local employment laws.

She called Connect to HR.

Over the course of several months I took a step-by-step approach to walk her through the various aspects of HR and what is most important in each area. I broke it down into simple, easy-to-understand steps: here is the issue, here are some scenarios, here are the rules.

We used actual situations within her business to help build her confidence and knowledge in how to handle them going forward. Because she was not in a position to hire a fulltime HR person yet, I felt it was important for her to have a backup with HR knowledge to help her. I worked with her Operations Manager to ensure that he also understood the local, state and federal ordinances related to employees and provided them both with links to credible resources.

As the result of our work together, the business owner and Operations Manager both have increased confidence in their ability to handle the various people-related issues that arise as well as general HR requirements and reporting. Also, they have saved time and headaches by having policies documented and processes to follow.

If you are a business owner and need some advice about HR processes or compliance, or have a particular HR issue you’d like to discuss, you may want to consider my Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service.

Contact me today to schedule a free 30-minute consultation to see how Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service can help you.

https://calendly.com/michellemendoza-connecttohr/30-minute-consultation

New to HR? You Don’t Have to Do it Alone!

When a company hits the 50-employee mark in California, a lot of HR regulations kick in. I wrote about some of those regulations in a previous blog.

Understanding what those regulations are and putting processes and procedures in place to ensure compliance are essential to avoiding costly lawsuits and penalties. At this point in a company’s growth, it’s wise to have someone dedicated to the HR function.

Such was the case with a hi-tech client who reached their 50-employee milestone and needed some help creating structure around the HR function. They had assigned their Office Manager to the HR role and tasked her with implementing an official HR department. She had been with the company for many years, but had no prior HR experience. She was very concerned about her new assignment and didn’t want to face this new challenge alone. That’s where Connect to HR came in.

The first thing we did was perform an HR audit to see exactly where the company was in terms of compliance and best practices. As with many companies with fewer than 50 employees, there was very little structure in place. Also, the practices around hiring, promotions and increases were random and inconsistently applied.

Top on our list of priorities was to document and communicate policies and procedures that reflect both legal requirements and company guidelines. These serve as the foundational piece for hiring, firing, promoting, performance management, etc.

We also helped the Office/HR Manager implement a performance management system, hiring process, and best practices around terminations. Often one of the hardest things for new HR Managers is handling employee relations issues. So for four years now, we have provided ongoing and just-in-time HR consulting services on various employee scenarios that pop up and how to handle them.

With the HR structure in place, plus the knowledge she gained from the HR audit and our one-on-one HR guidance and support, the Office/HR Manager felt more confident in her new role. Over the years, she has recognized that she isn’t alone when facing complicated HR issues. She’s comfortable knowing she has a resource in Connect to HR when she has questions or needs a sounding board.

If you are new to the HR function and need some advice about HR processes or compliance, or have a particular HR issue you’d like to discuss, you may want to consider my Just in Time 3-Hour HR Advisory Service.