People Management Strategy: A Tip

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Last quarter I wrote about increasing performance by improving team engagement. Assessing engagement levels, or lack thereof can help organizational leaders diagnose cultural challenges and implement solutions. 

What is interesting about leadership consulting is clients often seek advice and support when there is emerging dissonance – whether interdepartmentally or at the individual level – or akin to the example of when performance is suffering. And this is what I want to focus on today: A tip on how to be proactive in your people management strategy. 

Whether you are unsure where to begin with your people operations or are already aware of some issues needing resolve, I want you to think about managing people (and crafting or maintaining a company culture) as a constant. It is not ripping off a bandaid nor is it a checkbox on your to-do list. Sorry, people are complex! And that complexity includes an array of considerations – not only personal circumstances, but professional demands, social tensions, political unrest, and the like. This gestalt view is a helpful way to see the world; the ebbs and flows of life will remain regardless of a team win or losing an at risk client. It is part of everyday life. 

Thus, when determining or refining a people operations strategy, look for a solution that is comprehensive and less segmented, e.g., “one-and-done training.” For example, while unconscious bias training is of utmost relevance and is a mainstay for DEI programming, I argue that this should not be a stand-alone program. Instead, it should be baked into the coaching curriculum for management education. It’s not an add-on but rather an integral part of managing. If we want to build inclusive workplaces, the subject matter of inclusion must be fundamental, not additional.  

If I think about any large group presentation I’ve ever attended, I will be the first to admit that I must take notes. Otherwise, I tune out. Adults have an average attention span of 8.25 seconds – yikes! While I won’t pick apart why our attention spans are decreasing, I will make this point: If we are sitting for a 60-minute training, it better be compelling. But what happens when it’s not? It is a missed opportunity for learning.

This is why incorporating fundamental concepts into regular discourse is more effective. A person engaged in 1:1 conversation is significantly more likely to stay focused than when he is one of many in the crowd, thanks to decreased distractions and stimulation — and this is why I include inclusion education in all of my management coaching. It’s simply foundational and will not only improve psychological safety (a factor to increasing engagement) but will be a more cost-effective, and proactive, approach to learning and development within the business. 

Get in touch to learn how I can help your team.

Retain Your Employees with Just Two Efforts

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The Great Resignation was initially spoken about as women departed their places of work in 2020 (either by force or by “choice”). Over five million women were affected. In the present day, nearly two million women still have not returned to the workforce (in the United States alone). 

Interestingly, this “Great Resignation” has taken shape to classify the departure of both women and men, noting the changing landscape of work, and employees’ sentiments on what work should look like. While I do not argue there are clear trends of disengagement which have led to both men and women leaving the workforce, there is still a monumental issue of women being at the helm of COVID job losses. 

Media outlets, particularly those who cover leadership and management, have used this opportunity to talk about the importance of retention. I find it startling, and fascinating, that due to the fact this Resignation now includes men, it is being discussed further. Not just the reality of departures, but the essentiality that companies do all they can do to make people stay. Where was this same tone during the pandemic when women were mass exiting? 

Needless to say, the point remains that in order for the economy to stabilize and for companies to flourish, both men and women must remain, or return, to the workplace. But how are we intending to help people return? How are we intending to keep people content in their current positions? 

If you are familiar with my work you know I advocate for women. And, after a year researching and publishing a book on women’s experiences during COVID-19, I assure you it is women that companies need to be focused on when it comes to retention and engagement. Regardless, engagement drives performance and the best companies are composed of diverse teams, thus there are actions you can take readily to engage all company members. 

Career Transparency

Career transparency can minimize ambiguity and increase engagement. Helping employees know what’s next for them (and helping him/her create the path) is paramount. What makes this employee tick? What areas do they excel in? How does their current career path allow for their skills to shine? 

If you haven’t discussed this with your team members, it’s time. If your team member isn’t sure what it is they want in their career, your job is to help them discover. But, odds are, they have an inkling of what they want to accomplish, and have been waiting for you to ask how they can achieve their goals. 

Recognition 

Yes, something as simple as recognition can increase retention. Have you ever been in a position where a superior took an idea as his own? Or did an exceptional job on a project and was simply assigned the next? This wears on people. Managers must have integrity and shed a light on their team members’ successes, not take them as their own. Further, managers must take the time to privately and publicly recognize their team. Not only does this spark discretionary effort, but a microculture of recognition demonstrates to a company as a whole that behavior that promotes and encourages will also establish trustworthy and hardworking teams. 

Too Busy to Be a Good Manager? Time to Reset.

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Feeling mentally and physically drained as a manager of people? You’re not alone. Managers everywhere are grappling to keep up. Flexibility, empathy, consistency, and intentional leading takes energy. Thus, it’s no wonder many managers struggled during the pandemic’s peak which has flowed over into the present day.

How does one know what to say, or what to do when faced with circumstances never seen before? How a manager behaves is a pretty basic leadership style trait: There are people who are relationship-centric, and there are people who are task-centric. Both profiles are easily identifiable among managers – and from your own personal experiences, I’m sure you’re thinking of a manager who tended to lean one way or another. When managers are under stress which is compounded by “the unknowns” it can be easy to resort to what is most comfortable, regardless of what is best for the team. 

If you are a manager reading this, it’s probable you were trying to keep your head above water in the past year and a half. You may have become overly invested in personal experiences that ended up hurting productivity, or you may have compartmentalized other peoples’ issues as a concern that was not your own.  Perhaps now is the ideal moment to reflect upon what could be done better across the spectrum and how you can prepare for crises. Evaluate the current atmosphere and team dynamics to make up for the damage done or for the missed opportunities.

First, slow it down.

I get it, easier said than done. But the nation is catching up to this whole “people matter and we better invest in them” thing, so it is your job to take the steps needed to ensure the vitality and successes of your workgroup.

What helps slow things down, you may ask? Emotional regulation. How are you feeling, why are you feeling that way? Are you quick to react under stress, or do you reflect and respond? Impulsive decision-making – what I like to call “hectic direction” – will only cause uncertainty and concern among team members. Being thoughtful and poised is not to be confused with being slow. Steady yourself with deep breathing, fair turnaround time, and clear expectations about what can and cannot be done within predefined time frames.

Second, reignite feedback.

Whether your corporation provides formal reviews or not, you should be giving your team members regular, quarterly reviews. Work with your team members to set goals, output, timelines, and reasonable expectations about what a person can count on with upward mobility, pay, flexibility, or career pathing. Do you spend time with your team members individually? What are you doing to ensure their psychological safety? Listening is the first step to establishing trust and with trust, candid conversation and better performance will follow.

This is a great summer exercise to employ prior to the frenzy of back to school and the decrease in summer vacationing.

Is Your DEI Plan Taking Shape?

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

With the past 15 months behind us, we are starting to see some normality return. Face-to-face schooling, plans for fall sport revivals, women being able to return to work as the disproportionate labor(s) are deputed elsewhere… But we are also seeing a social shift: A new political climate, an increase of awareness about the stark contrast in opportunity for those underrepresented at work, and the pieces falling into place about the essentiality for defined and persistent DEI efforts within corporations.

As we re-enter physical working spaces, albeit with a slow and steady return, what can companies do to craft a thoughtful and meaningful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program?

First, we must take the time to understand the scope in needs of employees. As an example, I found in my recent research that working adults were far more likely to opt for time off, flexible schedules, and family leave before hoping for salary increases and other perks. The key here is to seek out responses from the collective of the organization, uncovering the concerns, needs, and opportunities for re-writing the norms of company culture as it pertains to inclusive decision-making. Case in point: Whom you seek out to answer these questions must be a diverse set of people within the company. A combination of qualitative and quantitative measures can provide the data you seek for determining what changes must take place, and then there needs to be a way to convey how in fact they will occur.

As a thought-starter:

• What are your representation goals for the coming year?

• How do you address overt internal discrimination?

• What can people do when they feel they are a part of an out-group?

• How are you addressing pay inequity?

If you haven’t considered the answers to these questions, it is time to do so. Realize also that it is one thing to inquire and it is another to act. The intent must be to institute change for better belonging and psychological safety and must also be paired with transparency. How are you going to reach that end goal? Being forthright about how to uncover pay inequity, for example, will demonstrate a commitment to all people within the organization (and a great place to start is a pay audit). Be upfront about the process, the timeline, and the intended outcomes. How will the inequities be corrected?

If you’re not sure – let’s brainstorm! There is only an opportunity for improvement ahead.