HolidayBlogging

Tag: colleagues

  • The management at work of employee bereavement

    The management at work of employee bereavement

    I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and my condolences go out to the Royal Family and the many millions of people whose lives she touched during her reign.

    The death of our Queen after a 70-year reign is obviously a major event which affects us all and there are constitutional protocols surrounding her funeral arrangements. Bereavement is something that will undoubtedly be experienced by all of us at some point in our lives, but on a much smaller scale of course.
    For those of us who experience a bereavement during our working lives, how it is dealt with can either increase or decrease the pain that is felt.

    Knowing What to Say and Do

    In my experience, all too often, the response of the employer/manager can be insufficient, or inappropriate, compared to what is actually needed at the time.  Regretfully, the consequences of bereavement on the life of an individual are often poorly understood, particularly its psychological impact, despite it being an event all of us will experience at some point.  I have seen too many instances where employees are asked to return to work after attending the funeral of a loved one, but their loss and grief are completely ignored by colleagues and/or management when they return.
    However, the inadequacy of the managerial response is not necessarily the result of indifference to an employee’s distress but more often because the manager doesn’t know what the appropriate level of support should be.

    Words are Valuable

    It is never easy to know what to say to someone who is bereaved and saying ‘I’m sorry’ just seems inadequate.  However, very often those words are all that the person needs to hear to know that others care.  Unfortunately, a bereaved person is too often avoided because others feel awkward.
    We have to take our lead from the individual concerned.  While you are rushing into a meeting will probably not be the right time to start this conversation but making some quiet time over a cup of coffee might well be more helpful and shows sensitivity.
    A lack of support can also mean that the employee may take time off sick as they struggle with their loss and may be demotivated on their return. However, if there is genuine support this will engender loyalty and goodwill towards the employer.

    Making Time to Listen

    So what is it that stops a manager from managing this situation with greater sensitivity?    Talking to someone who is bereaved is a skill and not one that is necessarily included within an MBA course taken by the CEO, manager or departmental head.    Many executives and managers have never been afforded people management training yet, despite this, we expect them to know how to interact with someone who was recently bereaved. In reality, it is an inter-personal skill that needs to be learned.
    Of course, if there is an in-house counselling service, then it could be helpful to steer the affected person towards bereavement counselling. However, it doesn’t detract from the responsibility of the manager or team leader to make time to listen and offer condolences.  There is no need to turn managers into  bereavement counsellors but it’s important to ensure they can be empathetic, when appropriate, to a colleague in need of some sensitivity.  This is something that will certainly be appreciated by the bereaved person.
    People rarely forget those who support them during times of challenge.  It is commonly said that when trouble or sadness strikes, ‘you find out who your friends are’, and in many ways that is true.  But not always.  You may have other friends who sadly didn’t know what to say and didn’t know what to do and so were, regrettably, not there for you. This is, unfortunately, what you will remember.
    So, what can your organisation do to avoid the problem of appearing to be uncaring at the very time that care is needed?  Ensure that all your managers are trained in people-management skills and make sure that includes those who may be going through a bereavement.  If this is made a part of the training programme, then any manager will feel confident in approaching the subject!

    What Can a Manager Do?

    Talk to the bereaved person after the funeral to find out what support they require. Some may want to come back to work quickly and others later. Some may want colleagues to talk to them about the bereavement and others might not.  Managers need to find out what is wanted
    When the person does come back to work, check in with them at regular intervals
    Remember, there will also be significant anniversaries
    Some working schedules may need to be reassessed until the person feels stronger
    Introduce and publish a bereavement policy, possibly on the company intranet, if there is one

    Key Points

    Try not to ignore a bereaved colleague
    Let them know with a word or gesture that you care
    Incorporate listening skills into management training

  • Unleashing the Motivated Brain

    Unleashing the Motivated Brain

    What Keeps the Work Engine Running?

    We all know that feeling when you’re on a roll—ideas flow, the clock seems to slip, and you just get it done. That “on fire” vibe is your brain’s dopamine doing its thing, easing stress and pumping up your pleasure and perseverance. It’s a powerful little chemical that can tilt your vibes, thoughts, and even your memory.

    It All Starts With You

    At the heart of motivation lies self‑confidence. Think about why you landed that role: your employer saw the spark in you. That belief should ignite your drive. Do you doubt your own skills? That kind of low self‑esteem can sap your energy and make you think you’re doomed to flop, even before you start.

    Employers, You’ve Got the Power Too

    While we’re tuned to ourselves, bosses can’t ignore their own influence. If coworkers feel valued, like they’re key players, motivation skyrockets. Money matters, but it’s the genuine “thanks” and praise that stick around longer. Show them you notice their hard work, and you’ll keep the fire alive.

    What Kills an Elated Team

    Motivation can wane for several reasons: a sluggish vibe, tedious routines, or a company that treats staff like background noise. Excessively high expectations, scarce resources, and heated disputes all contribute to a lack of drive. The result? A mix of low output, stress, and even mood dips. Peppering that with a lack of dopamine, stress hormones like cortisol take over, driving a damaging cycle.

    Clear Career Goals Are Essential

    When the future feels fuzzy, it’s hard to stay fired up. Figure out what thrills you and how you want to grow. Talk to teammates and leaders about your concerns. Sharing your plans helps smooth conflicts and keeps each person in the shimmering drive. Those who “coast” stay out of the spotlight—opting for a ‘can‑do’ mindset instead fires the whole squad.

    Top Tips to Keep Your Team Buzzing

    1. Chat It Out – Dive into your crew’s motivations and career hopes. Build a roadmap that speaks to those dreams.
    2. Shake Things Up – Repetitive tasks can kill morale. Turn dull duties into fun challenges, mix fresh team combos and roles.
    3. Celebrate! – Never underestimate a word of praise for high performers. When big wins happen, reward the collective. A little joy goes a long way.
  • How to lead a remote team

    How to lead a remote team

    As many workplaces begin to close due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), many leaders and managers are starting to ask how they can best manage remote teams and home workers.

    The answer, in part, lies in the acronym DCCST or Does Corona Create Stronger Teams?

    Direction

    In times of uncertainty people look to their leaders and managers for direction.
    As our teams start to work from home, for the first time in some cases, and as the impact of COVID-19 changes day by day, we must provide direction in a number of key areas:

    Specific Priorities – in an ever-changing world, where should our teams be focusing their efforts day by day and week by week.
    Bigger Picture – in what direction is the organisation heading and how is it responding in terms of employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders.
    Ways of Working – we must take the lead on establishing some team ground rules for home-working. For example, start and finish times, expected speed of response, daily check-ins, set periods to be off-line and working in a focused manner on key pieces of work, etc.

    Communication

    Simply put, communication must increase as our teams become remote.
    However, we must pay particular attention to choosing the right communication channels and ensuring that people have the same information, at the same time.
    Email is just one of many tools at our disposal, but an over-reliance on it will simply add to the stress and pressure felt by our colleagues and team mates.
    As well as increasing the frequency of our communication, we must also increase the quality.
    Sticking with email, our aspiration should be ‘one-shot emails’. Emails that are so explicitly clear that our teams do not need to reply with questions and can deliver what we are asking for, to the right standard, at the right time.
    To achieve this, we simply need to pause before hitting send on every email and ask ourselves: “Where and how could this email be misunderstood?” and then make the necessary changes. In my experience, every first draft email can be improved.
    As leaders we must force ourselves to pick up the phone and use the various video-conferencing tools that are at our disposal, many of which are free. Which leads us to…

    Connection

    We are social animals and connection is vital for our wellbeing and work performance. The visual contact gained from face-to-face communication is also key, which is why we cannot simply rely on email communication.
    Some that we lead will be happy working from home, by themselves. It is likely to be an easier transition for the introverts within your team; but they too need that social connection.
    Prolonged periods of homeworking are likely to be more of a challenge for the extroverts within your team, as their energy generally comes from other people.
    As leaders guiding our teams through the Coronavirus pandemic, we must apply John Adair’s Functional Approach to leadership. We must constantly be thinking about the needs of the individuals, the team, and the task.
    In practical terms, this means regularly checking in with our team one-on-one, and creating set times to come together as a team, virtually. And these virtual meetings must focus on the task, as well as allowing people to simply connect.

    Support

    People within our teams will have very different viewpoints of the COVID-19 out-break that will be driven by their values, beliefs, background, family circumstances etc, etc.
    Some will be very optimistic. Others will be much more nervous and unsettled.
    Now, more than ever, it is critically important that we realise every person we lead is a human being and that they are the most important person in the world to someone else.
    They themselves may have children or elderly parents for whom they are responsible. They may have family members who are unwell or at risk of contracting Coronavirus. They may have children who cannot go to school, meaning they are desperately trying to juggle work and family commitments.
    What this means in practice is that we must dial-up our support and empathy. Our teams need us to be leaders, not managers.

    Trust

    Trust is key.
    A lack of trust, or perceived lack of trust, could be the un-doing of many leaders.
    Not being sat next to those that we lead could push some leaders to micro-management. Constantly wanting to know what our teams are working on, getting status updates, knowing what time they started work and wondering if they’re at their machine or putting a load of washing on.
    We must resist the urge to micro-manage our team and we must trust them.
    And, if we’ve provided clear direction, if we’re communicating frequently and keeping everyone connected, and if we’re providing the right levels of support… we will be able to trust them.
    We’ll be able to trust them because they will know that we care about them on a human level, and they’ll want to reciprocate the trust that we’ve placed in them.

    Does Corona Create Stronger Teams?

    This isn’t just a random acronym.
    Whilst I do believe we have several difficult months ahead; I also believe that many teams will emerge out of the COVID-19 pandemic in a much stronger position.
    I believe that new and better ways of working and communicating will emerge.
    And if we, as leaders, focus on reviewing what’s working well, optimising the good stuff and building it into the culture of our teams, these benefits will long out-live Coronavirus.
    Many great teams, and team practices, are forged in the crucible of a crisis.
    Take Pixar for example. When the team presented what they thought was the final version of Toy Story to Disney, they were told that it was terrible and that they were pulling the plug on the project.
    Ed Catmull and John Lassiter begged Disney for a second chance and were given two weeks to effectively re-create the entire movie. During that period, two new ways of working emerged: The Dailies and the Brain Trust.
    These were both critical elements that enabled the team to create an entirely new movie, the likes of which the world had never seen before. As far as the film goes, the rest is history, as they say.
    But the Dailies and Brain Trusts are anything but history. They remain a core part of Pixar’s culture today.
    With that in mind, hold firm, stay focused and #LeadOn.