What retains you awake at evening? Loads of uncertainty, survey outcomes
The Grossman Group recently conducted a survey of dozens of executives and communicators and asked an open question: "What is stopping you at night?"
It turns out that the answer is essentially "a lot!" Was. Here is a sample of a respondent who summarized the far-reaching concerns in a hospital:
While this respondent had more to do than most, a general feeling of unrest was common.
By and large, executives and communicators shared a key issue: insecurity – personally, regarding the pandemic and how to communicate with so many changes.
All of these uncertainties send a clear message to leaders and communicators who are turning their business priorities against the reality of a global pandemic. While the priorities of the core business can certainly still be achieved, managers must continue to pay attention to their main target group: the employees. If executives feel the uncertainty, it probably applies to all employees. If your colleagues and co-workers feel unsettled, it is important to lead and communicate with empathy, patience and understanding – essentially with heart.
I'll give some tips on how to accomplish this later in this blog. First, a brief summary of some general answers to our survey of more than 80 communicators and executives across the country. We have divided them into three main categories of uncertainty.
Key concerns for managers and communicators
Personal uncertainty:
- "I'm worried about the future."
- "The economy and job loss due to the pandemic."
- "My job, the kids, finance."
Uncertainty about the pandemic:
- "I don't know when this will be over and when we can get back to normal."
- “To reconcile the needs of health and safety at work with the generally unsafe behavior outside of work due to the reopening of cities and communities.”
- "I am working to keep my employees busy, which is considered essential at this time."
Uncertainty about how to deal with communicating changes and what challenges are involved:
- "Start and stop communication campaigns in response to the constantly evolving mood and fears of the virus."
- "Extent (both volume and impact) of ongoing change efforts (return to work, diversity and inclusion, etc.)"
- "The immense workload and the fact that we don't have the time to really think through critical issues and at the same time keep our" day jobs "going."
4 tips to address ongoing concerns for leaders and communicators
How can managers and communicators best respond to all these different needs? What is most important? The answer depends on the individual situation, of course, but there are general best practices that apply to everyone. Here are four of our best tips for effective leadership in these difficult times:
1. Stop and reflect, hear more and connect.
Take your time to pause and think. At first glance, this may seem ridiculous and unrealistic when you consider what the leaders have on the plate in a crisis, but I promise it is essential. It can be tempting to keep moving at a frantic pace and reject your own needs for the good of the company. However, to be effective, leaders need to start with themselves. After all, the first person that all managers have to lead is themselves. As in the rare event of an emergency on board an airplane, it is recommended that the oxygen mask be put on first and then others should be helped. I like this message because it helps us all understand that personal priorities must also be taken into account. Protect yourself and your family safely and healthily. Get enough sleep. Do things that bring you positive energy. In short – take care of yourself so that you are in the best position to lead others. This time for you can also include important moments to think about what you're doing well and what you could do better for the people you manage.
Focus not only on your personal needs, but also on listening more to your team's needs. They need to know what they're about and learn their way of thinking to get them to do something.
Requests for input and feedback should be constant and sincere throughout the period of uncertainty. This is because, in times of change, employees have several important questions, regardless of whether they ask them or not. I call them the eight key questions that all employees (including the top executives) have. These questions resemble Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a psychological theory that states that a person can only begin moving to more complex levels of thought, such as self-confidence and understanding of others, when they have met certain needs & # 39; concerns (or that Concerns of your company).
The eight key questions confirm that employees and executives continue to have basic “I-focused” questions that need to be answered. Executives need to ensure that they do not contribute to employee hardship by addressing too many issues that are not relevant or business critical without addressing the basic needs of employees.
2. Follow 3 + 1.
One of the best strategies for managing teams and communicating effectively in times of crisis is to make your communication as open and proactive as possible. Here's a quick strategy to help you do it: 3 + 1.
The 3 is:
- We know the following
- We do not know the following
- We are working to find out
The 1 is:
- All the work you do to proactively destroy company myths
- For example, you could say, "I want to speak to something I heard is not true" – and then tell what you know / don't know
- Destroying myths is a critical step that managers and communicators must take proactively but often miss
3. Make room for ongoing personal and difficult conversations.
As busy as managers are, it is still important to take the time to get in touch with employees on a personal level, be it by a quick phone call or by talking in small groups. Often, employees have to be invited to share feedback because many don't like to offer it themselves.
An easy way to invite employees to problems and concerns is to ask this simple question: what keeps you up to date at night and how can I help you? In this crisis, some leaders are addressing these issues by organizing more virtual coffees, virtual walks, and other creative ideas to connect with a mostly distant workforce.
4. Decrypt your communication.
Given the great concerns of employees, this is not the time for mixed messages. Employees need to know what's most important to your company's success and work, and are probably not ready for less business-critical initiatives. This means that it may be time to "disappoint" your approach to communication, focusing on limiting communication to areas that are of the highest priority for the growth and profit of the company. To determine what is most critical, it may also be time to do some quick employee interviews to assess what works and what doesn't. What do employees want to know more about? Which communication sources and channels work best for you in today's environment? What could be more effective if you did more of it? Conversely, what doesn't work or could be fixed?
Proven strategies that work in times of uncertainty in the workplace
In our work with managers and communicators over the past few months, we have seen many effective strategies to keep employees up to date in this challenging time.
Here is a snapshot:
- Regular organization of “Ask me Anything” sessions, in which employees are regularly invited to ask questions via social media channels, intranets, conference calls or e-mail
- A new weekly newsletter, compiled by employees and containing information on important business developments, team wins and upcoming challenges
- Celebrate team wins and individual successes with team visits on a regular basis
- Leader toolkits that allow front line managers to guide their teams through key strategic developments in the company or other changes that affect employees. Use the toolkits to help employees answer their most important questions. Make sure that you answer the most important questions of the employees directly at any time: What does all this mean for me? Do I have another job? What do I have to do differently?
The ultimate strategy to respond to the different needs of employees is at heart today. Executives and communicators who show that it is really important to them to respond to employee needs will make far greater progress in employee engagement. You will also get better results than those who insist on moving forward no matter what your audience thinks or feels.
What is your plan to better listen to employees and help them navigate these uncertain times?
– David Grossman