It’s less about what we say, and more about what we do.
Politics, violence, hate… These topics aren’t often discussed in our workplaces. Yet people on our teams are feeling pain, disbelief, fear, anger, confusion, and frustration. As leaders, our teams are looking to us to lean in and provide support to manage these feelings. In this episode, Dr. Janet Pilcher shares an approach she created and followed to encourage inclusive conversations on her team.
This episode answers questions such as:
- How can we address the types of events like our nation experienced on 1/6/21 with our teams?
- What can we do to create safe spaces for people to express how they feel?
- Why is it important to support our teams through these difficult events in our nation?
Featured Episode Resources
How to Talk with Your Team About the Violence at the U.S. Capitol
Many leaders don't know how to discuss current events that elicit strong opinions and emotions and so their default is to say nothing or make only a passing comment. They must instead lean into moments of disbelief, frustration, anger, fear, and anything else people might be feeling.
Pause, Perspective, Process
Have you ever found yourself regretting an answer, reaction, or outburst? Have you ever sent an email you wished you could get back? Do you frequently have challenging interactions with others? More than likely these behaviors resulted from a gut reaction based on emotion, or acting before thinking. Learning to pause and gain a new perspective can help leaders regulate their emotions, make better decisions, and respond to difficult situations in a positive way.
Valuing All Voices
Valuing all voices often requires the use of specific strategies to engage all participants when facilitating a meeting or employee forum event. Consider the physical environment, agenda items, and mix of meeting participants, when deciding which strategy is most appropriate for equalizing voices in the room at your next meeting.
Leading with Vulnerability
When we think about vulnerability, we may wonder how this emotion could possibly play a role in our workplace. We often associate vulnerability as a weakness, rather than realizing it is a necessary key to unlocking connection with team members, innovation, and creativity. Vulnerability is a vital emotion in our workplace; responsible for facilitating our connections with others. When employees feel cared about, they are more likely to feel included, stay with the organization longer, and perform better.
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The challenges of 2020 may keep us at a physical distance, but we are here with you and we have other ways for you to connect with your leadership community. Our listeners can engage with our coaches and expert guests every week at virtual roundtable discussions.
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