 Transitioning into new ways of working and being
May is National Walking Month so a good time to start some gentle walking (following government COVID guidelines) if you don't already, and if you do walk you'll know the benefits it brings to mental as well as physical health.
18-24 May is Mental Health Awareness Week - the theme this year is kindness.
Both campaigns have ideas and resources for you to support your staff with internal campaigns.
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How's your team getting on?
There is a tendancy for even the closest teams to lose connection with physical isolation and to morph into being 'just a group'. That's not good for them and it's not good for your organisation now, or as it it recovers.
A team is a group of people who work collaboratively together to achieve agreed goals. Together they achieve more than any of them could on their own. Strong relationships, challenge, support and trust help them achieve their individual and collective tasks and goals.
Maintaining motivation and productivity in these distanced times requires new thinking - communicating well and building 1:1 and team relationships is even more important.
Top Tips for successful virtual team meetings
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Plan carefully and keep the agenda short, outcome focused (discuss… decide about… collect ideas on…) and share in advance. Share brief notes straight afterwards
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Involve people - start with a round of sharing and maybe a fun icebreaker, share the facilitation and plan for frequent interaction – questions, chat, polls, breaks, break out rooms
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Connect with video to see and interact with each other – on audio it’s easier to get distracted, be excluded or do other things, all of which impact communication, relationships and trust
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Take time to agree an online protocol for making contributions and avoiding ‘hogging’ or talking over each other. Review regularly – what’s working? What’s not? What could you try next time?
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Be clear in your intent - a ‘team meeting’ is for collaboration, creativity and relationships, a ‘briefing’ is to share information and ‘coffee breaks’ are for informal and social support (often also productive for creativity and motivation)
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Look after social needs - think about how to manage celebrations, anniversaries, people leaving, new people joining. Newsletters are useful here as well as online meetings.
Remember that those furloughed are still part of your team. Keep them involved with each other in a way that doesn't break the furloughing rules.
More on managing virtual teams
Tips from the NHS, articles from the BBC and to support effective home working and a toolkit from Business in the Community.
Blog posts, to increase manager awareness and capabilities through the pandemic.
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How you lead and manage through uncertainty impacts feelings of wellbeing
‘It isn't the change that people resist, it is the transition’ Susan & William Bridges
The challenge now is not about managing change, it's more about navigating uncertainty. Change implies moving from a known A to known B; uncertainty means finding ease amidst the discomfort of volatility, unknowns, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). The national and global uncertainties impact all aspects of our lives and will be coloured by our personalities and personal circumstances. For managers the task is double - the need to manage your own responses and provide leadership for your team. Mentors, buddies and trusted peers can help.
'Transitions are typically hard because you’re not where you were, and you're not where you're going to be. And that’s uncomfortable’ Ellen Langer. Whilst it is also a time of great creativity and learning, it requires a vat of patience and empathy to navigate successfully.
Leading and managing ourselves and our teams through the time of transitions (William Bridges) involves 3 distinct phases that each benefit from a different approach -
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Endings
- Allow time for denial, anger, confusion, frustration, fear and low productivity
- Support people with empathy to identify and accept what they need to let go of, personally and as a team, and then to grieve for those losses
- Help them to also recognise the elements that are continuing and the benefits of clearing ‘clutter’
Neutral Zone
- Support people through anxieties, resentment, resistance, problems, negativity, low motivation, impatience, self-doubt, scepticism and a natural retreat into self-interest
- Encourage experimentation, innovation and creativity as they start to find new ways of being. Resist moving to certainties before opportunities have been fully explored
- Communicate, communicate, communicate to keep the team together and moving in the same direction
New Beginnings
Note: you have to end before you can begin - new beginnings can’t take root and grow until the time is right and the majority of people have the emotional space to look forward.
- Encourage people to form new identities and find new energy to move forward
- Articulate a clear new purpose and develop a plan that involves everyone in a way that means they feel successful
- Define new tasks and behaviours
- Reinforce and celebrate enthusiasm and new achievements
Growing Mental Wealth - snippets that have resonated with me this week
Lean into what you have and not what you lack.
Enjoy active purposeful rest.
Zone tasks to make it easier to focus - multitasking is inefficient, mistake-prone and energy-sapping.
Be grateful for life’s simple pleasures.
Now is a good time to get to make friends with yourself and get to know yourself better.
Stay in the moment and you will cope.
The times I most need to reach out are the very times I find it hardest to do so.
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Resources and links
Local information and support
Southampton City Council - uptodate local coronavirus support and links to national schemes and Information for businesses
Solent Apprenticeship Hub Webinar – 5th May email for details
SO:Linked Southampton Directory of Local Support
ABP Southampton Marathon - Virtual Run
Support your business
Online HR support and templates from XPert HR – join the mailing list for practical uptodate information and tools
HSE has many tools and resources to support you looking after your staff
Be the Business guidance on Managing cashflow
Supporting mental health, growing mental wealth and building resilience
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