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Emerging Leaders

Programme

Workshop 2

Leading Others

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Contents

Building Empathy as a Leader ................................................................................................................................... 3

Why is empathy important for a leader? ............................................................................................................... 3

Expressing empathy ................................................................................................................................................... 4

The compassionate leader .......................................................................................................................................... 5

Three steps to building compassion ...................................................................................................................... 7

Motivation ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Motivation Myths ........................................................................................................................................................ 8

A Model of Motivation: Zenger and Folkman’s Passion Concept ............................................................. 9

Bringing out the best in people ............................................................................................................................... 12

Holding People to Account ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Assertiveness ............................................................................................................................................................ 14

Practical Tips for being Assertive ...................................................................................................................... 17

Feedback ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18

SARAH model for feedback recipient responses .......................................................................................... 19

Pitfalls to Building Morale ..................................................................................................................................... 20

Resilience & Wellbeing ............................................................................................................................................... 21

Resilience at Work ..................................................................................................................................................... 23

Components of Resilience ...................................................................................................................................... 24

The five ways to wellbeing ...................................................................................................................................... 26

Respite and recovery .............................................................................................................................................. 27

Productivity .................................................................................................................................................................... 28

1. Time management ............................................................................................................................................. 28

2. Task Management (and delegation) .............................................................................................................. 30

3. Multi-Tasking ....................................................................................................................................................... 33

4. Procrastination ................................................................................................................................................... 33

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Fundamental 1:

Building Empathy as a Leader

Empathy is defined as the ability to feel what another person is feeling, and to see and feel

life from their perspective. This allows you to rationally and effectively consider their

emotional state and how best to guide them to a state of positivity and optimism.

Empathy also involves being able to articulate your understanding of another’s perspective

and behaving in a way that respects that person’s feelings.

Empathy generally has two requirements:

1) Accurately identifying someone else’s emotion,

2) Validating the other person’s feelings by showing that you understand.

Why is empathy important for a leader?

Emotions contain important information about aspects that are relevant to our being. They are signals about important events going on in both our internal and social worlds. In order to communicate with and relate effectively to other people, we need to be able to accurately identify the emotions they experience as well as express our own emotions accurately to them. To accurately identify emotions in other people is not as easy as it may sound. Many people do not express their emotions all that clearly and others again are deliberately inexpressive as they might feel that expressing emotions is inappropriate. Therefore the ability to read non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, etc. in order to identify others’ emotions accurately is an important skill to master. Emotions are a signalling system and emotions contain important information – if we are not able to read these signals accurately it means that the information we process regarding people and situations will be flawed.

What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?

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Signs of low empathy Signs of high empathy

Difficulty understanding people’s feelings

Sensitive to feelings of others

Difficulty relating to others Able to put self in “others’ shoes”

Surprised by others’ reactions Anticipates others’ reactions

Misreads social cues Picks up on social cues

There are also some possible risks from being too high in empathy. These include:

Not be able to separate feelings from business

Easily taken advantage of by others

Finding it difficult to make tough decisions – too emotionally invested

Cannot say “no”

Too concerned about others

Denies own feelings

Expressing empathy

Stein (2009) provides the following statements and questions that we can use to enhance

our understanding and then express our empathy towards others:

Explorative questions:

Tell me more about…

That part […] seems really important to you, can you give me a bit more information

I am wondering how […] made you feel?

I noticed that […] seemed important, what is it about that?

Refining questions

Are you worried about something?

Are you happy with how things worked out?

Do you feel angry about what just happened?

Is something making you feel ashamed?

How pleased are you with your report?

Statements to show empathy

You look like you’re feeling somewhat sad.

You look a bit anxious right now.

You’re showing a lot of confidence.

You seem like you’re in pain.

To further aid understanding you may also want to ask questions such as ‘How are you

feeling at the moment?’ to help better establish if there is a hidden issue.

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Fundamental 2:

The compassionate leader

Leadership in the global corporate environment is oftentimes driven by competition,

hierarchical structures and having to continuously justify your worth as a leader, this is

usually measured in how well leaders are meeting targets and improving sales and

revenue. However there is another behaviour that could put leaders in good stead to

gain advantage, improve relationships and lead people more effectively. That is

compassion. Compassion is not usually a word associated with hard business or

leadership; in fact in many organisations the idea of compassion may seem either quite

foreign or perceived as a weakness. It is assumed to be synonymous with feelings,

empathy, kindness and the softer side of being human. This has never been as relevant

as it is now, with our work lives becoming increasingly depersonalized with the increase

in electronic communications and global leadership and work functions.

Organisations could be actively working towards creating a culture of compassion

where leaders are not only free but encouraged to behave in ways that demonstrate

compassion and kindness both to themselves and to those they lead. Of note, when

an organisation deals with staff members they occasionally do so in less than

compassionate ways, however those same employees expect compassion when the

tables are turned and would expect to be treated compassionately. The old adage that

you must walk in another’s shoes holds true to compassionate leadership. Leaders

must be able to demonstrate and act compassionately toward themselves and others;

that means looking after yourself and those that you lead. It is treating people at work

how you would like to be treated.

Psychologists and psychotherapists use compassion focused therapies to help patients

understand ways of being. Leadership development should incorporate ideas from

compassionate focused therapies to improve the relational aspects of leadership in

addition to improving the emotional intelligence of leaders to be more aware of

themselves and others. While many people have compassion as an innate attribute, it

is a trainable competency, skill and behaviour that can be developed over time with

practice, reflection, coaching and mentoring.

What is compassion?

"a deep feeling that you cannot bear another’s suffering without acting to relieve

it”

Dalai Lama

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Compassionate leaders are more likely to transmit a person centred and

compassionate organisational culture where behavioural profiles and decision making

is based on compassion, mutual respect, genuineness and authenticity. Too often

leaders lead from positional power (this is one of the ‘more political’ traits from the

section above on organisational savvy) and deliberately or unknowingly underplay the

relational aspects, therefore getting the balance right is crucial.

Furthermore many leaders are kept so busy that they hardly have time to look after

themselves or recognise the need to pause and engage in some self-compassion

amidst all the competition. We have all had leaders who with the best intention have

said something along the lines of 'do as I say not as I do' type of instruction. In order

to encourage compassion in followers and change an organisational culture that

reflects compassion, leaders must be engaging in self and other compassionate

behaviours.

The cost of non-compassionate coercive leadership have been shown to include poor

engagement, low retention, poor outcomes, unhappy staff, poor leadership capacity

and poor leader-follower fit in the long term.

However the benefits of compassionate leadership may include:

Improved staff engagement as they feel heard, understood and respected.

Better engagement results in better outcomes regardless of the industry.

Compassionate leadership invites leadership based on values and authenticity.

Better engagement improves staff retention.

Improved self and other compassion may diminish burnout and reduces stress levels of leaders and followers.

Compassion is relational in nature and thus facilitates better working relationships between leaders and followers and colleagues in general.

Improved trust in being able to raise genuine concerns sans fear of reprisal thus facilitating working towards real solutions and adaptive change.

Leadership relationships become less clogged by barriers and more open to improved flow.

Positive shifts in organisational culture away from oppressive and coercive organisational cultures.

The gauge of compassion can be demonstrated by how well people feel that they are

heard, understood and respected either by those they lead or are led by. Similarly

acknowledging our own needs, behaving congruently with our values and principles,

feeling authentic and self-respect are powerful motivators and rewards for leaders to

continue to lead authentically and compassionately. Criticism and judgment are

wrapped closely with competition in corporate environments. Whether we are judging

ourselves as leaders or being judged or criticized as leaders. Self-compassion and

other compassion may be an integral means to move towards a kinder, person centred

and satisfying corporate environment. Furthermore a leader who leads

compassionately, role models positive leadership behaviours and attributes to peers

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and leaders both in terms of looking after oneself but also being more compassionate

and human towards others.

Research has found that:

Leaders who display more ‘angry’ behaviours and actions are seen as less effective and erode the loyalty of followers.

The act of forgiving someone for a mistake lowers the blood pressure of both yourself and the person you are forgiving.

Three steps to building compassion

1. Take a moment. Step back and control your own emotional response – allow time to reflect, so you can offer a thoughtful, reasonable and discerned response. 2. Put yourself in your employees’ shoes. Take a different perspective - this helps you see aspects of the situation you may not have noticed and leads to better results. 3. Forgive. This strengthens your relationship and is actually good for you Forgiveness lowers both your blood pressure and that of the person you’re forgiving.

Compassionate leadership reflection

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Fundamental 3:

Motivation

Your ability to motivate others will influence your credibility and success as a leader.

Individuals are motivated by different things and it is important to consider individuals

needs when designing or allocating work tasks. Understanding what motivates

individuals can be achieved through effective dialogue and effectively demonstrating

empathy with others. In addition, it is important to consider your own behaviour and

approach as a leader and role model, to ensure that you are a source of motivation,

rather than a potential obstacle to this.

This module considers some of the myths around motivation, and considers motivation

as very much an individual concept; individuals are motivated by different things. The

module provides a model for conceptualising motivation, and provides strategies for

how, as a leader you can aim to build motivation in individuals, aiming to satisfy their

individual needs and ensuring they are considered and listened to.

Motivation Myths

If I can’t pay a person more, there is not much else I can do to motivate.

Everyone is motivated by the same type of rewards.

People are motivated by the same things all the time.

People should be able to motivate themselves.

Motivating others is one of the best examples of situational leadership. You need to

understand what motivates each person rather than trying to have one standard reward system

which you apply to all. People do respond positively if rewarded appropriately (and perception

of what constitutes ‘reward’ will vary from person to person, and will vary in perceived

importance).

Dan Pink Motivation Video:

What motivation myths did this dispel?

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A Model of Motivation: Zenger and Folkman’s Passion Concept

An interesting theory is Zenger & Folkman’s Passion Concept, from The Extraordinary

Leader. According to this theory there are 3 critical factors:

1. Competence – what you do well

2. Passion – what you like to do

3. Organisational needs – the activities that support the Organisation’s success

The Power of Convergence

According to this model, the motivational “sweet spot” is achieved when both an

individual’s passion and competence are aligned with the requirements of the job. As

a leader, you need to consider the ways in which you can help ensure this is the case

for your staff.

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Various scenarios can occur with individuals; you need to be able to identify which

scenario you are faced with and then motivate the individual accordingly. The scenarios

are presented below:

The Rookie

Rookies need to develop skills in areas in which they have a passion and in which

the organisation has a need

Motivate Rookies by offering skill building opportunities.

The Chore

When the individual sees the activity as a “chore” he/she is unlikely to give his/her

best effort

Consider how you can ignite some passion for the activity or offer extrinsic

rewards.

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The Hobbyist

The hobbyist needs redirection

Towards other activities that provide value to the organisation

To other roles that might better value the activity

To satisfy this motivation outside of the workplace

How to Motivate Others

Everyone has different motivations

Motivations may change over time:

From basic, low level needs to higher level needs

Needs change as people progress through life stages

Remember to have an on-going dialogue with each person so you know what is important to them at this stage in their career.

Listen for clues from everyday actions and words.

Learn what intrinsically motivates each person.

Aim to match people to the things they are passionate about.

Differentiate rewards:

Recognition

Promotions

Challenging assignments

Interesting projects

Involvement and contribution into more meaningful things

Get the right rewards to the right people at the right time.

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Fundamental 4

Bringing out the best in people

Some leaders stifle the contribution of their team members. They drain all the

intelligence and capability out of their teams because they need to be the smartest,

most capable person in the room. They shut down the contribution of others, and make

others feel worthless, ultimately stifling the flow of ideas.

At the other end of the spectrum are leaders who, as capable as they are, care less

about their own status and are more concerned about fostering a culture of intelligence

in their teams. Under the leadership of these “multipliers,” employees don’t just feel

smarter, they become smarter. They push people to be their best and believe that

everyone has capacity to flourish.

Multipliers and diminishers fall into a number of common types:

Diminishers

The Empire Builder: Hoards resources and underutilises talent

The Tyrant: Creates a tense environment that suppresses people’s thinking and capabilities

The Know-It-All: Gives directives that demonstrate how much he or she knows

The Decision Maker: Makes centralised, abrupt decisions that confuse the organisation

The Micro-manager: Drives results through his or her personal involvement

Multipliers

The Talent Magnet: Attracts talented people and uses them to their highest potential

The Liberator: Creates an intense environment that requires people’s best thinking and work

The Challenger: Defines an opportunity that causes people to stretch their thinking and behaviours

The Debate Maker: Drives sound decisions by cultivating rigorous debate among team members

The Investor: Gives other people ownership of results and invests in their success

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Discussion:

• Consider the diminishers and multipliers in your own organisation

• How do you normally deal with diminishers?

• How can you become more of a multiplier?

• Are you ever an accidental diminisher?

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Fundamental 5

Holding People to Account

Assertiveness Assertiveness has been defined as ‘a spectrum of interpersonal behaviour that

emerges when two or more parties’ interests or positions are in, or seem to be in,

conflict’ (Ames, 2008). This behaviour ranges from avoidance or passivity , to

accommodation and yielding, to firm pursuit of personal objectives, to aggression and

combativeness. Thus, assertiveness reflects how much a person is seen as speaking

up for, defending, and pursuing her personal interests.

Recent work has highlighted how common the challenge of interpersonal assertiveness

is in organisational life.

For instance, a study asked over 270 professionals to describe the worst and best

leaders for whom they had ever worked (Ames, 2007). Assertiveness was a clear

theme in nearly half the descriptions of worst leaders (more prevalent than other

dimensions, including supportiveness, communication, and integrity), though it

appeared in only a quarter of best-leader descriptions (far less often than

supportiveness, communication, and integrity).

Assertiveness was seen as a shortcoming in both directions: too much and too little.

Comments about assertiveness as a weakness were split almost equally between over-

assertiveness (48%) and under-assertiveness (52%).

Moderate assertiveness may be a causal background condition or a necessary but

insufficient cause: When in place, it is unremarkable, and onlookers’ attention is drawn

to other vivid and seemingly sufficient factors, such as conscientiousness. However,

when assertiveness registers as too low or high, it may dominate attention, eclipsing

other qualities and interrupting effectiveness.

Aggression and combativeness

Firm pursuit of personal

objectives

Accommodation and yielding

Avoidance and passivity

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Assertiveness: A Balancing Act

The impact of assertiveness can be broken down into two domains: instrumental and

relational outcomes. Prior work suggests that increasing interpersonal assertiveness

has a positive effect on instrumental outcomes (e.g., completing tasks, securing

resources) but a negative effect on relational outcomes (e.g., cultivating rapport,

sustaining trust).

Instrumental

Outcomes

Relational

Outcomes

Increasing

Interpersonal

Assertiveness

Positive effect

completing tasks,

securing

resources)

Negative effect

(cultivating

rapport

sustaining trust)

As assertiveness increases, gains in the instrumental domain could offset losses in the

social domain, and overall effectiveness would remain constant.

However, work on negativity effects suggests that onlookers weigh losses more heavily

than gains. At low levels of assertiveness, co-workers may focus on a colleague’s

‘‘instrumental impotence’’ more than on her social achievements. At high levels of

assertiveness, co-workers may attend more to a colleague’s ‘‘social insufferability’’

than to her instrumental success.

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Striking the balance

1. Be self-aware

Complete a ‘success inventory’ to understand whether your style is effective. Over a

defined period of time - a few weeks or a month - before entering a discussion or

meeting, ask yourself, “What do I want from this situation?” Then, afterwards, evaluate

the results: “Did I get what I wanted?” This will create a track record of your success

and indicate whether you need to adjust your style.

Researchers find that there is a disconnect between how assertive someone thinks

they are and how assertive their colleagues view them to be. Request multi-rater

feedback to understand others perception of your interpersonal communication.

People make idiosyncratic predictions about how others will react to a given level of

assertiveness. One person might think, for example, that if she poli tely but firmly

refused a colleague’s request for resources, the colleague would regard her with

disdain. Another person might consider the same refusal, predicting that the colleague

would find it acceptable or even admirable. Even if these two people had exactly the

same motive to protect the relationship, they might differ in their behaviour (e.g.,

declining the request vs. granting it) simply because they anticipate different outcomes.

Because feedback on whether such expectancies are correct may be rare, people may

persist in habitually low-assertive or high-assertive behavior, believing it to be

reasonable, and adaptive, without knowing that others see their style as too weak or

too harsh.

2. Set goals

If you find in your assessment that you are holding back in situations where you

shouldn’t, ask yourself what you aren’t saying and why you’re keeping quiet. Set

realistic goals to make small changes in your behaviour and stick to them. Next time

you enter a similar situation, rehearse what you are going to say and how you will say

it beforehand. Challenge yourself with a specific time-bounded behavioural goal. For

example, give yourself a week to initiate three difficult conversations with colleagues.

Or tell yourself that for the next two weeks, whenever you’re in a group discussion,

you’ll speak up within the first two minutes. “Focused incremental changes add up to

real change,” Ames says. If you’re successful, set another goal and stick to it. If it

doesn’t work, try a different goal. “Approach it with an attitude of playfulness,” he says.

3. Adapt level of assertiveness to context and situation

The level of assertiveness that is adaptive in one situation may not be effective in the

next. Norms for assertiveness vary by culture, organisation, relationship, task, and

other contexts.

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Research has assessed professionals’ reports on their managers across situations,

including the manager’s behaviour with subordinates, superiors, customers, and

suppliers (capturing different task and status dynamics). The responses showed that

situationally appropriate assertiveness - for instance, showing what informants saw as

an appropriate level of assertiveness with customers - predicted perceived manager

effectiveness beyond the impact of average assertiveness. Thus, it is not simply that

effective managers chronically display moderate assertiveness, but rather that they

tend to fit their behaviour to the situation’s demands.

Practical Tips for being Assertive

1. Words

• What I like… What I don’t like…

• What I want, need, insist or demand…

• If you do… If you don’t...

2. Tone

• Strong and determined, forceful if necessary

• Even paced and confident

3. Body Language

• Strong eye contact

• Serious facial expression

• Grounded feet straight posture

• Firm chopping hand gestures

4. General Comments

• Direct and to the point with positive and negative outcomes

• Making clear what you want from the other person and the consequences of doing

or not doing so

• Incentives and pressures not bribes and threats, that you are able to deliver

• ‘Broken record’ repetition technique if challenged using the appropriate parts of the

5 sentence structure

• Be mindful of personal space needs – too close might be perceived as aggressive,

too far away as nervous

• Avoid smiling or softening body language at the end of the sentence – stay strong

rather than look relieved to have finished!

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Feedback

Giving and receiving feedback is an essential leadership skill. Delivered in the wrong

way feedback can damage working relationships and cause breakdowns in

communication. At best, poorly delivered feedback won’t achieve the desired

behaviour change or ‘impact intended’.

The following BOOST model is a useful guide for giving feedback:

Balanced:

The focus during feedback sessions should be on the areas of the receiver’s

development and strengths, with a focus on how the strengths can be further leveraged.

When giving “negative feedback”, be sure to include good and constructive points too.

Observed:

You must always base your feedback on what you have observed, rather than on what

you think about it or your feelings about an issue.

Objective:

When giving feedback, don’t refer to the personality of the receiver but only on the

actions and outcomes. Be descriptive, not evaluative.

Specific:

Make sure that you back up your comments with specific examples of the observed

behaviour. For example, when giving a colleague feedback on a job well done by them,

explain exactly what he/she did well.

Timely:

Always endeavour to give your feedback as soon as possible, after the activity. Doing

this ensures that you capture the observed action(s) as accurately as possible.

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SARAH model for feedback recipient responses

S HOCK

Most people are surprised or shocked to hear that their work is not as good as it should be.

When you approach someone one your team to give them feedback, expect that they might

be surprised, and possibly shocked to hear what you have to say. The key to handling shock

is to deliver the message in private, and then allow the person some time to absorb the

information.

A NGER

Once the information is absorbed, many people feel upset or angry that they are being

criticized. The most common response is a feeling of unfairness – they have seen others who

are performing worse who aren’t being criticized (or at least not that they know of). There are

reasons why their performance is the way it is. It’s important to remember that often in the

“shock” stage, people nod and seem to accept the feedback, but then later the anger comes

when they are away from the situation. So expect that someone who seemed to take the

information in when you first gave it to them may boomerang back around the next day and be

upset.

R EJECTION

It’s hard to believe something negative about ourselves, so we have defensive mechanisms

that spring into action when we feel defensive. We reject the idea that we’re doing something

wrong. We come up with reasons why it’s not our fault. Rejection is a point where some people

can get stuck. As a leader it’s important to provide facts and information in a clear way, and

be sure to reinforce your goal of working together to improve the situation.

A CCEPTANCE

After it has sunk in that there is truly an issue, and one that can and should be corrected, most

people move past rejection and into acceptance. This is where action can start to happen. You

can start to plan together and find solid strategies to change behavior. Sometimes it takes

some time to get to this point, and some people may bounce briefly back to anger or rejection,

especially if making the change is hard.

H ONEST EFFORT

Change doesn’t happen overnight. For most people, even after they accept that they need to

do something different, old habits remain. Encourage the honest effort to change, even if it

takes a few tries or if there are a few lapses back to the old behavior.

It can be just as hard to deliver tough feedback as it is to hear it, but understanding and

preparing for SARAH can make recipients more receptive of what you have to say!

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Pitfalls to Building Morale

Morale is an important aspect for maintaining high levels of engagement in the team.

Some common pitfalls to building morale, which you should always aim to avoid, are:

Taking personal credit for your group’s success

Taking work away from people who aren’t doing it as quickly or exactly the way you’d like

Putting the most domineering person in charge of a team or work group

Playing favourites

Ignoring poor performance

Talking negatively about team members in front of other team members

Raising your voice, yelling, or showing anger

Nagging

Threatening

Giving only negative feedback

Micromanaging

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Fundamental 6

Resilience & Wellbeing Resilience: Defined

Resilience is the capacity to deal with change and continue to develop. ASSESS defines resilience as ‘effectively dealing with work-related problems, pressure, and stress in a professional and positive manner.’ Resilience at work can also be described as the capability to maintain high performance and positive well-being in the face of adverse conditions. The following are some other possible definitions of resilience: • Ability to “bounce back” or recover quickly • Cope adequately in the face of difficulties. • Bend but not break under stress. • Handle setbacks when things go awry. • Maintain equilibrium when events are highly aversive. • Ability to persevere. • Envisage a positive outcome in the future. • Flexibility • Get support; accept help • Recapture past success • Model others who have been resilient. • Sense of humour • Embrace change • Sense of knowing that you can survive/thrive. • Confidence in the ability to adapt.

Resilience is a combination of personal characteristics and skills. Resilience skills are practical and can be learned and developed through appropriate training. The characteristics which are associated with higher levels of resilience are inherent in our personalities; however resilience skills can be used to help us adapt our natural style and tendencies. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Nelson Mandela

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Resilience

List in this space your current work related challenges:

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Resilience at Work Resilience is primarily learned behaviour – the choice’s we make in how we think and behave when faced with adversity. We cannot always control what happens to us, we can only control our responses. Resilience is not always obvious – it only comes into play when we are tested. Our response to adversity will demonstrate how resilient we are. Resilience can be displayed in many different ways. In individuals, it is often seen as optimism, resourcefulness, and determination. In teams, it is seen when team members support each other at work and solve problems creatively. We often think that risk factors such as poverty, ill-health, prolonged stress, and negative relationships are highly detrimental to our well-being and ability to achieve. For many people, risk factors are detrimental and lead to negative outcomes such as anxiety, withdrawal or poor performance. But others somehow use their challenges as a springboard for growth. This is resilience, and it is more common that it is not. Research shows that there is a lack of predictive power of risk factors, unless we create self-fulfilling labels based on them. For example, some people start to expect to be treated badly by their workplace and then find evidence to support their expectation. Research shows that a resilient individual is one who works well, plays well, loves well, and expects well, and the following are things you could to do take advantage of these factors:

Practice positive attitudes

Build great relationships at work

Take advantage of your personal strengths

Do more of the work you love to do

Take action

Laugh more at work

Take good care of your health

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Components of Resilience

The Robertson Cooper model of resilience, has four key components, all of which are

influenced by our personality and the skills that we develop over time. The four components

of resilience are:

The ‘Confidence’ component includes the following factors:

Level of worry

Dealing with distress

Level of social anxiety

Reaction to pressure

Level of enthusiasm

Level of compliance

Degree of modesty

Degree of resourcefulness The ‘Purposefulness’ component includes the following factors:

Level of assertiveness

Activity levels

Level of adventurousness

Aesthetic appreciation

Social values

Sense of duty

Level of ambition

Level of self-discipline

Level of deliberation

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The ‘Adaptability’ component includes the following factors:

Level of frustration

Impulse control

Level of imagination

Degree of emotional awareness

Preference for variety

Degree to openness to ideas

Level of sympathy

Preference for order The ‘Social Support’ component includes the following factors:

Degree of personal warmth

Degree of sociability

Level of trust

Level of straightforwardness

Degree of consideration for others

Differing levels on each of these aspects are likely to help or hinder your resilience and understanding these is a starting point for building your resilience. It is likely that you have developed ways to overcome hindrances to your resilience over time.

Reflection on your i-resilience report

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The five ways to wellbeing Recent research by NEF has suggested five actionable steps that are likely to improve wellbeing. Each step is backed by a wide evidence base, and more details on this can be found by visiting http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/entry/five-ways-to-well-being-the-evidence

1. Connect

Connect with the people around you, with family friend or others. At home, work or in the community. Think of these relationships as the cornerstones of your life and invest in them. Building these connections will support and enrich you everyday. We are programme to want both depth in our relationships (very close, intense relationships, you may have with just a few people) and also breadth (knowing lots of individuals and being part of our belonging to a group) – try to nurture both of these.

2. Be active

Go for a walk or run, play a game, gardening. Exercise makes you feel good (and has also been found to make you smarter!) Find an activity that you enjoy and suits your fitness level – it doesn’t have to be running a marathon, it could be a brisk walk round the site over lunch with a friend (which would also help you to connect).

3. Take notice

Take notice – be curious, savour the moment – reflect on what you experience and appreciate what matters to you. Practicing mindfulness can be a good way of taking notice.

4. Keep learning

Keep learning – try something new or rediscover an interest, take on a new responsibility, this is about setting yourself a challenge you will enjoy to receive that feeling of mastery and improve confidence. When we master something research shows we not only feel more confident about that task but also more confident in general about how we can perform.

5. Give back…

Do something for a friend or stranger, thank someone, join a community group – linking your happiness and wellbeing to a wider group or outcome can have a real positive impact, as cooperation and collaboration are linked to reward pathways in the brain. Committing an act of kindness once a week over 6 weeks has been linked to a significant with increased wellbeing.

These should not be seen an independent as one task may meet several of the steps. For

example, joining a local community volunteering group is likely to enhance your connections

and social network, whilst also allowing you to feel positive about g iving back, and you may

even learn a new skill as part of your volunteering effort.

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Respite and recovery Effort-Recovery Model (Meijman & Mulder, 1998)

Effort expenditure at work leads to load reactions (e.g., psychological and physiological fatigue).

Under normal circumstances, once an individual is no longer exposed to work demands, and goes home for the evening or weekend, load reactions are reversed and recovery occurs.

BUT - without sufficient recovery, compensatory effort is required when re-entering the workplace and performance is compromised.

Hence, it is important that functional systems taxed during work are not further depleted during your evenings, weekends and holidays.

Recovery activities:

Physical (e.g., deliberate exercise, swimming, jogging, sports, gym, yoga)

Low-effort activities (e.g., watching TV, reading a book, napping, taking a bath).

Social activities (e.g., meeting with friends or family, going to the pub, speaking with friends on the phone, going out with your partner).

Household and childcare activities (e.g., cooking, washing dishes, washing clothes, running errands, taking care of children/ other family members).

Social and physical activities are linked to the most significant enhancements in well-being. Why? Psychological detachment from work: ‘A state in which people mentally disconnect from work and do not think about job-related issues when they are away from their job’ (Sonnentag, 2012). When engaging in physical activities and positive social activities it is more difficult to think about work and increases the likelihood of you psychologically disconnecting from work-related stressors and issues.

• Employees who detach report higher levels of well-being than employees who don’t. • Detachment is particularly important in stressful job conditions. • Detachment is related to various facets of job performance (task performance and

proactive work behaviour).

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Fundamental 7

Productivity

4 strategies to build your personal effectiveness and productivity:

1. Time management

Wasted time costs UK businesses £80billion per year, which is the equivalent to 7% of GDP. Wasted time is also known as labour inefficiency, and causes of this have been found to be:

Inadequate workforce supervision (31%)

Poor management planning (30%)

Poor communication (18%)

IT problems, low morale, and lack or mismatch of skills (21%) Strategies for regaining control Some suggested strategies for regaining control over your time are:

Not over-committing. Be prepared to say no, and distinguish between things that ‘should’ be done and things that ‘must’ be done

Identify where the value is

Manage emails and correspondence

Lead more effective meetings

Dealing with time stealers Identifying where the value is Remember the Pareto Principle, which proposes that, at a simple level, where two related

data sets or groups exist (typically cause and effect or input and output):

“80 per cent of output is produced by 20 per cent of input”

Focus your efforts on the top 20% of activities that produce the majority of your output, i.e.

the most valuable aspects of your work.

Dealing with time stealers The important thing is to recognise what your biggest distractions are and implement

strategies to deal with them effectively. Some common time stealers are:

Emails

Personal callers

Phone calls

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Meetings

Wasting time looking for information

EXAMPLE: How to manage emails:

Turn off the ‘new mail’ alert and schedule times through the day to check your mail, maybe in the gaps between tasks, or in your low energy times such as after lunch.

Use filters to automatically put your mail into folders according to who it has come from.

Give yourself a set amount of time to deal with emails, and make sure you respond to those ones that need an answer straight away, so you don't have to think about it again.

Help others to manage their email by obeying the rules of netiquette. EXAMPLE: How to manage personal callers:

Look up and smile if someone interrupts you - you need to acknowledge their presence.

If they ask you if you have a minute, say that you're really in the middle of something right now, but you'll have it finished by a certain time and could you chat then.

Make sure you do make time for them when you said you would.

If someone just starts talking, be assertive and interrupt them to say you're busy but you'll be free at a certain time. Or stand up and slowly walk them away while you are talking.

EXAMPLE: How to manage phone calls:

Find another venue to do the work that requires uninterrupted time; book a meeting room for an hour.

Practise being assertive in dealing with people - use phrases like "what can I do for you?" or "is there something you need?" to appear helpful while encouraging people to come to the point.

If you have something that you need to work on, politely tell the caller you're on deadline and arrange to call them back.

Schedule times that you will take calls.

Make sure that you do return calls when you're able to.

Think about whether you have to go to the meeting. Can you delegate this to someone else, spending 15 minutes briefing them fully on the meeting, and 15 minutes debriefing them afterwards?

Can you go, stay for the part that is of use to you, and then make your excuses?

Try changing the sort of meetings you have. Try to steer the meeting towards making decisions and agreeing actions.

EXAMPLE: How to avoid wasting time looking for information:

Review your current filing system, and see how it could be easier to use.

Ensure that you have a good system for recording people's contact details, and make sure everyone's details are in there.

Keep your desk relatively tidy – principles of the Lean Office.

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Adopt a rigorous file naming system and ensure that you use it, to avoid having to reproduce work or spend precious time searching for where you saved that document.

2. Task Management (and delegation)

As a manager, it is important that you ensure you are managing tasks effectively and delegating tasks to others where appropriate to minimise pressure on yourself, therefore increasing your personal effectiveness. Some suggested strategies for task management are: Goal setting Concentrate on getting results, not on being busy. Five principles of goal setting are:

Clarity

Challenge

Commitment

Feedback

Complexity Set goals in writing, tell other people what they are, and use positive language. Start with the end goal in mind. Prioritisation

Urgent / Important matrix:

It is important to aim to spend most time on tasks fitting into box 3, as you should not allow tasks to become so urgent they fit in box 4.

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5 Golden Rules for Prioritisation

1. Understand what IMPORTANT tasks are for you - as opposed to URGENT tasks....

Things which are important are of higher value and meaning and bring you closer to your goal.

Things which are urgent are time sensitive and need to be done NOW. Not everything which is urgent is important.

2. Don't work from To-Do Lists....

People who work from to do lists are often busy and active but at the same time, often find themselves constantly engaged in last minute, 'urgent' activity.

The problem with daily to do lists is that they prioritise all activities as being equal, they begin with the assumption that everything needs to be done in equal or pretty equal timeframes. Unless a to-do list is inspired firstly by a higher thinking model such as the 4 Quadrants model which incorporates the essential concept of 'Important' -v- 'Urgent'.

3. Practice saying NO.....

It's not as easy as you imagine but saying YES can get you into trouble at times - overworked, stressed, frustrated...

Here are some ways to say no without saying no!

I'm happy to help you with that but I firstly need to prioritise this piece of work, could you come back to me later?

Would it work for you if we asked X to do this as I am under pressure today to get this done and it's really important for me and the business?

I'm busy with this priority right now so can I ask you how urgent this is and what's driving that urgency? Can it wait?

I'm actually wondering about the importance of this task for me, I'm considering not doing it and wonder what impact that would have for us?

4. Get Feedback from your Boss / Team / Friend / Spouse...

Get feedback from others about what they consider to be the highest priorities for you and/or your team/family. It can be interesting to hear another person's perspective and can sometimes help you to see the wood for the trees!

5. Review your priorities regularly...

Every week or month, check back in with your goals and how they translate into actions and priorities on a weekly / monthly / daily basis.

Remember - everything that's worth doing brings you closer to your goals whether on a personal, interpersonal or professional level!

Delegating and drawing on your team There is a limit to the amount of work that you can do on your own. There is only so much value that you can deliver to your organisation without the help of other people. Delegation

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is skill that you must acquire to manage workload and to ensure that work is successfully delivered. It is also a skill you can use to draw on other people’s expertise to do the best possible job. Furthermore, the transfer of responsibility involved with delegation develops your staff, and can increase their enjoyment of their roles. To delegate effectively, go through the following stages:

1. Decide what to delegate. Look for tasks that can be quickly taught to someone else, or can be done by someone else who already has the necessary skills. Also, look for tasks that can be done better by someone with a different set of skills. As far as possible, delegate complete jobs. Complete jobs are much more satisfying to work on than unconnected fragments of work. By doing this, you are also more likely to get back higher quality work.

2. Find the right person to delegate to. Find someone who is capable and willing to do the work, and who has the time to do it properly. Sometimes you may have to delegate to someone who does not have the necessary experience. When this happens, bear in mind they will take time to train and will initially need supervision. But view this as an investment: as this person learns the job, they will complete it more effectively, consuming less and less of your time.

3. Explain the purpose of the job and what you expect. Explain why the job needs to be done, what need to be done and delivered, resources available and constraints, when the work needs to be completed by, check points to review progress, and your willingness to give information or provide help. Then let go!

4. Manage the job. Once you have decided to delegate a task to someone, let them get on with it. Review the work at agreed check points, but do not micromanage. Accept that there may be different ways of achieving it. Be available to answer questions where appropriate. Leave time for rework if appropriate.

5. Only accept back good quality work. Allow time to check work thoroughly. If you are able to, only accept it back when you are satisfied with it to avoid you having to invest time in completing it, and to ensure the person completing the work learns how to do it to the required standard.

6. If appropriate, reward the effort. If someone has done good work, let them know. Appropriate praise will help to build their self-confidence and efficiency next time they do the job for you.

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3. Multi-Tasking

Multitasking requires us to switch our attention from one task to another

This incurs ‘switching costs’ – each time we move our attention to a new task we are taxing

our minds.

The more we switch, the more our attention reserves are depleted… and the harder it is to

focus!

So why do we do it?

Multi-tasking makes us feel as if we are more productive, thus resulting in a mistaken belief

about ourselves – this is a good reason why so many of us continue to procrastinate.

BUT – it is important to be aware that multi-tasking takes effort and time, and that you would

feel even better if you concentrated on one thing at a time – and you would also get more

done.

4. Procrastination

Some common reasons why we procrastinate are:

To do something more enjoyable

To do something we are more comfortable doing

Because we are overwhelmed by the priority task (i.e. we doubt that we have the skills or resources we think we need or we don’t know where to begin)

We are waiting for the ‘right’ time or mood

We fear failure (or success)

We have poor decision-making skills

We have poor organisational skills The following are some steps you can take to deal with your own procrastination:

Step 1: Recognise that you are doing it

Step 2: Work out why you are procrastinating (refer back to the common reasons above)

Step 3: Get over it – develop strategies for motivating yourself. Some suggested strategies are:

Reward yourself

Get someone to check up on you

Remind yourself what the unpleasant consequences are of not doing the task

For overwhelming tasks, see ‘Planning and Scheduling’

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Action planning

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