Monthly Update - October 2021
Welcome to the October Love Leading Collection Monthly Update!!
As a quick reminder - the Monthly Update is a summary of the #FridayShares from the previous month. The Monthly Update expands on what was shared, making it a resource for personal development or to inspire you as you develop others.
You don’t have to cover it all in one go, maybe do a section a week. This is designed to help you to keep learning, enabling you to Love Leading and to enjoy some #purpleskythinking - yeah!!
Friday Share 12 - #worldsuicidepreventionday
Mental Health and Wellbeing are really important topics for us at Purple Sky.
To highlight #Worldsuicidepreventionday we used our first #FridayShare of October to point people to a great article from Forbes and Dr Margie Warrell with some great tips for leaders on how to prioritise mental health.
Have a read and capture your reflections:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2020/10/10/world-mental-health-day--why-leaders-must-prioritize-employee-mental-health--wellbeing/
We also considered this campaign from the Mental Health Foundation and some important sources of support. As a leader being aware of these and being able to signpost to them when they are needed is really important.
The starting point for signposting support, especially for suicide are here but also investigate the support services you provide as an employer for wider mental health support:
Samaritans offer a 24-hours a day, 7 days a week support service. Call them FREE on 116 123. You can also email jo@samaritans.org
Papyrus is a dedicated service for people up to the age of 35 who are worried about how they are feeling or anyone concerned about a young person. You can call the HOPElineUK number on 0800 068 4141, text 07786 209697 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
NHS Choices: 24-hour national helpline providing health advice and information. Call them free on 111.
From those of a Black, Asian and Minority background ReThink have support available at https://lnkd.in/dcH63ryS
C.A.L.M.: National helpline for men to talk about any troubles they are feeling. Call 0800 58 58 58.
Support After Suicide Partnership offers practical and emotional support on their website for people bereaved and affected by suicide.
Now as a leader consider these for your leadership practices:
How many of the tips from Dr Maggie do you use and what impact have they had?
Which of the tips are you going to start using?
Would you feel comfortable enough to ask someone if they were suicidal, if you felt that was a risk?
What support do you need to be best placed to support your team?
What steps would you take if someone said they were suicidal or had a significant mental health issue?
Understanding your responses to these questions will help you to take a proactive approach to mental health with your team but also enhance your own confidence in supporting these situations.
You are not expected to fix someone’s health but you do have a duty of care and a responsibility to act where a member of your team is at risk or potentially putting someone else at risk.
Friday Share 13 - “The importance of company values - James Kerr talks Legacy” - Bruce Daisley
I absolutely love the Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat Podcast from Bruce Daisley. If you haven’t listened in before then I recommend looking it up on your podcaster of choice. This is unlikely to be the last shared as a #FridayShare as the stories are diverse and touch on topics of interest for all leaders.
I’d also highly recommend his book ‘The Joy of Work’ which I’ve enjoyed as an Audiobook. Great anecdotes, thought provoking and there were many LOL moments.
To explore some more from Bruce Daisley head over to the website - Home - Eat Sleep Work Repeat - workplace culture
Anyway, moving onto “The importance of company values” - This podcast is Bruce in conversation is James Kerr, a consultant and writer on high performance with a keen interest on elite sports teams. During this conversation they explore how company values, their development and the commitment to them influence legacy. There are some great examples shared during this conversation and I had many…”yes, completely”…”bang on”…..moments throughout it.
Considering the legacy you want to develop and leave as a leader is an interesting way of shaping the way you lead. You could look at this as only being valuable for the top executive team, I would disagree, as you can achieve this at any level, as a great way to enhance your leadership and the experience of your team.
Have a listen and then reflect on what it means for you as a leader:
Eat Sleep Work Repeat: The importance of company values - James Kerr talks Legacy on Apple Podcasts
As a result of hearing the conversation:
What are you main points of reflection?
Why have these points stood out for you?
What do you want to explore as part of your own leadership priorities to enhance your legacy and the experience of your team?
Friday Share 14 - “The Secret to Leading Organizational Change Is Empathy” - Patti Sanchez
When I think about the Love Leading approach, empathy is a huge part of that. Empathy is a key part of leading successfully, we’ve focused on empathy as a #FridayShare before and we’ll keep coming back to it as it is so important.
This certainly applies when leading change in organisations. This is often the place where I’ve witnessed leaders shy away from empathy, relationships and connection and they take refuge in process, procedure and getting the task done.
The more you can lean into empathy as a leader when you are leading or part of delivering organisational change the better. It will improve the experience for those you lead, for yourself and for the post change phase.
This is a great article from Patti in the Harvard Business Review on how leaders can focus on empathy during organisational change.
Have a read and consider what this means for your own leadership approach:
The Secret to Leading Organizational Change Is Empathy (ampproject.org)
Now that you’ve read the article, consider these questions:
Would you say that you currently lead change with empathy?
When you experience change in your organisation do you feel empathy towards you as a leader?
What would you need to do differently when leading change to lean into empathy?
How could you influence great empathy during organisational change in your organisation?
What do you see the benefits of dialling up empathy for you and your team during change?
Organisational change is often very challenging for all involved, including you as a leader.
I absolutely believe that if you can lean into empathy when you are leading or implementing change that this will improve the experience of change for your team and you - enabling you to Love Leading. These focus areas from Patti are a good place to start.
Remember that October is Black History Month. What are you doing to celebrate this? What are you doing to shine a light on past racism and race discrimination, as well as the continuing state of this? What are you doing to lead change?
Part of your role as a leader is to create an inclusive and diverse environment so that everyone feels that they belong. That can only be achieved through action, commitment and the right behaviours. Part of dismantling racism is understanding it and that is where Black History Month plays an important role.
If you are not actively considering your role as a leader in ensuring your team and organisation is anti-racist, you are not actively focusing on how to be anti-racist, then how can you create a team that is inclusive, diverse and a place where everyone wants to and feels that they belong?
If you are unsure where to start or are already actively working on being anti-racist then head over to the Black History Month website. Pick some activities, talk to your team about what they might want to do, use the resources signposted on the website - do something.
10th October is World Mental Health Day
My commitment to improving the wellbeing of others and to shine a light on #worldmentalhealthday2021, is to offer up 10 Free 30 minute coaching sessions.
The aim of the sessions is to:
💜 Listen
💜 Use coaching techniques to help you understand what’s really happening
💜 Support you in identifying the actions you want to take to enhance your wellbeing and positive mental health
These sessions are available on a first come, first served basis.
If you think you would benefit from this then DM or email at anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk.