Love Leading Collection
Welcome to the August 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 keep leaning, enabling you to Love Leading
Friday Share 6 - “Lead with Gratitude” - Amanda Gore
Fun is important for life and plays a key role in successful teams.
That does not mean that you need to be the next Sarah Millican or Eddie Murphy but creating a space for laughter and fun in your team is absolutely important. This enables connection across your team and allows your team to see more of you.
A great way to create space for laughter and fun is through gratitude.
This is a great clip from Amanda Gore (7 minutes of joy on its own) has some great insights to how leading through gratitude and fun is good for everyone. Prime people for a state of trust, joy, and optimism then this will increase their performance, productivity, creativity and innovation. The key to build trust, joy and optimism is to do it through gratitude.
I encourage you to laugh out loud to this clip and then consider what this means for you.
What I love about this is that it is so simple, it takes no financial investment to change the performance and engagement of your people – it just takes the right mindset and behaviour from you. It is also something that is good for you as a leader too – how would it not bring you joy to see the reaction of others who are recognised for what they bring to the team, that people are grateful for them?
What a wonderful thing – to create the space for gratitude to cultivate joy.
Now it’s your turn:
Reflect on this – “we are born wired for joy and we learn fear” – how often do you create space for joy across your team
How often do you demonstrate gratitude?
Do you encourage gratitude in others?
What three things are you going to start practicing (other than folding and refolding your arms) to increase gratitude and joy with your team?
I’d love it if you share what you try and the impact of it for you and the team – I’d especially love it if you share the ‘gratitude glasses’ that you use.
Friday Share 7 - “Change a dangerous habit, slow down!” - Jeff Black
Next up was an article by Zameena Mejia from www.CNBC.com about some reflections from Jeff Black on a habit that can damage your reputation as a leader. That habit is rushing.
Jeff invites all leaders to consider ‘slowing down by 10%’ and to stop saying ‘I’m busy!’
There is a risk to your reputation as a leader, of ‘being busy’. It looks like you aren’t in control, you can distract people and make them feel uneasy, and you look unapproachable – this isn’t what people are looking for in their leader.
Black says that by slowing down you increase your presence and can be clear and confident, which is a positive for your team.
This simple workplace habit can hurt your image as a leader (cnbc.com)
What do you think about this view and the advice from Jeff Black?
Consider these points:
How often do you say in response to the question “How are you?” – “I’m really busy!” – What do you think is the impact of that and how do you really want to be seen?
How quickly do you walk (harder to answer if working remotely!) and talk?
Are you late arriving to meetings? Why is that?
Consider how you can slow down, just a little, to build confidence and calmness for yourself and across your team. This might be something you consider with a coach or for your development plan.
Friday Share 8 - “8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health” - Kelly Greenwood & Natasha Krol
The last #Fridayshare for July was highlighting the honesty and openness of Simone Biles. She was able to come forward and say, I’m not ok and I won’t be able to perform at my best.
My reflection on this whole situation was how brave she was to be honest about how she really was but also that it was such a big story – this goes to show how far we still must go in normalising mental health.
As a leader you have an essential role in normalising the understanding and acceptance of mental health across your team. You don’t have to be a mental health professional, but you do need to be able to create a safe space where anyone in your team feels confident to say, ‘I’m not ok right now’.
Leading in a way that your people feel their wellbeing is a priority and that they are cared for, can help normalise mental health in the workplace. If you do this well, you will build trust, inclusivity and better bonds across the team.
This article from Kelly Greenwood and Natasha Krol on 8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health is a great place to start to consider how you can best approach creating a safe space to normalise mental health across your team.
8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health (hbr.org)
What are your reflections on these tips and which are you going to prioritise to practice with your team?
Consider the following:
Which of these tips are you going to prioritise to practice?
How regularly do you discuss your mental health with your line manager or peer group?
Could you share a story about mental health, it could be your own or someone else’s like Simone’s. Something to get a conversation started.