Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders - June 2022
Welcome to the June 2022 edition of Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders, your monthly leadership learning blog. This edition marks our 1st Anniversary, thank you for all your support in getting Purple Sky Consulting to this milestone :-)!
Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders takes a deeper look into each of the Friday Shares from LinkedIn and builds on them, as a supportive learning resource for all leaders. In this edition, we are looking at creating connections to improve mental wellbeing, the relationship between leaders and HR and asking you to consider what leadership means to you.
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Friday Share 36 - “14 Ways to Foster Connection between Employees” - Forbes
For Mental Health Awareness Week, the theme being focused on by the Mental Health Foundation was loneliness.
The mental health of your team is critically important, it will impact how they perform but also how they experience your leadership and the workplace. Recognising the role you can play in enhancing the mental wellbeing your team is a positive step. You can do this by looking at activities or ways of working that not only enhance the effectiveness of your team but also create opportunities to combat loneliness and enhance wellbeing.
Forbes have created this helpful guide to help you foster connection between those in your team. Have a read of the article and then consider what this means for you as a leader: 14 Ways To Foster Connection Between Employees (forbes.com)
I really like idea number 7 - “Tackle a Project Outside of Work”, especially when you consider the theme of loneliness. This is a great opportunity to enable people to work together in a more relaxed way. You could consider helping out a local charity or working with a group that need support. Getting people to plan, prepare and take action on the day in a way that is fun and there is less pressure to deliver.
Activity:
Consider which of the 14 ideas would help you to create greater connections across your team?
How can there be benefits for the performance and culture of your team, whilst also enabling those in your team to build greater connection and understanding of each other?
Consider talking to your team about mental health and how you would like to be more deliberate about creating stronger connections across the team, what great ideas do they have?
If you need any further support as a leader relating to mental health in the workplace, consider the resources available from Mind.
Friday Share 37 - “How to strengthen HR and manager relationships” - Sophia Lee, Culture Amp
This is a topic that is very close to my heart. After over 20 years in the HR profession, the strength of my relationships with the leaders that I worked with was critical to our success. This is also very much a two-way process but also a two-way benefit, when it works well.
As a Leader, your HR Business Partner/key contact should be someone you prioritise to build a relationship, and they should be prioritising building their relationship with you too. This is about a proactive and well balanced approach to support your leadership. Let them help shape your approach to ensure that the steps you are taking are fair and that they are supportive of the organsiational values. This relationship should be positive and about you being your best for your team and the success of the organisation.
Have a read through the article from Sophia Lee at Culture Amp: How to strengthen HR and manager relationships | Culture Amp, it considers the different types of relationships that can exist but also 4 ways that you can focus on to help you both strengthen your relationship.
Now that you’ve considered the article consider the following activity.
Activity
Consider the relationship you have with your HR Partner - is it more ‘Blocker’ or ‘Amplifier’?
Based on this, consider the 4 activities suggested by Sophia to strengthen your relationship, with the aim of moving it closer to ‘Amplifier’. What key actions do you want to take over the next 3 months to start strengthening the relationship?
Consider what a stronger relationship will mean for you and why paying attention here matters to you.
Friday Share 38 - “Leadership is…” - A question from me!
Reflection time is really important, especially as you continue to evolve as a leader. Taking the time to reflect on how you have developed, how you’ve changed and what you’ve learnt. As you develop and evolve as a leader, you will change your thoughts and feelings about what leadership means to you.
Therefore, taking the time to revisit what leadership means to you, is a great way to check in on how you and your leadership has evolved.
Activity
Complete this sentence:
To me, leadership is…
Keep a record of what you capture, consider where you are against it yourself and what this means for your ongoing development.
Revisit what you have captured in 12 months time, reflect on what has changed or how you have developed.
Have you considered Coaching?
I offer Individual or Group Coaching for Leaders and these are a great way to build on your self-guided learning. Coaching is a safe and confidential space to explore your goals for leadership, enabling you to feel more empowered and confident.
If you would be interested in considering Coaching, please get in touch for a free and no obligation chat at anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk.
See you in July
I hope you’ve found the topics and resources shared in this month’s Purple Sky Thinking for Leaders useful.
If you do have any feedback or ideas you’d like to share please email me at: anwen@purpleskyconsulting.co.uk