SEPTEMBER 2022 • Vol. 39 • No. 09 (ISSN 2562-0711) EditionThemedon FacingLeadership:YourFears 1909 27 36 Is Fear Of SabotagingFeelingsYourLeadership? - Dr. Dawn-Marie Turner, Turner Change Management Leaders, Do You Possess Healthy Or Unhealthy Fears? - Ryan ryangottfredson.comGottfredson, Fear Less To Become Fearless - Joel Green, Pro Level Training Facing Your Fears As A Leader - BrettTerkel.ioFarmiloe, COMMUNICATIONTRANSPARENTSTRONG, IS THE ONLY ANECDOTERATIONALTOFEAR - Lauren Winans, CEO and Principal HR Consultant, Next Level Benefits
Strong, OnlyCommunicationTransparentIsTheRationalAnecdoteToFear Addressing our own fears and of those we lead - Lauren Winans, CEO and Principal HR Consultant, Next Level Benefits 07INDEX On the ArticlesCover 16 From Start-Up To Established Business, These Leadership Strategies Will Drive Success Organizational leadership begins with the determination and adoption of key corporate competencies - Christopher H. Volk, Founding CEO and Executive Chairman, THE VALUE EQUATION 22 An Introduction To The Fear Cognition Scale (FCS) For The Digital Workplace The quest for seeking a ‘healthier’ you - Murad Salman Mirza, Thought Leader, Organizational Architect, and Author 32 Imposter Syndrome At Work Tips to overcome thoughts and feelings of imposter syndrome - Amy Zimmerman, Chief People Officer, Relay Payments Leadership Excellence SEPTEMBER 2022 Vol.39 No.09 (ISSN 2562-0711) 38 How To Become A More Inclusive Manager Nine ways you can cultivate your skills and knowledge - Natasha Nicholson, Director, Content Marketing, Kantola Training Solutions 45 The Leader’s Way Every Day An exhilarating path of self-transcendence, appreciation, and grit - Joan Marques, Author, Dean and Professor of Management, Woodbury University’s School of Business Create a Winning Team: Excel at Team Building - HR.com Professional Education Team 42 EditionThemedon FacingLeadership:YourFears
Leaders share their fears and how they have dealt with them - Brett Farmiloe, Founder and CEO, Terkel.io Is Fear Of SabotagingFeelingsYourLeadership? Three ways leaders can constructively tap into emotions - Dr. Dawn-Marie Turner, Founder, Turner Change Management Leaders, Do You Possess Healthy Or Unhealthy Fears? Four common fears that make leaders self-protective - Ryan Gottfredson, Author, Researcher, and Consultant Fear Less To Become Fearless The simple way to make your fears obsolete - Joel Green, CEO, Pro Level Training
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As a leader, it is not uncommon to experience leadership fears. What matters is how the fear is handled. As leaders face changes and step into new roles with greater levels of accountability, new fears will emerge - fear of failure, making quick decisions, fear of not being good enough, fear of others being better at their job and the list continues. Can leaders overcome these fears easily? If so, how can they do it?
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Nothing is better for addressing fear in the workplace than strong, transparent communication, explains Lauren Winans (CEO, Next Level Benefits) in her article, Strong, Transparent Communication Is The Only Rational Anecdote To Fear. Starting with ourselves and continuing with those we lead, we need to make sure we are taking the time to address our fears and develop responses that help to bring them under control. In today’s changing world of work, leaders are struggling with all sorts of difficult emotions. In Brett Farmiloe's (CEO, Terkel. io) article, Facing Your Fears As A Leader, CEOs and business leaders share their experiences and thoughts about the common fears they have come across and how they have overcome it. Dr. Dawn-Marie Turner (Founder, Turner Change Management ) in her article, Is Fear Of Feelings Sabotaging Your Leadership? talks about the importance of working on our emotions to lead through times of intense change and upheaval. Natasha Nicholson's (Kantola Training Solutions) article, How To Become A More Inclusive Manager lists down ways how managers can develop their selfawareness, knowledge and skills to become a powerful force in contributing to the creation of a more diverse, equitable and inclusive Interestedworkplace.inlearning a simple way to make your fears obsolete? Read Joel Green's (CEO, Pro Level Training) article, Fear Less To Become Fearless. As leadership is all about leading teams to success, a fear of failure or associated fears can be detrimental. However, it is important to realize that fear is a natural part of leadership and what we do in response to the fear makes the difference. We hope you enjoy reading all the articles in this issue and get back to us with your valuable feedback/suggestions. Happy Reading!
The September edition of Leadership Excellence includes informative articles that focus on leadership fears and ways to overcome them. Also read interesting articles on various leadership strategies to thrive in this new world of work.
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S ome would say that leaders in 2022 have more to be afraid of than ever before. I wouldn’t agree with that. Don’t get me wrong. Gun violence, health panics, and racial tensions are real issues, but they are not new issues. I’m not convinced that today’s world is a scarier place than it has been in the past. However, I would say that we have a heightened awareness of anxiety and fear that makes it seem like the fear factor has gone up. There are new conversations happening in our workplaces; it is now more acceptable than ever before to be open about mental health struggles, anxiety, depression, obsessive tendencies, and paranoia. As a result, fear is more present in our workplaces and more people are looking for a response. For leaders, this means that we need to place a higher priority on confronting fears in the workplace. Starting with ourselves and continuing with those we lead, we need to make sure we are taking the time to address our fears and develop responses that help to bring them under control.
It is not unusual for a leader to struggle with
Strong, ToOnlyCommunicationTransparentIsTheRationalAnecdoteFear
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Addressing our own fears and of those we lead
Addressing Our Own Fears
COVER ARTICLE
By Lauren Winans, Next Level Benefits acknowledging their fears. If that is where you find yourself, I encourage you to embrace compassion and togetherness. It’s ok to be afraid of something, and when you are afraid, compassion is the correct response.
Strong, Transparent Communication Is The Only Rational Anecdote To Fear
Chastising yourself for your fears is not helpful. Leaders are not called to be fearless, nor are they called to be alone. Sharing feelings of fear or dread with a friend, a colleague, another leader, or a mental health professional can be extremely liberating. After all, fear takes control when we give it power, but shrinks when we realize we are not alone in navigating our fear. Personally, I was always afraid I wouldn’t have the right answer at the exact moment that one of my supervisors asked me a question. I spent a lot of time stressing about it, over-researching, overthinking and trying to prepare for every question that could ever be asked of me. It was a fear to which I gave too much Surprisingly,control. it was the CEO of a company I worked for who said to me, unprompted, “You know you are the smartest one in the room on this topic, right? There’s no reason to be scared that you don’t know the answer or that you need time to find it. We don’t have the answers, that’s why we have you here to help us.” Receiving permission to not know all the answers was what I needed to let go of the fear of not being perfect in every workplace situation.
Lauren Winans is the Chief Executive Officer and Principal HR Consultant for Next Level Benefits , an HR consulting practice offering clients access to HR professionals for both short-term and long-term projects. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she has 20 years of human resources and employee benefits experience and possesses deep expertise in HR best practices and what resonates with employees. She founded Next Level Benefits in 2019, offering HR teams access to former corporate HR professionals on-demand when they need them most. Would you like to comment?
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Nothing is better for addressing fear in the workplace than strong, transparent communication. It is the only rational anecdote to fear. When employees can understand the facts and the action plan behind them, their fear level decreases. Communication puts things in perspective, empowering employees to tame their own fears. Even when things are not under control, communication helps give the illusion that they are. As much as we hate to admit it, we are not in absolute control of what happens around us or to us. No leader is. You may know what to do in problematic situations to reduce the panic, but that doesn’t necessarily reduce the fear that those situations will Whatarise.alot of employers are realizing as they seek to address their employees' heightened awareness of fear is that emotional support is as important as tactical education. For instance, employees need to know what to do during an active shooter situation, but they also need a resource to help them process the traumatic experience of fear, danger, and lack of control. Establishing credible, private, well-communi cated mental health well-being resources that include trauma support should be a critical part of any workplace’s emergency programs and systems.
Addressing the Fears of Those We Lead
Overall, I have learned that authenticity, transparency, and empathy are the most important qualities any leader can have. If you are leading with authenticity and transparency, being honest about your fears comes with the territory, and leading with empathy allows you to recognize that you are not the only one who is fearful. Every leader has their own delivery style, but if these traits are your guidepost — the top three priorities you incorporate into your leadership — you will be well equipped to lead people, regardless of the situation or the fear that it brings.
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Leaders share their fears and how they have dealt with them Being Unable to Handle Difficult Situations
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Facing Your Fears As A Leader
One of my fears as a leader is being unable to handle difficult situations. However, I have learned how to overcome this fear by practicing mindfulness and meditation. By focusing on my breath and observing the present moment, I can stay in control even when things get tough. Keeping a positive attitude has also helped me cope with difficult situations.
Everybody has fears and leaders are no different. Especially in today’s changing world of work, leaders are struggling with all sorts of difficult emotions. This can also affect relationships with their Toteams.learn about the common fears leaders face and ways to overcome them, we approached CEOs and other business leaders to share their experiences/ thoughts. From “Not Being Able to Sustain the Business Financially” to “Losing Control Through Team Growth”, there are several fears that leaders have faced and solutions used to overcome them. Here are 13 types of fears these leaders have been able to overcome: Being Unable to Handle Difficult Situations Losing Key Employees Losing Control to Others as the Team Grows Not Being Able to Provide for My Employees Being Inflexible and Intimidating The Fear of Not Being Good Enough Making the Wrong Decision Not Being Able to Sustain the Business Financially A Number of Rejections Fear of Being Held Responsible Making Mistakes While Trying to Lead Lack of Cash Flow Fear of Public Speaking
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As my business grew, I feared giving up control of the work I used to do myself. Since it’s impossible to grow while performing every task myself, I reframed how I felt about losing control and started to see it as a positive, not negative. Bringing in new teammates may mean losing some control, but by training employees and hiring reliable people, we quickly built trust with each other. Even better, team expansion also meant better diversity of thought - a broader perspective we pull from to come up with even better solutions to our biggest challenges.
My number one fear as a business owner is that I would fail to provide for my employees. My family, my staff, and their families all rely on this business succeeding, and it’s mind-numbing to think of how many months are fed because of this business. If for some reason this were to go away, there are so many people who would be put in a very difficult situation. That’s my biggest fear, and I do my best to overcome it by taking steps to secure our future as a company.
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Not Being Able to Provide for My Employees
John Ross, Chief Executive Officer, Test Prep Insight Rick Owner,Berres,Honey-Doers
John Li, Co-Founder & CTO, Fig Loans
My greatest fear above all others as a leader is losing key employees. Some team members can be replaced, but we have a number of employees that are major stakeholders with key responsibilities that would be incredibly hard, if not impossible, to replace. To prevent this from happening and mitigate any potential fallout, we’ve done a number of things. For one, I pay these individuals incredibly well in terms of direct pay, benefits, and fun perks. Secondly, I now require that they cross-train their subordinates to ensure there would be some kind of handoff if they left.
Losing Key Employees
Losing Control to Others as the Team Grows
Facing Your Fears As A Leader
Not Being Able to Sustain the Business Financially
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The Fear of Not Being Good Enough
One of my biggest fears is not being able to sustain the business financially and so letting people go, who started with me and are a core part. During periods of recession and global pandemics, it is difficult to make ends meet and at some point, it looked like we had to either resort to cutting costs and letting people go, or bootstrapping and risking my own finances to keep the company going. I chose the latter and thankfully, it worked out well. For the future, we’re looking into getting funding to help us stay afloat during difficult times.
Farhan Co-Founder,Advani,BHPH
One of my fears as a leader is to lose all flexibility and wind up managing through intimidation instead of inspiration. I have overcome this by always looking for new learning opportunities, in both my personal and professional life. Getting out of my comfort zone has helped me feel more empowered, confident, and in control. I keep myself open to new ideas and ways of thinking by reading, attending workshops and listening to podcasts. I find that when I am surrounded by like-minded people, it inspires me to be the best version of myself.
Being Inflexible and Intimidating
This probably extends to more than being a leader, but one of my fears is not being good enough. Not having enough time for people, not taking enough responsibility, not being kind and empathetic enough, and more. I’ve read and learned as much as possible, and more importantly, I learned from past mistakes. Practice makes perfect. Being kinder to myself also helps too.
Ravi Davda, CEO, Rockstar Marketing Nicole Founder,Thelin,LowIncome Relief
Facing Your Fears As A Leader
Keynote Speaker | Transformational Coaching | Executive Consulting, Ryan Zofay / We Level
Facing Your Fears As A Leader
Fear of Public Speaking
The Fear of Being Held Responsible
This is my greatest fear as a leader. The old adage goes that with great power comes great responsibility. The first step in accepting accountability is realizing that your leadership is both the problem and the answer to what really matters. Change becomes possible the minute you stop being afraid and start taking responsibility for your actions.
Billy ManagingParker,Director, Gift Delivery Maja Krištafor, CEO, RyanPRojektZofay, Up
As a CEO of a startup that is in the process of scaling, my biggest fear is cash flow. As we’re working with clients, we depend on them paying us, and us paying our employees. But I think that is a problem of every startup - coming to a point where we become less dependable on every client, and have some space to breathe at the end of the month. Our current mission is finding funding and discussing investments. And of course, being thrifty to reduce risk.
My biggest fear would be public speaking. I worked through this by consistent training. I had to really put the work into how I wanted to represent myself. This started with defining how I wanted to show up as a leader. If I could not look up to who I wanted to be, who else would? Now I get to share the story on how I overcame my fears, public speaking being one while I am publicly speaking!
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Lack of Cash Flow
GeorgiThriveMyWayTodorov,Founder,
Facing Your Fears As A Leader
Ilija Sekulov, Marketing & SEO Consultant, Mailbutler A Number of Rejections
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Brett Farmiloe is the Founder and CEO – and currently CHRO - of Terkel.io Would you like to comment?
Leaders face decisions on a constant basis, and being faced with so many can sometimes make me postpone or even delegate making important decisions for fear I will make a mistake. I have overcome this fear by understanding that even the best leaders make bad decisions sometimes and that when I do, I will use this as a learning opportunity. Instead of fear and regret, I look upon my mistakes as an opportunity for growth.
One of my greatest fears as a leader is that I will make a mistake while trying to lead. I am always working to improve my skills, but I know that sometimes there are things that cannot be helped. Sometimes it’s hard to see the bigger picture. I have overcome this fear by trusting in my team and surrounding myself with people who believe in me and want me to succeed. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, but we should focus on what we do best rather than dwelling on those things we aren’t good at.
Getting a no from a sales prospect. An excellent candidate taking another job. Learning that a large customer has churned. These are all rejections that a startup founder or any leader might face every single day. It’s taken me years to not take them personally. My mantra is to stay calm and understand that the ride might be like a rollercoaster, but as long as the trend is heading up, rejections are not the end of the world!
Making Mistakes While Trying to Lead
James Sear, Co-founder, Avion Making the Wrong Decision
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For me, there is a sequential order to starting a business that has largely centered around devising a business model and then arranging a capitalization strategy to open the company’s doors. Once those doors open, things can get very busy very quickly and leaders must be prepared. HR.com
Organizational leadership begins with the determination and adoption of key corporate competencies Start-Up To Established Business, These Leadership Strategies Will Drive Success
From
Having led three companies –two of which I founded – that would later go on to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, I have gained a great deal of perspective about leadership.
By Christopher H. Volk, THE VALUE EQUATION
SEPTEMBER 2022 17 Submit Your Articles
All businesses exist to solve problems. A problem can be as simple as a restaurant serving meals or as complex as launching satellites into space. Ultimate success comes from conceiving solutions to customers’ problems, combined with a deep understanding of the associated customer benefits. When it comes to getting revenues to pour in, an understanding of the latter is important. As Theodore Levitt, former marketing scholar and Harvard Business School professor astutely observed, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.” All successful companies, even in their start-up phases, have competitive advantages. Successful corporate leadership begins with: ● An understanding of the problem to be solved, ● The development of a business model to profitably solve it, ● A full grasp of the disciplines needed to execute the model, and ● A feel for the deliverable customer benefits. Core Competencies Building a company around these four key objectives requires the development of core corporate competencies. These are the activities integral to business model execution along with solution and customer benefit delivery. For a company to focus on anything else, especially in its early life, is a distraction that can detract from success.
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Iread.believe that organizational leadership begins with the determination and adoption of key corporate competencies. Core competencies tend to be far less universal than corporate value statements. And they are not always simple to determine. Considering what all should be your corporate competencies can take a great deal of collective leadership team thought.
From Start-Up To Established Business, These Leadership Strategies Will Drive Success
The Four Key Objectives
Much attention is paid to corporate value statements, which set important tones. But I find that corporate value statements tend to have high levels of similarity. Notions of integrity, respect for individuals, customer stakeholderattentiveness,custodianship, and more are universal, and I find myself drawn to most every corporate values statement I have
The companies that I led were engaged in the ownership and long-term rental of real estate to businesses that required such property to conduct their operations. When starting the second and third of these companies, the leadership team and I made various business model refinements designed to reduce our staffing requirements, elevating the simplicity and efficiency of our business model. By limiting our span of direct process controls, we were able to narrow and refine the corporate competencies that would prove essential to our market leadership, competitive advantages, and business model success. We did not focus on anything else.
Christopher Volk, the author of THE VALUE EQUATION, has been instrumental in leading and publicly listing three successful companies, two of which he co-founded. The most recent of these is STORE Capital (NYSE: “STOR”) where he served as founding chief executive officer, and then as executive chairman. Volk began writing about corporate finance early in his career, devising the Value Equation concept, which garnered an award upon its 1999 introduction. He eventually created an award-winning video series on the topic while at STORE Capital. A 2019 regional winner of EYs’ Entrepreneur of the Year award, Volk is a frequent university lecturer and serves on multiple non-profit boards. Would you like to comment?
Think Like a Founder As we would grow our companies over the years, we found it to be important to take the time to have an annual employee or leadership retreats. The general purpose? To refine our business model and to reset our organizational leadership with the help of our growing leadership team. Refinements made to organizational leadership make all the difference in establishing that a company has a commonality of purpose. New leaders get the opportunity to think like a founder, contributing to business model improvements and core competency refinements. Collective core competency ownership is foundational to both a company’s mission and the tasks undertaken by leadership. Setting and resetting core competencies is essential for growing leadership teams to think like Organicfounders.growth within a company is healthiest if it plays out within the guardrails established by organizational leadership. It is how companies adhere to the missions set out for them by their original and successive founders. It is how companies avoid unneeded distractions from their corporate competencies. And it is here that leaders can enable team members to work together to achieve uncommon results.
Organizational Leadership Leadership is multi-faceted. There is daily and project leadership where Andrew Carnegie observed that leaders encourage teamwork enabling “common people to attain uncommon results.” Then there is organizationalfundamentalleadership,where leaders work collectively to refine their business models and then buy in to a narrow group of core competencies. As a serial starter of businesses, I found myself often playing in this foundational leadership Companiesarena.arelike life forms. Once entrepreneurs unleash a successful business, the leaders they assemble for this effort begin hiring future leaders and staff. Before long, you can find your team growing meaningfully as you run increasingly into new faces in the office. Where your reach once grasped an entire organization, you can find your touch to begin to have limits. This is where organizational leadership becomes so valuable. Having worked with and coalesced a group of leaders who have bought into a business model and the core competencies needed to execute that model becomes foundational in determining your corporate identity and culture. In the middle of all the many changes and innovations that organically happen as companies grow, organizational leadership remains a constant.
Start-Up To Established Business,
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From These
Is Fear Of Leadership?SabotagingFeelingsYour
By Dr. Dawn-Marie Turner, Turner Change Management At the same time, we are also hardwired for predictability and consistency. Uncertainty and fear of the unknown are stressful for every human being. Therefore, more often than we care to admit, we strive to maintain our comfort zone, fall back on old patterns, default to the status quo and need time to prepare for and adopt something new.
We as humans have a love/hate relationship with change. At one level we have an innate curiosity and desire for the next new thing. We are hardwired with a change reward system — that hit of dopamine we get in anticipation of achieving a goal or anticipating something new and novel. We also know that change is necessary for our survival and growth.
Three ways leaders can constructively tap into emotions
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Ignoring or avoiding your emotions doesn’t mean the emotion has gone away. On the contrary, your emotions are still driving your results, but you have less control over the outcome.
Emotions give us a fast (largely unconscious) indicator of how we have interpreted an event or situation. Becoming consciously aware of our emotions, coupled with a willingness to work with them, gives us the ability to make rational decisions about an event.
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Leadership Excellence
Leadership: Let’s Get Emotional
It is impossible to remove emotion from any situation regardless of how logical you think you are. We make no decision in the absence of emotion. Edgar Schein (professor emeritus at MIT), states, “Our emotional response to a situation is so intertwined with what appears to be a logical response we often don’t even notice our emotional reactions.”1
The problem is that leaders often ignore and dismiss this built-in system (their emotions) that was designed to guide us. Emotions, especially in business, have a poor reputation. Leaders who exhibit emotions are viewed as soft, while leaders who appear to remove emotions from situations and decisions are considered strong and in control. Leaders are often taught to remove emotion from a situation. As a result, because they aren’t aware of how emotions influence their thinking, decisions, and actions, they don’t know how to use them. So, in times of upheaval, when employees and leaders are struggling with anxieties, fears, and all sorts of difficult emotions, organizations are operating without essential tools. The ability to tap into our emotions is one of the most powerful human development systems available. “These physical, embodied responses…keep our inner and outward behaviour in sync with the situation at hand, and can help us not only to survive, but to flourish,” David states.
Susan David, author of “Emotional Agility,” notes that sensations like fear, anxiety, joy, and exhilaration are “a neurochemical system that evolved to help us navigate life’s complex currents.”
Recognizing that every response and every decision is intertwined with our emotions is a game changer for organizational change and leadership. It shifts our conversation from talking about people as either emotional or rational to recognizing that all human beings are emotional and rational.
As Edgar Schein states, when you deny, ignore, or take your emotions for granted you short-circuit your response. Failing to recognize your own emotions can cause you to make inaccurate judgments about a Forsituation.example, let’s say you announce a big change — something potentially contentious like requiring all employees to work in the office after an extended period of virtual and hybrid work. During your announcement, you notice that one of your top employees is whispering and looks like she is scowling. Even before you are consciously aware of what’s happening, your brain assesses, interprets, and decides how to respond. You then respond without acknowledging your own emotion or checking to make sure your unconscious assessment —that your employee was scowling in reaction to what you were saying — was correct. presented by HR.com
Is Fear Of Feelings Sabotaging Your Leadership?
Dealing with changes, whether they are unanticipated or planned, requires a new way of thinking — one that recognizes the important and necessary role emotions have in all decision-making and helps leaders use them in a constructive and helpful way.
Therational.abilityto
Dr. Dawn-Marie Turner , the author of “ Launch, Lead, Live: The Executive's Guide to Preventing Resistance and Succeeding With Organizational Change ,” teaches stories, techniques, and the science to take your team from change-resistant to change-ready, from stressed-out to resilient. Would you like to comment?
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3. Pause before reacting and reconnect to the present moment. The emotions you are feeling today are based on the brain’s assessment of what has previously happened. Pausing to reconnect to the present moment gives your executive center a chance to catch up, let go of previous judgments and respond in the present moment. Learning to not fear or shy away from our emotions, but instead work with them, makes us better able to lead through times of intense change and upheaval. Leaders who become more aware of their emotions, and who learn how to use them to navigate their decisions, will build stronger and healthier organizations.
2. Develop an emotional vocabulary so you can label and name the emotions you are experiencing. Research has shown that recognizing and labeling (in a few short words or small phrases) your emotions has a calming effect and kicks in the executive functioning center of the brain.2
Leadership?
1. Accept and acknowledge that emotions are a part of our human experience. Lisa Feldman Barrett, author of “How Emotions are Made,” explains that “you can’t overcome your emotions through rational thinking.” This is why it is so important to acknowledge and work with your feelings, rather than letting them unconsciously guide you.
Ignoring or avoiding your emotions doesn’t mean the emotion has gone away. On the contrary, your emotions are still driving your results, but you have less control over the outcome.
Notes 1 Schein, E. (2013). Humble Inquiry. San Francisco: Berrett Koehler. 2 Lieberman, M. (2009). “The Brain’s Braking System (and how to use your words to tap into it).” Neuroleadership Journal (Issue 2). Fear Of Feelings Your
Is
Sabotaging
Three Points to Help Leaders Connect to Their Emotional Side
This sequence of events happens so quickly it appears rational. Because you believe your response was rational and your conscious mind is now engaged, you consciously look for more evidence to support your interpretation and response. You create a self-fulfilling prophecy that reinforces and entrenches an emotional response disguised as recognize the small, subtle shifts in your body that signal an emotion and bring it to your conscious awareness allows you to interact instead of just react. For example, instead of reacting to your employee based on your assumption, you approach your employee privately after the meeting and say something like: “It looked like you were upset while I was making the announcement. Did I interpret that correctly?” Then you can enlist your employee to gain an understanding of the situation and clarify concerns she might have.
The quest for seeking a ‘healthier’ you
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An Introduction To The Fear Cognition Scale (FCS) For The Digital Workplace
Workplaces are undergoing profound transforma tions to accommodate the varying expectations of a workforce and the increasing influx of AI-enabled entities. The inevitable need to maintain robust talent pipelines for assuring a healthy supply of capable leaders has galvanized progressive organizations to place greater emphasis on effective talent development and employee engagement activities.
By Murad Salman Mirza, Thought Leader, Organizational Architect, and Author However, the sobering reality of shrinking positions that can productively and profitably use ‘human’ talent is increasing fears of workplace insecurity and incentivizing ‘career cannibalization’ of peers by ambitious professionals. Consequently, the adage of ‘survival of the fittest’ has permeated into the Digital world with renewed ferocity. Therefore, it is becoming imperative for the ‘mindful’ professionals to gain the true faculty of their fears to devise effective strategies for charting their careers on a more robust and fruitful Thecourse.following analytical tool is being presented for facilitating the respective self-assessment:
● Do you fear of being wrong in your perspectives/approaches/insights?views/
● Do you fear that being correct most of the time might open the door for a big failure in the future and tarnish your stellar reputation cemented on past accomplishments?
multigenerational
● Do you fear being marginalized/ignored/ neglected by the majority of your peers, even though, you are right in your perspectives/approaches/insights?views/
● Do you fear being over-utilized at your workplace?
● Do you fear that your current professional skill set does not have a high probability of a promising career?
● Do you fear taking challenging assignments that can jeopardize your promising career prospects in case of failure?
An Introduction To The Fear Cognition Scale (FCS) For The Digital Workplace
● Do you fear the increasing encroachment of AI-enabled technology in the workplace?
● Do you fear that sharing information/ knowledge will enable others to surge ahead of you in terms of climbing the corporate ladder, especially, if they don’t reciprocate accordingly?
● Do you fear the power/influence of your supervisor(s) on your career prospects?
● Do you fear working for a different employer?
● Do you fear the skill set of your peers might propel them ahead of you in terms of climbing the corporate ladder?
● Do you fear switching career paths to meet the evolving demands of the Digital world?
● Do you fear relinquishing a ‘stable’ career in the short term to pursue a riskier option for remaining relevant in the long term?
● Do you fear ‘losing face’, especially, in front of those who look up to you?
● Do you fear being forced to become entrepre neurial to achieve/sustain a respectable living in the Digital world?
● Do you fear the detrimental aspects of organizational politics?
● Do you fear the inability to formulate a convincing argument when encountering stiff resistance from skeptical quarters?
● Do you fear layoffs/early retirement due to the evolving demands of the Digital world?
● Do you fear being under-utilized at your workplace?
● Do you fear having a multitude of fears concerning your professional life is significantly affecting your capability to work to the best of your abilities? The aforementioned questions should be answered in a simple ‘Yes/No’ manner and then the tally of ‘Yes’ answers should be matched on the following FCS scale:
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The four categories highlighted in the FCS scale depicted above can be better understood as follows:
This reflects an elevated level of fear that is palpable in a person’s behavior/actions as he/she performs assigned responsibilities. It is generally triggered by the inability to adjust to unfamiliar/pressurized work environment while trying to gain traction within the corporate hierarchy for a promising career path. It is usually noticeable to close colleagues/peers who often act as the ‘unofficial counselors’ to remedy an exacerbating condition that could derail a promising career. Corporate cultures thriving on strong shared values and an effective mentoring approach are best suited to overcoming/alleviating such recurring challenges. New talent/junior professionals are often found in this category.
An Introduction To The Fear Cognition Scale (FCS) For The Digital Workplace Leadership Excellence presented by HR.com SEPTEMBER 2022 24 Submit Your Articles
Mildly Fearful
This pertains to the normal level of fear that professional experiences at work and should not constitute a cause for alarm. Psychologists often point out that some fear is actually a good thing and one needs to embrace it in a meaningful way to take advantage of its benefits, e.g., having a higher level of situational awareness, discovering personal strengths and weaknesses, facilitating personal development, etc. It is part of human nature due to the presence of uncertain outcomes in the workplace and the inherent personality characteristics of an individual. Senior professionals with a high EQ (Emotional Quotient) are often found in this category.
Significantly Fearful
Highly Fearful
This pertains to professionals working under profoundly stressful conditions that can be due to a multitude of factors, e.g., domineering supervisor(s), impending layoffs, team discord, leadership change, disciplinary proceedings, toxic workplace politics, etc. It can significantly dilute a person’s cognizance of self-worth and cause extensive damage to his/her sense of well-being which can manifest in poor job performance. HR/talent function is generally required to do effective interventions in such situations for curative remedies, preferably proactively, before simmering discontent casts a dark shadow over the entire corporate culture landscape. Middle management is often found in this category.
The aforementioned FCS scale also serves as an early warning system for talented professionals who might be neglecting their wellbeing while feverishly trying to stay relevant in the Digital world. Quite often, such people tend to marginalize health concerns, hobbies, family and friends, old contacts and acquaintances, etc., as they focus on career aspirations by embracing stressful/unreasonable/ detrimental working conditions and trying to impress influential sources of power with their professional abilities. However, such ‘transient’ bonds cannot substitute the time-tested relationships that are generally needed in precarious situations to provide strong and reliable support for a balanced approach to life and profound self-reflection to recalibrate priorities in accordance with the ‘true’ passions. Are you listening...?
Critically Fearful
Murad Salman Mirza is an innovative thinker and an astute practitioner of areas within and associated with the fields of organizational development, talent management and business transformation. He is globally ranked in 9 areas (HR, Leadership, Culture, Management, Agility, Innovation, Future of Work, Change Management, Customer Experience) by the world's first open platform for Thought Leaders based in the USA that uses artificial intelligence (AI) for ranking to preclude human bias. He has worked in various geographical regions across the world. Would you like to comment?
Parting Thoughts
This reflects a debilitating level of fear that can lead to lingering mental and physical illness, if not treated by professionals with relevant expertise, e.g. Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Therapists, etc. It is normally the exacerbation of afflictions resulting from trying to survive in a toxic workplace due to a lack of options for switching employers or earning a meaningful living in another way. Generally, the respective employee tends to ignore/suppress/ hide his/her worsening condition by masking it with outward jovial displays of conformist behavior. However, such attempts are often detectable by astute observers/coworkers who can discern the deviation from ‘normal’ behavior through various combinations of physical alerts, e.g., nervous laughter, refraining from proactive peer socialization/ professional networking, unexplained sweating, body tremors, frequent stammering, desperate attempts to fit-in, excessive overtime working, significant number of sick leaves, inability to voice personal opinion, profound sycophancy indulgence, etc. Unfortunately, a professional who has reached such a stage of fearfulness is often deemed unsuitable/ stigmatized for career progression and, more likely, liable for layoff/facilitated exit/termination. However, mismanaging the departure for such an individual can have disastrous consequences as evidenced by the recurrence of unfortunate incidences of workplace violence perpetrated by indignant/resentful former employees.
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Leaders, Do You Possess Healthy Or Unhealthy Fears?
By Ryan Gottfredson, Ph.D.
In my first coaching call with the CFO, I asked him, “What are you doing that is preventing you from being a more effective leader?”
Let me try to bring this dynamic to life using one of my past coaching clients, a CFO of a mid-sized organization. Example #1: CFO
Over the last 10 years of engaging in leadership development research and consulting, I have observed a fascinating juxtaposition: ● First, all leaders are trying their best to be a positive influence on those they lead and move the organization forward in a productive way ● Yet, despite these good intentions and desires, consider the following statistics: 60% of employees report that their direct lead damages their self-esteem 71% of organizations state that they ARE NOT confident that their current leaders can lead the organization successfully into the future
As we dug deeper, what we discovered was that he tends to shut down the ideas of others because he carries a fear that if a good idea comes from his subordinates, others in the organization will see his subordinate as being smart and him as being dumb.
He answered by saying, “I am shutting down the ideas of my subordinates.” I gave him kudos for at least recognizing this because there are a lot of leaders who do this and do not recognize that they do it. My next question for him was, “Why do you shut down the ideas of your subordinates?”
Why is it so incredibly common for leaders to possess good intentions but operate at subpar levels?
The answer is that leaders commonly possess fears that make them prone to self-protect in times of stress, pressure, and change. And, when leaders operate from this fear-induced place of self-protec tion, their focus goes inward, and they have a hard time considering the impact of their decisions and behaviors on those around them. Four common fears that make leaders self-protective
His initial response was, “I don’t know. It is just my natural reaction.” This told me that this wasn’t a knowledge and skills issue. It was something deeper than that.
It is a self-protection mechanism that helps him feel better about himself, and he is unable to fully value the impact of his behaviors on those he leads. .. Excellence presented
Leadership
1. A Fear of Failure
Four Common Fears that Make Leaders
Self-Protective
3. A Fear of Having Problems
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Leaders, Do You Possess Healthy Or Unhealthy Fears?
2. A Fear of Being Wrong
I do not know many people who like problems, so this is a very justifiable fear. But, when leaders fear having problems, they are prone to be both a micromanager and a “doer,” as opposed to a “leader.” They can’t stomach being out of control, and often get really anxious if they have to fully delegate something. Their self-protection causes them to avoid stepping into and wading through difficulties. While this may keep them problem-free, they are unable to get closer to their goals because going from their current location to a location they have never been (usually their goals) necessitates encountering problems and difficulties. presented by HR.com
This is at the root of most “command-and-control” leadership. Leaders who possess this fear believe that what they know is best. This causes them to want to be seen as right. They want to be the one providing the answers. Because they don’t ask questions, they avoid feedback and new perspectives. This is a killer for continued personal growth and for a team’s psychological safety. This was the CFO in the above example.
Leadership Excellence
Across my 10 years of leadership development efforts, I have observed that there are four primary fears that executives commonly have that make them self-protective and hold them back from being a more effective leader. They are as follows.
Of the four fears, this is the one that is most common amongst executives. When leaders possess a fear of failure, they are prone to hold onto what has worked in the past, and they are reluctant to embrace new and novel approaches because they are more likely to fail. The consequence of this is that leaders who fear failure are not very agile, and out of self-protection they ride yesterday’s successes into the ground and fail to adapt.
Leaders, Do You Possess Healthy Or Unhealthy Fears?
Example #2: CEO Let me share another example, a CEO and founder of another mid-sized organization. During my first coaching call with her, I asked her: “Why did you start your business?” She answered, “To prove others wrong!” Do you get the sense that there may be fear under the surface?
In my coaching calls with executives, I have a process that leads to me asking my clients, “What fear is going on here for you?” I recently had a call with a CTO of a large organization, and he responded to this question in a manner that I observe in about 15% of executives. He said, “I don’t have any fears. I am not driven by fear.” These comments always leave me scratching my head, thinking, “Do you not have any fears, or are you unable to get in touch with your fears?”
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Because of her insecurity about her self-worth, she possessed a fear of falling behind and a fear of failure. While this drove her to build her organization from only a few employees to over 1,000, she generally operated more like a tyrant than as a leader.
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4. A Fear of Falling Behind Leaders with a fear of falling behind generally come from a place of personal insecurity. To them, their self-worth is connected to their “success,” however they define it. This makes them rather driven leaders focused primarily on their success. As a consequence, they tend to see those around them as objects, either as instruments to help them get where they want to do or as obstacles standing in their way. It is not uncommon to see star performers operate with this fear of falling behind.
Example #3: CTO
Later in the call, in a place of vulnerability, she said something I have now heard multiple executives state: “I try not to let anyone know this, but deep down, I am a very insecure person.”
Leaders, Do You Possess Healthy Or Unhealthy Fears? Leadership Excellence presented by HR.com SEPTEMBER 2022 30 Submit Your Articles
● Growth mindset – They are ok failing, as that helps them learn and grow
Ryan Gottfredson , Ph.D. is a cutting-edge leadership development author, researcher, and consultant. He helps organizations vertically develop their leaders primarily through a focus on mindsets.
Overcoming Fears – The Need for Vertical Development
● Outward mindset – They are ok putting themselves on the back burner, as that can help them lift and add value to others
Ryan is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of Success Mindsets: The Key to Unlocking Greater Success in Your Life, Work, & Leadership . And, he is the author of the upcoming book, The Elevated Leader: Leveling Up Your Leadership Through Vertical Development. He is also a leadership professor at the College of Business and Economics at California State University-Fullerton. Would you like to comment? What I have learned is that all leaders have fears, but very few leaders are in touch with their fears and the role they play in their leadership. But, if we can awaken to our fears, I believe we can dramatically elevate our leadership.
If leaders want to overcome their fears, it requires a relatively new form of leadership development called vertical development. Most leadership development efforts are a form of horizontal development, which focuses on helping leaders gain new knowledge and skills. It is a lot like adding an app onto an iPad, it broadens the iPad’s functionality, but it doesn’t help the iPad operate any more effectively or efficiently.
To Overcome Fears, Change Your Mindsets
The best way for leaders to vertically develop is to awaken and improve their mindsets. What I have found is that those with a:
● Fixed mindsets are afraid of failure ● Closed mindsets are afraid of being wrong ● Prevention mindset are afraid of having problems ● Inward mindsets are afraid of getting passed up If leaders have any of these mindsets and associated fears, it is essential that they work toward developing the following mindsets:
If you would like to awaken to the mindsets and fears that you have, let me invite you to take this 20-question Personal Mindset Assessment Once we get clear on our mindsets and fears, we can then work toward developing healthier mindsets and letting go of our self-protective fears.
But, when you look at the CFO, CEO, and CTO featured in this article, do you think gaining new knowledge and skills will help them awaken to and rise above their fears? No! This is where vertical development comes in. Vertical development involves helping leaders awaken to and rise above their fears. To use the iPad analogy, it is not about adding new apps, it is focused on upgrading the iPad’s operating system. Stated differently, vertical development focuses on helping leaders upgrade their internal operating systems.
● Open mindset – They are ok being wrong, as that helps them find truth and think optimally ● Promotion mindset – They are ok having problems, as that is an indication that they are getting closer to their goals
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out that these seemingly happy and productive people perceived themselves as fraudsters, compromising the forward progress of your company and creating distrust in the process?
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By Amy Zimmerman, Relay Payments
Would you be shocked? Because, this is how imposter syndrome can affect individuals, and according to the data, 70% of your team will struggle with it at some point during their careers.
What would you do if you learned that some of your most trusted and high-perform ing team members lived many of their days in great distress? How would you react if you found
Imposter Syndrome At Work
Tips to overcome thoughts and feelings of imposter syndrome
Imposter Syndrome At Work Hyperbole aside, imposter syndrome is real and can negatively impact everything from team cohesion to product delivery. That “little voice” sufferers hear telling them they’re not good enough or smart enough (cue Stuart Smalley) can have a material impact on the organization if it’s not recognized and addressed. And it all starts with culture. To do their best work, our teams need to feel safe — safe to take risks, safe to make mistakes, and safe to ask questions. The best way I’ve found to achieve a culture where people feel safe is to adopt the practice of "continuous feedback and no surprises.” The application of direct, consistent, timely, and contextual feedback for your teams will foster that sense of safety they need to thrive while cutting off oxygen to the insecurities that grow from guesswork. At Relay, leaders meet with their team members weekly, with very few exceptions. We take the time to connect, share guidance and specific feedback, answer questions, set or reset expectations, and ultimately drive growth. By doing so, our people don’t have to wonder where they stand. They don’t have to second guess whether their work is aligned and making an impact. Because we tell them, and course correct when appropriate. Even hard conversations are more kind than staying silent.
and retain these high performers, you must ensure they feel safe.
This is all especially important as companies are increasingly built on distributed work models. Leaders and People Operations teams, charged with keeping team members engaged and feeling supported will need to be intentional and committed. And it's worth the investment, because turnover is an incredibly expensive proposition, skyrocketing right now as people are looking for purpose and a mission they can align with. Here are some tips to overcome thoughts and feelings of imposter syndrome when they creep in:
● Recognize there’s nothing wrong with you; it’s normal to carry self-doubt and usually means you’re on the cusp of a growth opportunity.
Isn’t that ultimately what you need to drive your business forward, to WIN?
● Prepare for important meetings presentationsand — knowledge is empowering and builds confidence. If your company is serious about creating a strong culture to drive high performance, it needs to acknowledge that the vast majority of team members doubt their abilities on occasion, and worse, feel like a fraud from time to time. If you want to inspire Amy Zimmerman is Chief People Officer at Relay Payments , a venture-backed fintech company focused on building an electronic payment network in the transportation, logistics, and supply chain industries. Amy has over two decades of experience nurturing company culture within the tech community and is co-founder of PeopleCo. Would you like to comment?
It will take a little more effort and intentionality, and the result will be worth it. Team members will stay committed, they’ll feel empowered and confident, and they’ll produce their best work.
● Be brave and take risks. If not, there are so many missed opportunities.
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● Reflect on your achievements (keep a record!) and celebrate your accomplishments.
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Fear Less To Become Fearless
By Joel Green, Pro Level Training
F ears are intimidating but do not be fooled by thinking that facing your fear means making a grandiose move. To release yourself from the anxieties of your fear, research it to develop a greater understanding of it. We have greater comfort with the things that we lean into, however, we also develop great discomfort towards the things that we run from and ignore. If you’re going to develop a fearless approach in life, you don’t have to be Superman or Superwoman and try to take on the whole fear all at once. Whenever I’m confronted with a fear, I take a good look at it, break it down and attempt to see how much I can take on. I may only be able to handle 10% or maybe 30% of the fear, but this allows me to conquer a portion of it. I then rinse and repeat this process with another portion of the fear and soon realize that I’ve conquered the entire barrier. It’s amazing how simple life can be when we take the time to simplify the task before us.
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The simple way to make your fears obsolete
Leadership Excellence presented by HR.com
Fear Less To Become Fearless
This is what being fearless is all about, it’s right there in the word, it begins with us just fearing a little less. Bit by bit, piece by piece. Breaking down the giants to become our size. Developing this mentality is exciting, you will begin seeking both opportunities and even people to face that may have once brought fear to your heart. You will realize that no feat or fear is too big for you. For way too long people have been disillusioned by the thought of fear, never allowing themselves the opportunity to exercise their courage. Being a fearless individual doesn’t require a heroic Caneffort.facing your fear be a gamble? Sure. However, without taking a gamble or two, you will be stuck in Safe Mode. Yes, safe mode, just like the setting on your computer. When in this mode, sure your computer is on and operating, but not at its full capabilities. It lacks variety and is very limited in what it can accomplish. Your progress and
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Over time, you may have envied individuals who are constantly achieving and winning in life and admired their fearless approach. What you may not recognize, is that the person you envy isn't without hesitation, doubts, or fears. They have all the same feelings and fears as you. So why are they able to fearlessly take on risk after risk and fear after fear, never being bound by what’s before them? It's not that they are Fearless in any way, shape, or form; they just learned how to Fear Less. Joel Green is the CEO of Pro Level Training, the National Director of Nike Sports Camps, a former professional basketball player, and a renowned motivational speaker. After retiring from his career in professional basketball, Joel Green founded Pro Level Training (PLT), which has become a 7-figure company. In addition to running PLT, Green is also the National Director for Nike Sports Camps as well as an accomplished speaker. Many of the messages he has delivered are conveyed in his first book, Filtering: The Way to Extract Strength from the Struggle Would you like to comment?
What I’ve come to realize is that our fears have multiple parts. Parts that we can break down into bite-size manageable pieces. Confronting our fears can be daunting and overwhelming, especially when trying to bite off more than you can chew. View your fear as a large plate with multiple types of food on it, like your plate last November on Thanksgiving. The thought of trying to eat all the food can be an overwhelming task, however, we’ve learned the only way to tackle this is by eating one dish at a time. The next thing we know, the entire plate is clear and all the food is gone. The same approach works regarding our fears. When you break them down to consume them bit by bit, you’ll soon look up and realize that the fears you had before are now gone.
performance are significantly slower. Now just imagine yourself trying to function in this safe mode of life because you consciously chose not to stand up to your fears. Unfortunately, many of us have operated this way and haven’t even realized it. We make progress, but not like we could if we dared ourselves to give our all and stand tall to what has been before us. When we give our all, we receive all that we ought to, nothing less. We should not be fearful of risking a little, as that often leads to us gaining a lot.
Let’s explore how managers can develop their self-awareness, knowledge and skills to become a powerful force in contributing to the creation of a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace. But first, for the full picture, let’s look at how inclusion and specifically inclusive management, can release the power of diversity.
Disruption. It's the only real certainty in today’s shifting business environment. From a pandemic to a labor shortage to a pressing inflation problem, organizations are grappling with a lot. To cope with what they have in front of them, and what may be ahead, they need to be resilient and nimble—which is only possible with an innovative,
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Nine ways you can cultivate your skills and knowledge productive, and collaborative workforce. One of the best ways to get there? Empower managers with new skills that will enable them to help you build an inclusive environment that attracts and retains employees who will be united in their commitment to creating shared success.
By Natasha Nicholson, Kantola Training Solutions
How To Become A More Inclusive Manager
How Inclusion Releases the Power of Diversity
● Authenticity and trust. They work to earn the trust of their employees and the organization they serve. They are a model of integrity, honesty and are always striving for transparency.
“To thrive, companies need to unlock the power and potential of all that talent, including women, people of different races, ethnicities and socioeconomic status, and those with different physical and cognitive abilities. In other words, they need inclusion.” Inclusion makes employees feel like they belong, that they have a place in the organization in the long term and that they will be appreciated for their hard work. These are the conditions that can lead to the kind of inclusive culture that releases the power of diversity.
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● Empathy (that they put into action). They care for everyone on the team, and so they foster a sense of belonging, treat everyone with respect and actively support their well-being.mentalpsychologicalemployees’safety,healthandoverall
Inclusive team leaders are “17% more likely to report that they are high performing, 20% more likely to say they make high-quality decisions, and 29% more likely to report behaving collaboratively.” What’s more, they “found that a 10% improvement in perceptions of inclusion increases work attendance by almost 1 day a year per employee, reducing the cost of absenteeism.”
Inclusive management is perhaps the most critical component of creating a more inclusive work environment. That’s because, for workers, managers are universally known as the face of the organization. They lead teams, serve as a conduit to leadership—and have a pivotal role that can make or break the relationship between employees and their Researchorganization.featuredinHBR shows that inclusive management can directly enhance performance.
What Are the Qualities of an Inclusive Manager?
According to research consultant Korn Ferry, “To survive in the face of increasing complexity and disruption, organizations need talent that matches the world they operate in. In other words, they need diversity.” But experts also argue that it’s the combination of diversity and inclusion that create a huge advantage. Korn Ferry’s research shows that diverse and inclusive organizations, when compared to their peers, are 87% more likely to make better decisions. And according to the Center for Talent Management, they are 75% faster at bringing products to market.
● The ability to empower employees to be their best. At every opportunity, they support employees to reach their full potential. They place value and emphasis on collaboration and a understandingapproach,team-orientedwiththethata siloed leader-only strategy is a thing of the past. HR.com
How To Become A More Inclusive Manager
● An appreciation for differences. They value differences, seek out varied opinions and understand the benefits that a diverse workforce can contribute to an organization.
You’ve probably experienced their positive influence and power. Inclusive managers have some distinct qualities. Let’s take a look at their typical characteristics, what drives them and their unique formula for unifying employees around a common mission, vision and Inclusivepurpose.managers have... ● Self-awareness. They are open to reflecting on and addressing their own biases, with the knowledge that everyone has blind spots. They realize the world is constantly shifting and that riding the waves of change means embracing a quest for life-long learning and personal discovery.
● Humility. They admit, own up to and learn from their mistakes. That’s because they know they are fallible, just like any other human being, and that their world view is not the only one that’s important.
3. Understand the environment in your organization Organizations are like people, no two are alike. Each organization has a unique history, culture, and set of identities among its employees. To become an inclusive change agent in your organization, start by becoming an authority in your own work environment. Do this by digging into the organization’s past, understanding the present and paying attention to the aspirations for the future, as articulated by its leaders. Reflect on questions such as, “To what degree does the organization place value on diversity, equity and inclusion?” “What are some of the barriers to change?” and “What can I do to make a difference?” “How can I contribute to making everyone feel like they are valued and that they belong?”
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5. Take steps to reassess your management practices Rely on your quest for learning to get the information you need to reassess your management practices. Start with looking at your hiring, onboarding and advancement practices. Reflect on questions like these: Are you tapping into a diversity of sources to feed into the hiring process? Have your job descriptions been screened against biases? Are your job postings focused on ensuring you receive a diversity of resumes from prospective employees? Are you engaging diverse panels to interview potential candidates? Do you have a consistent set of questions and criteria for evaluating potential new hires? Is your process for onboarding designed to connect your new employees to their peers in a way that fosters collaboration? Are your advancement processes equitable, clear and transparent?
1. Be curious and stay open-minded Jonathan H. Westover, Ph.D., best-selling author and award-winning global thought leader has this to say about why it’s so important to stay curious. “Curiosity leads to continual growth and learning, which drives positive personal, team and organizational outcomes.” Similarly, staying open-minded is equally as important, as it helps to cultivate our sense of appreciation for diversity, along with the new ideas and perspectives it has to offer.
2. Increase self-awareness and emotional intelligence According to Harvard, “Emotional intelligence is a set of skills and behaviors. While some people will be naturally more adept at certain aspects, EI can be learned, developed, and enhanced. The four main components of EI are self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and social skills.” Training and education can be effective ways to gain these skills, as they relate to diversity and inclusion. But there’s an important caveat. Because there is no more powerful connection to a human being than to hear another person’s truth, it is important to tap into the kind of learning that will enable you to hear real people telling their own stories. This will empower you to broaden your understanding and appreciation for people with different cultural backgrounds, identities, and perspectives.
Drawing from the qualities above, here are seven ways you can cultivate your skills and knowledge to become a more inclusive manager.
4. Use empathy and compassion as your anchor in handling challenging situations There’s no escaping the fact that change toward a more inclusive environment can involve talking about difficult topics. Each of your employees may have sensitive touchpoints, some of which may be rooted in their past experiences or differences in their culture and identity. Empathy and compassion will be your greatest asset. Research shows that empathy is one of the most important leadership skills. It can help you spot and address troubling signs among your employees before they become issues that may ultimately result in detachment and turnover. And it is also part of how inclusion can curb organizational disruption. According to sociologist and author, Tracy Bower, Ph.D., "...as we go through tough times, struggle with burnout or find it challenging to find happiness at work, empathy can be a powerful antidote and contribute to positive experiences for individuals and teams."
Nine Ways to Become a More Inclusive Manager
As you embark on the journey to becoming a more inclusive manager, remember that there will be progress as well as setbacks.
6. Apply a human-centric approach to management Being an inclusive manager means treating every interaction with your employees as an opportunity to lift them up to be their best. According to the non-profit organization, Business Relationship Management Institute, work,employeesmanagement“Human-centeredempowerstodotheirbestclearlycommunicates the company’s goals, and shows them the path to success. Moreover, employees remain a company’s most valuable asset. Thus, it becomes increasingly important for businesses to treat their employees with respect and appreciation.”
It takes courage to change, as well as a certain vulnerability and willingness to make and learn from your mistakes. It’s that mixture of qualities that will make you a better manager, a stronger leader, and a more compassionate person—at work and beyond.
7. Become adept at managing diverse teams
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All of the strategies listed in this piece will help you be more skilled in managing diverse teams. But there are a few other practical points that can help you get there. To start, do your part to cultivate a listening culture within your team. Solicit feedback and model active listening. Facilitate meetings in such a way that everyone has a voice—and each team member listens attentively to the diverse perspectives of their peers with openness and respect. You may need to put special emphasis on the quiet members of your team. Encouraging them to share can reveal innovative ideas and solutions for the rest of the group to consider.
8. Connect with and learn from other managers and employees Along your journey to better understand your organization, review the list above on the qualities of inclusive managers and take note of people in your organization who are clearly displaying those traits. In some cases, they might be leading teams and in other cases, they may simply be an employee who applies inclusive practices in how they collaborate with their peers. Don’t just look to your superiors as your models, as inclusive managers are not exclusively at the top of the organizational rung. Once you have identified them, watch how inclusive managers interact with others and start picking up on their strategies for tackling difficult situations.
Natasha Nicholson is Director, Content Marketing at Kantola Training Solutions , an innovative e-Learning company focused on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and Harassment Prevention training solutions. She is responsible for thought leadership, content strategy and production. Her background includes more than 20 years as a content leader, communication strategist and editor. Would you like to comment?
Connect with them on their thought processes and consider what you might want to apply to your own unique style and approach to management. 9. Provide constructive ideas and useful input for leadership Becoming an inclusive manager is most powerful when your insights and perspectives are shared with top leaders of the organization. Your input and feedback can help them not only acknowledge your successes, but also to adjust their expectations and fuel their aspirations for the future. As a manager, you have a valuable role to play in ensuring that the strategies the organization wants you to implement are the ones that are going to work. No one knows your team better than you do. That’s why your insights are essential to helping your organization to create a more inclusive work environment where everyone can thrive.
Agreat deal of work is done in teams. As we know from (bitter?) experience, not all teams are effective. Managers can make a difference if they pay attention to team building and team dynamics, so that they get their teams on the right track.
Create a Winning Team: Excel at Team Building
Is Team Building a Social Event?
There are times when these kinds of activities can work to help people get to know one another, however, they are generally not the best approach to team building.
Is Team Building Fun and Games?
By HR.com Professional Education Team
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Some approaches to team building do emphasize fun social events. This doesn’t mean pulling pranks like placing a co-worker’s paper clips in Jell-O or plastic wrapping their chair. But aspects of intentionally incorporating fun can be helpful. Your initial approach may involve Muffin Mondays and Casual Fridays, which everyone loves! However, when it comes to fun, people predictably like to hang out with the people who are most like them, because it’s more comfortable. They rarely interact with the other team members at work. As a result, these social events only strengthen bonds between people who are already friends; they don’t do a great job of building new friendships.
When asked to describe “team building,” you may think about obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, and “trust” exercises like falling backwards with eyes closed, hoping (praying!) to get “caught.” Or, perhaps you envision “hanging” together for things like movie night, beer pong, fun runs, etc. These activities might help people get to know each other outside of their cubicles, but how does this translate into building effective work relationships that enhance engagement and productivity? Besides, let’s face it. The majority of the team may not even want to participate in a typical team building activity. In fact, you can rest assured that many staff members may leave that event thinking, “I’ll never get that day in my life back again.” As stated by Theresa Agovino in her article, Building Team Bonds, “Nearly a third of employees said that team building was an office event they secretly dislike, tied with baby showers, according to a survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Citrix Systems, Inc. They were second only to costume parties on the list of events that workers would rather skip.”1
Develop Teamwork Skills
Okay, enough of the fun stuff. What about some serious skill building? The most common approach to improving teamwork skills is to help people appreciate that others have different strengths, styles, viewpoints, preferences, and shortcomings.
Is an Offsite Team Building Meeting a Good Idea?
Sometimes it takes changing the environment to isolate opportunities for each employee so that they have a better understanding of themselves and others. That’s why offsite team building can be valuable. It may also be a good opportunity to bring in remote workers so that they can socialize face to face with everyone else. Note that if you do have a significant number of remote workers and you cannot bring them in, you have two main options: ● Run a video call ‘offsite’ just for the remote workers. Cover the same content but adapt it for the video call. You will want to break it up into several two-hour sessions rather than try to do it all in one day, since video calls are tiring. ● Do the whole meeting ‘offsite’ as a video experience for everyone. Employees who are normally onsite can do the calls from home or the office. The advantage of this approach is that everyone has the same experience.
Create a Winning Team: Excel at Team Building
Focusing on Team Performance
People begin to see the way someone else behaves as a trait rather than a flaw. A “big picture” person will recognize that their teammate who keeps asking for details is not doing so to be annoying. It’s just how they make sense of things. They’ll also come to realize that having at least one detail-oriented person on the team is extremely valuable. There are many different assessment methods that give people insight into personality traits. Ask HR if they have a tool or framework that they’ve successfully used in the company. Popular frameworks like Myers-Briggs are not particularly scientific, but the point usually isn’t so much about accuracy as it is to get people thinking about themselves and others, and to have some common language to describe the differences. A high performing team needs to have individual members recognize that they each have their unique core strengths that can contribute to a common goal.
In addition to looking at the personality differences that affect team dynamics, it can be helpful to spend time talking directly about the team’s goals. Sit the team down in front of a whiteboard and map out each member’s role and how they contribute to the project. Leadership Excellence presented by HR.com
Intellectually, we all know this is true, however when people are put through an exercise assessing and discussing individual differences, then it really strikes home. When an employee identifies their own personality traits and is reminded just how different other people’s personalities can be, it can then give them the “aha” moment of why they don’t always get along.
What do you do in an offsite, virtual, or other types of meeting? Usually, it’s a relaxed day with a series of exercises and lectures on team building. Be clear about what you most want to accomplish, and then work with HR or a consultant to map out the agenda for the day. If an offsite session isn’t practical, don’t worry. You can make progress in helping team members understand one another’s unique personalities in a one-hour session by video conferencing or in the office. Note that if you are doing this kind of meeting with remote workers, don’t ask them to be on the video while everyone else is face-to-face. Do a video call with everyone so that they all have the same experience.
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If you are hoping that social events will help people on the team who are not already friends become friends, then you’ll have to take some steps to force them to mix. The easiest way to do this is to have a meal (we’re thinking pizza in the lunchroom, not dinner at a 5-star Michelin restaurant) with assigned seating to get the kind of mixing you want. Make sure team members know that the purpose of the social is to build new connections, so that they understand why they are assigned a seat.
We’ve been focusing on the positive side of team building such as building social bonds and recognizing personality differences. Try looking at it from another angle: why teams fail. An extremely popular book about team dynamics is Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team2. Lencioni outlines the most significant causes of dysfunction in team dynamics: ● absence of trust ● fear of conflict ● lack of commitment ● avoidance of accountability ● inattention to results
Understanding How Teams Evolve
You may assume everyone already knows this, but you’ll be surprised how clueless people can be about what their team members actually do.
Another good tactic to get the team focused on performance is to have daily huddles where everyone has a chance to speak. There are three questions you’ll want to ask in these huddles: Where are we? (don’t spend too much time on this because frankly it gets boring)
The order is important. If there is an absence of trust, you’ll get nowhere. Once you have trust, you can address fear of conflict and so on. This framework can be useful for you in figuring out what’s wrong with a team that isn’t performing. The framework also helps you avoid jumping in to fix a problem that catches your attention (such as avoidance of accountability) when the underlying issue is something else (fear of conflict).
You can see now that team building has various dimensions. There is the fun and social side, and then there is the serious side of understanding personality and focusing on the work itself. If all goes well, this will lead to a successful team. But what if it’s not successful? Keep reading; we’ve got that covered.
We guess it’s obvious that teams evolve over time. Have you ever thought about the stages of change? If not, no worries! In his early model of team development, Bruce Tuckman outlines the five stages of team formation:3 1. Forming 2. Storming 3. Norming 4. Performing 5. Adjourning (or Transforming)
Is there anything in how we are operating as a team that is getting in the way of achieving our goals? (this is often overlooked)
Managers who build successful teams are managers who have just made their lives a whole lot easier. Winning Excel at Team presented HR.com
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Understanding Why Teams Fail
What do we need to do and who will do it, and by when? (this is the guts of the meeting)
Create a
by
If you use this model to help teams that are in trouble, you’ll eventually get to the point where you can foresee problems in advance. As a manager, getting a good sense of why teams fail and why they succeed is an important skill. You’ll want to learn a number of frameworks and practice using them to hone your intuition.
Team:
Building Leadership Excellence
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I n these mind-boggling times of pandemics, global transitions, expanded awareness, unpredictabil ity and insecurity, leadership has taken on a whole new meaning. The way we guide teams from one stage to another requires a completely different set of skills and an entirely different paradigm than the
By Joan Marques, Woodbury University’s School of Business twentieth century. Not only have the structures and populations of many workplaces become richer, and therefore more complex, but the tasks at hand and the execution of these tasks have also transformed in ways we could not even imagine a few decades ago!
An exhilarating path of self-transcendence, appreciation, and grit
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The Leader’s Way Every Day
Listening is the first and most prominent prerequisite when you’re dealing with a highly educated workforce. We’re living in a highly assertive society (the US), where people often speak more than they listen. With huge egos in place, everybody wants to hear their own voice, so I have learned to practice listening wherever I can. This doesn’t mean that I don’t find myself talking more than I should in my efforts to explain new directions, but I consistently try to minimize that. In addition, I have found that people appreciate it if you listen attentively to them, and they become more willing to listen and consider your advice in return.
I have found that leading people in such settings –and increasingly, this goes for all settings – entails listening, encouraging, appreciating, drive, evaluating, and resilience. I’d like to explain these elements in a self-reflective way:
I once attended a presentation from a retired Dean at a large Los Angeles-based college, and he made a memorable statement. He said: “If you think leading in a business workforce is challenging, try being a University Dean!” Now, having done that exact job for the last six years, I have come to a solid understanding of what he meant. Granted: all types of workforces bring their own set of demands, with people from different backgrounds holding wide ranges of education and preparedness, and different – sometimes conflicting characters. On top of that, however, academic leaders also face the problem of immense egos. As an academic leader, you are expected to give directions to people who have equally high levels of education as you, in a wide array of fields. Therefore, they are oftentimes not receptive to leadership in a conventional way.
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Encouraging is something every leader should do if they aim to have a motivated team. I have found that encouraging your team is not merely displayed through cheerful statements. It’s expressed by going the extra mile to make them look good in the eyes of external stakeholders, and defend their position, even if they sometimes stand a little weak. Encouragement, in this context, feels somewhat like altruism, because there’s not always any stake for you, as the leader, in making your team members look good. But ultimately, there is more gratification in giving than in taking, and practicing encouragement toward others is simply the right and humane thing to do.
The Leader’s Way Every Day
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Drive. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether your steering wheel is in the front, in the middle, or at the back of the bus: point is, as a leader you are responsible for how the organization fares, and that can be a terrifying experience, especially in these volatile times. But let’s be honest: most of us like the sense of responsibility, even if we sometimes question our sanity for doing so. I have found that being the driver of a vehicle can be a lonely place because no one really knows how you feel when you see that bump in the road that suddenly popped up and that you cannot avoid. Accusations of weakness, inconsideration, negligence, and insufficiency may be thrown at your head, and all your efforts may be forgotten. Yet, it’s part of the reality of leading.
Evaluating has a dual interpretation when it comes to leading in these unpredictable times. You have to regularly evaluate the position of your workplace, and the strategies needed to move to the next stage of existing. That’s the professional evaluation. But there’s an even more critical one: self-evaluation! This is where you will find that humility goes a long way and that there will always be room for improvement, no matter how hard you tried in the past years. People change, teams change, demands change and … you – the leader - change! It’s important to keep a finger on the pulse to make sure you are still doing the right thing at the right place. Times can be stressful, but when stress becomes lasting anxiety, something needs to change.
Joan Marques is an author, educational and social entrepreneur, who currently serves as Dean and Professor of Management at Woodbury University’s School of Business. She teaches, presents and writes on topics related to moral responsibility and ethical leadership. Her research and practice-based insights have been widely published in scholarly as well as popular journals and magazines. She has authored/co-authored and edited more than 35 books. Her most recent single-authored book is, Leading with Awareness (Routledge, 2021) Would you like to comment?
Resilience. So this is the one nobody can help you with. It’s the grit that elevated you through life and prompted you to take the position you currently hold. It’s that inner voice that keeps motivating you when all others are about to give up. Resilience transcends jobs, positions, and all status symbols we stand for at one time or another. It’s what will get you to stand up more times than you fall. It’s the way you defy all the naysayers that told you that you wouldn’t be able to succeed. It’s the proud quality that drives you to flourish in the face of adversity and injustice. It’s what makes you! So, now that I’ve poured my heart into this article, I can only hope that it will compel others to listen to the call, encourage others, appreciate every opportunity, drive the vehicle of their life, evaluate lessons learned, but even more personal senses, and remain resilient, as that’s the ultimate quality of succeeding as a leader.
Appreciation is another quality that today’s complex world of work has taught us. We have recently weathered a global pandemic and had to redefine the way we implement our daily routine. We are regularly surprised by shifts we did not expect. I recently lost part of my team (this is still the “great resignation” era, right?), and while each of their reasons for moving on made practical and professional sense, it also meant investing in a time-consuming search for new team members who may or may not turn out to be a good fit in our tight-knit culture. Yet, as a leader, the fundamental thought to cultivate here is appreciation: for whomever you deal with – because they’re all teachers in this life, and for whatever emerges because it will invariably turn out to be useful. Making it a habit in the evening, just before going to sleep, to ask what you can be appreciative of, will help enormously to feel better about your day.
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