How is your team doing?
No, I don’t mean in their work, output or how they hit their targets last month. I mean HOW IS YOUR TEAM DOING? Them, the people. Their emotional wellbeing, their health, their family, their fears. How is your team doing?
Employee wellness is central to a strong, engaged, and productive workplace. But today’s workers are under increasing amounts of stress. We are living at a time when the whole world is challenged by the Covid 19 pandemic. Governments are challenged, families are challenged, organisations are challenged, businesses are challenged and the individuals working with you or for you are challenged. If they are not sick, they have a loved one who is unwell, or they are worried about a possibility of contracting the virus because their workmate just tested positive. Living with the anxiety caused by the threat of the virus but still getting up and showing up at work- whether physically or virtually, is no easy task.
Good Leaders Care
I once read somewhere “if you fundamentally do not care for your employees, you do not deserve to be in a leadership role.” As a leader in the workplace, your goal should be to motivate employees and encourage performance. The most effective way to help employees stay focused and improve their performance is to both establish accountability for results and create an environment of care and encouragement.
Specifically today, expecting results should be a by-product of caring and encouraging your team to stay strong, stay positive and beat the odds- together.
How to show your employees that you care.
- Wellness Check-ins. Sometimes we just need to listen to the people on our team and try to hear the unsaid words. How challenged are they? What are their major worries? And yes, it’s okay for you to admit that you are worried too- because you are!
- Set and Reset performance expectations. Employees might be juggling new workflow as well as other family and home responsibilities. Pay attention to whether employees are feeling overwhelmed or overworked. Be open to reassessing their workload and clarifying your expectations of their performance, in order to avoid burnout.
- Show Appreciation. Employee appreciation is an important way to show you care about your team members. Show appreciation for your employees for the hard work they do, especially during this stressful season. Recognise extra efforts they make, offer them specific compliment for achievements and send private emails as well as group messages of encouragement and gratitude to individuals.
- Work life balance. Encourage your employees to practice self-care and practice it yourself. Consider discussing self-care ideas at your next team meeting. Especially where some of your staff is working virtually, give them permission to take a break and set boundaries from work. Make sure virtual office hours are set and they are taking time for themselves and their families outside of working hours.
Let’s lead from the heart. Let’s focus on the person behind the role before we think of how much figures we are making or what targets our teams are hitting.
“Once people feel seen, heard and acknowledged, when people are operating in a stable mind, maybe then they’ll be able to bring the results we expect at the table.”