OMG! Back to work and the stuff that made me want a holiday!
Despite the start of a new year it’s easy to get back into the old habits and circumstances which perplexed us in 2012. Leanne Faraday-Brash shares how to break the shackles and take a new approach.
Last year wasn’t an easy year for many people for a host of reasons. Fortunately, as human beings we have a well-developed ability to forget some of the yucky stuff. If we didn’t and every mother dwelt on her labour experience, every child would probably be an only child!
As Aussies we work hard but love our downtime. If you were like many of my clients from the day after Melbourne Cup Day public holiday (if you got it) you counted down the days to the Christmas break and now for many of us, it’s been and gone. We’re back at work and any of the issues that perplexed or angered us late last year and needed a break from, are back with us.
Often the issues that sap our energy and invoke fear are the tricky people things. If you found yourself returning to work with anything from mild anxiety to abject feelings of dread, do you understand why? And have you got an action plan to tackle them?
Are you leading a team that’s not performing well?If so, have you developed a strategy for team development and role clarification? Do you need to do more to clarify not just what is expected but why it matters? Too often we focus on the “what” when we need to inspire with the “why”. Use the New Year as a chance to start fresh to visit or revisit where the team is going, what the executive or the clients are looking for and how each person contributes. If you have variable motivation in the team, how well do you understand what makes each team member tick? Are you doing enough to match their interests and skills with the tasks and projects to be completed? Staff need direction but they also need to know you care. That is not about being soft on them but demonstrating empathy and being accessible.
Do you have conflict in the team that’s divisive or explosive? Be honest with yourself and ask how well are you modelling the desired behaviours? Are you metaphorically the parent smacking the kid in retaliation for their violence against a sibling? Do you ‘call’ and ‘consequence’ the wrong behaviours in such a way that the punishment fits the crime? (See my previous blog post for more on this) If the problem exists between two people, what have you done to attempt to repair the relationship other than ask them to avoid interacting with each other or hope it will have gone away over the holidays? We’re paid to be optimistic but not naïve!! Skilful mediation can be helpful if both parties want to ‘do the work’, rules of engagement are put in place and the mediator is seen as impartial and empathic. However the credible leader can also speak with both parties, explain your concern, how it is hurting the business and ask what needs to happen for them to be able to work together more productively. Don’t bully them and employ novice mediation tactics like reminding them they’re adults and to act like it. Intervene and listen early. A lot of accumulated baggage can get awfully heavy to carry and harder to offload!
Are you seeing some bad behaviour and are worried about its potential impact? Are you concerned about how it might affect customer service, internal reputation or brand? The ‘fraud’ triangle has at its apexes 1) opportunity, 2) need and 3) likelihood of consequences. Do you need to tighten processes? Are staff being incentivised to lie or misrepresent because of a blame culture or excessive pressure to perform or provide the answers you want to hear? How safe is the culture? How tight are sign-off processes and other internal controls? Remember the vast majority of people do the right thing. Over 80% of Australians pay the requisite amount of tax by choice. You’ve heard the maxim: “Make it easy for people to do business with you”. Well, make it hard for your people to do the wrong thing by you (or your organisation).
Hopefully some of these provocations sparked something for you. BUT, the best way to self-sabotage is to become overwhelmed by everything you now have to do. Choose 1 or 2 things and act on them. Then choose to be encouraged by the fact that you’re on your way.
Onwards and upwards!
Leanne Faraday-Brash is an Organisational Psychologist, Executive Coach and Principal of Brash Consulting. She facilitates, consults and intervenes with individuals, teams and organisations from the dysfunctional and toxic right through the high performing, even elite. She is a certified speaking professional (CSP), which is the highest international accreditation for speakers and has presented in the US, Asia, Middle East and Europe. Leanne’s book Vulture Cultures: How to stop them ravaging your performance, profit, people and public image has just been released by Australian Academic Press.
