“The only constant is Change” we hear this all the time and while it is true, knowing it does not make it feel any more comfortable. In my experience, the best strategy to help our teams deal with change is transparency. My favourite Leaders have been the ones who said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’ll tell you what I do know and as soon as I have more information, I will update you”. As a Leader we are not expected to know everything! Our job is to create an environment where people feel safe. Safe is a broad term, but for me it means 1/ an environment where people feel included and can be authentic and 2/ an environment based on continuous learning and improvement where experimentation and failures are embraced and feedback is welcomed. Some strategies that have worked for me in developing these environments are: 

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1.  Providing a clear Vision and picture of what success looks like for my team. 

2.  Empowering team members to own particular goals or areas of the business so that they can decide the       best way to achieve them. 

3.  Creating Connection opportunities for my team to come together (virtually and non-virtually).  

4.  Setting up Cadences to ensure regular feedback, performance metrics and communication updates. 

5.  Forming teams based on their diverse Strengths so that individuals can work in their strength zone 80% of   the time (this is also important when recruiting new team members). 

 

As a Leader it is our responsibility to tailor our communication style to suit the individuals in our team and to be careful that we do not favour people similar to us (which is a bias we all gravitate towards). Understanding individual motivators helps us get the best out of people as well as support them in their careers which will extend past this specific job! It is so rewarding to see the impact you can make as a Leader in someone’s career and life. 

 

Book Recommendations: 

• Strengths Based Leadership by Gallup 

• Dare to Lead by Brene Brown 

• Multipliers by Liz Wiseman 

• The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane