Last week I spent a day at Manchester Art Gallery delivering a coaching skills workshop to 11 managers from a hugely inspiring charity that works to give children and young people the best start in life. This entrepreneurial organisation had already started to embrace a coaching culture and wanted its managers to have some more tools in their coaching toolkits and as we say in coaching “get it into their bones!”
This was the first time in two years that these 11 managers had been in one room together. Recognising how important this first gathering was, I allowed space and time in the day to put the workshop agenda to one side so they could simply reconnect. The gallery was the perfect venue to send people off for a walk and talk, giving them the opportunity to be together and talk about anything other than work! Their relationships, family, the new dog and what they were looking forward to doing at the weekend. Those conversations we used to have while we were walking along a corridor going from one meeting to the next.
One of the things I am hearing across the business world is that we are all “going back to normal”. Back? We can’t ever go “back” in life, we can only ever move forward. The last two years have shaped us all, given us new perspectives, new dreams and highlighted what is really important and what we value most. Nobody is the same person they were back in February 2020.
If you are leading others then there are four key essentials to helping people move forward. I call them the 4 C’s…and in no particular order, as they are all as important as each other here they are.
4 C’s of Leadership in a Post COVID-19 World
Control
Giving people a sense of control about how they manage their work and giving them choices about when, where and how they work. As humans we are not designed to go for such long periods i.e., two years feeling we have no control. Hybrid working is a new concept and will inevitably have its challenges and it isn’t for everyone or for every business. As leaders, we have to balance the needs of our people with the needs of the business. Adapting more of a coaching approach to our leadership style, letting go of our own need to control demonstrates that we have trust in those that work for us and encourages them to take more ownership of their role.
Connection
We are social beings. We were designed to be together. Allow some space and time, particularly in these early days to allow people to put business aside, reconnect and make connections with new team members. Recognise that a lot of people have lost their confidence and their connection with themselves and are feeling anxious even though they may not ever make that known to you. Create opportunities for connecting whether that is some team development time or arranging something social. A meal together can-do wonders for team morale and deepening relationships.
Communication.
It has never been more important than it is at the moment to communicate. People will want to know where the business is heading next, what are the current challenges and opportunities and what their role is in this. Even more important though is to be visible. Get out in your workplace and make time to ask people how they are? If you can’t get to be in person with them, give them a call. Get them to tell you what is working well and what support they might need to make it even better. Make them feel that you care.
Coaching.
A coaching culture in any organisation can make everyone feel empowered, valued and recognised. It’s a culture where vulnerability is a sign of courage, where its ok to get something wrong because in the failure is learning that leads to growth, where values are central to any decision making and where everyone is accountable for success.
A healthy culture has all the other C’s as its foundations, all essential requirements for a fulfilling and happy place to work
If you are a leader looking for some coaching for yourself or wanting to support your people and teams as they move forward to the new normal, then I would love to have a conversation to see if I can be useful. Please get in touch.