Are you making things easier

Today I’m working with a group of leaders on building their facilitation skills. 

Facilitation at its heart means ‘ease’, to make progress with ease. 

And ease is a great perspective to take. 

Ask yourself 
- are we making this harder than it needs to be? 
- what could we do that would make it easier? 
- how can I make it easier for them? 
- what does the team think would make it easier?

Easy doesn’t mean it’s not good or not valuable. 

It’s about being able to manage and juggle a mix of things happening in teams :
🌕 Engagement - that we are connected to this work
🌕 Involvement - that we are doing something with the work
🌕 Contribution - that we bring our ideas and efforts to the work. 
🌕 Productivity - that we are getting the work that needs to be done, done. 

The skills of getting people aligned, engaged, inspired and participating doesn’t happen automatically. 

You’ll have to do something. Many things. Many micro things that together make great progress. 

Does your team need these faciliation skills, to help make the day-to-day work easier? 

Facilitation skills apply in-person, online and in the new world of hybrid work. 

Let’s talk. I’ll tailor a session, a series of sessions or a longer term program for the team. 

The wars of talent and control

It will become more and more visible ... organisations and leaders who talk flexibility and agility but the reality is still command and control. 

As employees return to the office - or not - the power dynamic is shifting on topics like flexibility and engagement. 

Questions come to mind like: 

➡️ If a company needs particular skills, does it matter where those skills live? 

➡️ Can people work remotely? All the time? 

➡️ Why should people come into the office? What will the true benefit be to them if they do? 

➡️ If people don’t get the flexibility they’re seeking, who else is offering it?

There is an equaling of the balance or see-saw occurring. 

From times when the organisation and its leaders had the power and control, now, towards times when people who have a greater freedom of choice in front of them are exercising that choice. 

Why should people work with your organisation? Or with you as a leader? 

This article from Newsweek by Yuri Kruman, explores the topic more.

Warmer and more human please

Along with everything else they’re juggling, leaders are on notice to up their humanity and reality. 

With remote work and online meetings creating a wierd kind of ‘digital disconnect’ between many leaders and their teams, it’s a good time for some newer ways of connecting. 

Some recent data reported 32% of people said communications from their leadership team during these difficult times felt ‘cold and impersonal’. Ooooh the chill!

And 31% felt leadership showed a lack of empathy for people’s personal lives. Oh the burn! 

Some businesses are trying new ways of connecting. Rather than expecting everyone online at once for a synchronous ‘town hall’ or ‘all hands’ presentation, internal podcasts are being added to the comms list. 

And 39% of those researched said they want their leaders to ‘explore more personal means of communication, like video’. 

Explore. 

That’s a nice way of saying ‘have a go’, ‘try it out’, ‘see what might work for us here.’ 

The fear of failing, looking foolish or crashing and burning can be a big turnoff for leaders who have kept their game face on, stilted, straight and ... are they frozen? Is their camera frozen? 

No. They’re just cold, still, impersonal. 

Ouch! 

Warm up. Open up. More humanity please. 

Better engagement from the leader first... before expecting engagement from the team. 

Read more in this article by Jessica Davies at Digiday.

Why every leader should take an improv class

Have you? If that’s a no, put it on your development list, right near the top. 

And if you have, you know what I’m talking about. 

In this crazy world of change, no one teaches better, trains better or helps us deal like an improv class. 

The performers who make stuff up on TV and theatres the world over, moved things online during the pandemic, and they adapted nicely! 

Here are five reasons why taking improv has got to be on your list for either an in-person class or an online one. Or a bit of both! 

1. You’re constantly thinking on your feet 
2. Communication is essential 
3. Your nerves get tested
4. You fail a lot (I think this one, this one is what makes us more willing to experiment, try and have a go)
5. Growth becomes a mindset. 

Read more in this article in Inc. Magazine by Jason Hennessey 

And then sign up at your local improv troupe, group or club. 

In Melbourne, that’s the wonderful Impro Melbourne and a big shout out to the wonderful people, teachers, performers and players like
Jason Geary
Patti Stiles 
Lliam Amor
Rik Brown 
Katherine Weaver 
Jenny Lovell 

In Perth, check out Glenn Hall !

Improv is where the great lessons, techniques and mantras like ‘yes and’ come from! 

There’s plenty more to be had. As soon as you can, do it. Ready?

Acknowledging the anxiety

Many people are feeling it; the anxiety of returning to workplaces, crowds, elevators and common areas. 

Do you ignore it? 
Do you say something? 

If you say something, might you make it worse or bring into focus something that’s better left as it is? 

In tough times particularly, we must spend time interacting, engaging, asking and listening. 

It’s a facilitation technique to acknowledge what is there - not ignore it. 

I recall I was facilitating a corporate workshop on the day of the 9/11 attacks. I may have been in Australia, half a world away, but it was a global event. 

Our workshop started later, slower, a revised agenda, more breaks ... and less expectations. We talked a lot about the events of the day. 

We worked with what was there, not pushing forward with previous priorities. 

In these times of increased anxiety, you’ve got to say something. 

Go slower. 
Ask. 
Listen. 
Wait. 
Pause. 
Reflect. 
Wait. 

That means the rush and push of people needs to slow a little while we adapt.

This article about the ‘spectrum of feelings’ people have in the return to offices from Digiday outlines what’s making people feel anxious and some tips on how to respond.