Careful, your status is showing

Leaders in organisations, wherever they go, sit, leave, speak, eat ... come with status attached. It can't be hidden.

At a client workshop recently, about two hours in to the session, a senior leader tip-toed into the room, closing the door gently. They were trying not to disturb the session. But really? They couldn’t be missed.

😩

Their status comes in the door first!

At other workshops and meetings, many leaders have said, ‘ I’m not participating today, I’m just observing’.

Now even more of your status is showing.

As a modern leader in today’s work environment it’s wise to stop making yourself even more separate, different and higher.

There’s a decision to make : either be IN it with the team in the room, or get OUT of it and leave them to do the work of the workshop or meeting.

Also, quick question :
Why and what are you 'observing'?
Why not get involved?

There’s rarely a need for leaders to be 'on the fringes’ of a workshop or meeting, doing the watching, checking, observing, judging.

Participate, do the work, connect and listen to people, get your hands dirty, hear their stories, be there, getting it. Or vanish.

A special title isn’t special when it comes to working with a team in a practical session.

I’d prefer leaders either remove themselves and their status, or reduce their status and stay.


👀 Seen some status recently? How else do leaders show or throw their status around, perhaps unknowingly?

Psychological safety in a hybrid world

The mix of some people here, some people there, some people anywhere, is creating this hybrid world of work. 

And it requires some subtle responses. 

Psychological safety is still psychological safety. No matter where people are working from. 

Amy Edmondson’s work is extended here in collaboration with Mark Mortensen in this Harvard Business Review article that’s a must read for leaders and managers. 

Navigating the hybrid world of work requires a step by step process. 

5 ways to build hybrid team trust

With some people in the office, some working from home, some working from hubs or other locations, the leadership juggle of a hybrid team is real. 

It’s bringing plenty of new challenges for leaders, and many of them aren’t obvious or visible challenges. 

Take psychological safety and trust. 

🥏 How do you know you have it with your hybrid team? 
🥏 How would you know if it was fractured? 
🥏 What can you do to repair, build or remedy trust and safety in a hybrid team? 

These five tips from this article in Forbes magazine can help: 

1. Relaunch with a kickoff 
2. Level the field for all
3. Over communicate 
4. Understand preferred working styles 
5. Establish new rituals and norms. 

You’ll need to do something - it won’t just happen automatically. 

These tips give some scope, ideas and tactics to make hybrid work for all ... no matter where we all are. 

To draw out from others

How are you at the skill of elicitation? Can you draw information and contributions out of people? 

Why elicit : because they’ve got something to contribute or expertise we need to tap into. 

Elicitation isn’t just asking one question and then waiting for the answer. It’s more often about an ongoing conversation, back and forth. It’s getting to the point, finding the key information, uncovering the challenge or problem or insight. 

We can’t wait until people speak up or ‘lean in’.

To elicit is to actively collaborate with someone to help them contribute and give. 

It’s asking, encouraging, clarifying, listening, hearing, repeating back, wondering, probing, asking, listening...

The problem is, we often don’t allow the time even though it’s a key component of engaging others and uncovering important insights.

Don’t wait for people to eventually feel safe enough to speak up. 

Take the time and plan for how and when you will engage, ask and elicit from others. 

Better ways of being

As teams come together online more often, there are ways to ‘be’ that help make things easier. 

Whether your online meeting or gathering has just one other person, or there are four, seven or 12 of you...

Watch out for these old, dated behaviours:

Interrupter
Hogger
Judger
Dismisser 
Player
Disruptor 
Distractor
Minimizer
Deflector
... oooh it’s not good is it 
Hider
Denier
Accuser


When times are challenging, stress is high or uncertainty is present, it can be easy to fall back into a ‘survival default’ of sorts where there is pointing and blaming or hiding and ignoring for survival. 

Newer and better ways of being include doing things to support the group (and not always speeding to a solution or decision.)

We all contribute to an environment and a conversation that’s safer and more collaborative. 

If I’m challenged and find it hard to bring the ‘better me’, then I look to these roles. They’re helpful anyway, and keep us in a more resourceful state:

Synthesiser
Integrater
Summarizer
Slicer 
Supporter
Enquirer 
Listener 
Reflector
Participator
Contributor 
Validator 
Elevator.


Think: 
Am I making things easier or harder?
Am I trying to make myself feel better about something here?
Is this going to be helpful?