How can you motivate your people now that the second Corona wave lasts much longer than we ever thought and everyone gets really tired and uninspired by the way we live and work that we are forced to lead.
Yesterday we survived the Blue Monday. Does that mean we woke up happier and happier today than we did yesterday?
I very much doubt that. With all the conversations about the lock down until spring, curfew and the danger of the mutant virus, it becomes increasingly difficult to be enthusiastic about and motivated by the daily work.
The figures confirm this: one in four people today feel depressed or show signs of burnout.
These figures can be as damaging to the company as the government’s restrictive measures.
The only person who can do anything about those numbers is YOU. And you can achieve this by investing extra in motivation in the coming months.
By the investment I don’t mean financial investments (although I think a salary increase or other material incentives are always appreciated😉), I mean first of all building and maintaining relationships with your people and developing and strengthening the interactions between them.
You are the one who sets the tone for increasing engagement and belonging. To do this, new skills are needed.
What new skills am I talking about?
Skill 1: skills of coaching leadership. Working from home creates emotional disconnection (most of us didn’t even know we had a connection😁) with each other and with the organization. We are excluded from many big and small things, such as important decisions or small talk in the office. Research shows that many people rely on their supervisor to maintain those connections.
So it’s up to you to be there regularly for your people for emotional support. But you can only give that support if you also dare to be vulnerable and empathetic yourself and are not afraid to show your feelings.
A big challenge for many leaders I know😁!!!!
Leadership is about empathy. It’s about the ability to interact with people and connect with them with the goal of inspiring them and improving their lives. Oprah Winfrey
Skill 2: new meeting routines. No matter how hard you try to make a Zoom meeting look like a work meeting in the office, you simply can’t.
Apart from possible technical problems, the participants are in different environments, where interruptions occur that others do not perceive. They’ll see each other, but not the body language. There are no personal interactions before and after a meeting. That is why Forbes magazine proposes to reserve 20% of the meeting time for “interaction, check-in and connection”. That makes the meetings more meaningful.
Skill 3: better communication skills. Information that used to go “one in many” often goes “one-on-one” nowadays. You just spend more time talking to a lot of different people. The more effective the communication skills, the less time it takes to achieve results!
Even small improvements in these 3 skills will provide more connection and connection: something we all need in these times, and certainly something you can do for the success for your business.
You don’t build a business – you build people – and then people build the business.
Zig Ziglar
