How Can Leaders Build Bridges of Connection?
As vaccination levels rise and organizations begin to expect to see their workers back in the workplace, research suggests that 47% of workers are feeling anxious about a return to their pre-COVID working practices. Too often, people experience stress in the workplace as a result of poor communication, ineffective leadership and poor negotiation skills explained Carol Kauffman, assistant professor at Harvard University where she is the founder of the Institute of Coaching when we spoke with her recently, Leaders need to consider how to get the most out of each interaction they have. By simply asking the question, who do I want to be in this situation, right now?, leaders can circuit break habitual thinking patterns and take a more intentional approach.  Building connection doesnt have to be overly complicated, but with the growing list of management expectations and ongoing uncertainty, its understandable that leaders are finding it challenging to maintain enthusiasm, patience or attention. The challenge is that recent research has found a significant decline in the number of workers who trust their leaders to make sensible decisions about their future, suggesting that connection is going to be critical for leaders in the coming months as they re-build trust with their teams. Carol suggested creating bridges of connection by:  Leading like a coach  when there is a challenging conversation, instead of telling someone what to do, ask the other person three questions about their knowledge and experience on the topic. This not only builds a bridge with them, but helps both of you identify strengths and make a connection. It not only builds the bridge and invites them back to your perspective, it also helps validate their knowledge and their contribution to the conversation. And you might also learn something along the way!  when there is a challenging conversation, instead of telling someone what to do, ask the other person three questions about their knowledge and experience on the topic. This not only builds a bridge with them, but helps both of you identify strengths and make a connection. It not only builds the bridge and invites them back to your perspective, it also helps validate their knowledge and their contribution to the conversation. And you might also learn something along the way! Start using the Platinum Rule  the Golden Rule is to treat others as you would like to be treated, but this fails to account for the variations in the ways people prefer to be treated. The Platinum Rule is to treat people the way they prefer to be treated, which often has a better outcome. For example, some people like lots of praise and public recognition; others prefer a simple thank you on a post-it note as a way of being thanked. Having insight into what the various preferences are for your people will help you navigate the complexities of being a leader and will help build engagement and connection with your people. When you can be agile and responsive to what people need, you may find bridges tend to pop up on their own.  the Golden Rule is to treat others as you would like to be treated, but this fails to account for the variations in the ways people prefer to be treated. The Platinum Rule is to treat people the way they prefer to be treated, which often has a better outcome. For example, some people like lots of praise and public recognition; others prefer a simple thank you on a post-it note as a way of being thanked. Having insight into what the various preferences are for your people will help you navigate the complexities of being a leader and will help build engagement and connection with your people. When you can be agile and responsive to what people need, you may find bridges tend to pop up on their own. Coaching up to increase psychological safety  in the same way that a leader shouldnt expect their people to read their mind, team members also cant expect a boss to mind-read either. You may have a situation where your boss is being critical of your work, or hasnt understood why youve done what youve done. Rather than jump straight into defensive explaining mode, try coaching up by taking these steps: Let your boss know youre glad to be having the conversation because youre keen to learn from them. Listen to their perspective. Then, say to them, hmmm, I never thought of it that way, can I walk you through my thinking so you can help me identify where Im going wrong?  in the same way that a leader shouldnt expect their people to read their mind, team members also cant expect a boss to mind-read either. You may have a situation where your boss is being critical of your work, or hasnt understood why youve done what youve done. To discover more evidence-based practices to help people thrive at work, check out the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast.