Team

leading teams for difficult times

Leadership for Difficult Times

Posted on by Zinga H

leading teams for difficult times

Lead Your Teams With Your Head Grounded

Dealing with difficult times is a part of doing business. From running out of paper on copy machines to not having enough quality time with the people you care about can cause a low-level amount of stress that can be overcome with smart healing moves. What happens when the amount of unrest in external influences starts to seep into the productivity of your team. Caring about  external aggravations, stressors, and threats can keep your team feeling secure enough to focus applying their full potential. How can leaders better lead their teams when times are stressful? Here are 5 bits of wisdom to consider

Build awareness

Knowing what is causing stress within your team. Ask questions and listen to the different insights and concerns your team is building around the point of concern. Build awareness within yourself as well. Find when your fears or temper is getting the best of you and spot stress-management techniques to improve your state of being.

Encourage communication

While some of your team may be very vocal about the shaky times your are in or that are beginning, some others may not be so engaged. Getting every team member on board in your organization will require reminding everyone that communication isn’t only encouraged, but a priority. Schedule productive meetings, have an anonymous comment and suggestion box, and remind every one of the confidentiality and protection policies you have in place.

Remember your mission

It is easy to get blindsided in a disaster. What keeps you in place is your purpose and end goals. While steering your organization forward may require flexibility it is important to always keep in mind what you are steering toward.

Provide avenues for stress relief

Tumultuous times often cause undue stress on leadership and team members. Relaxing the body and mind will keep your company’s spirits lifted. Host retreats, bring in healthy fruits, have a company potluck and remind your everyone to take care of themselves.

Acknowledging challenges is a positive sign of good leadership within your company and a step in your journey of small business success. When the tough times arise, it is time for even more assessment, experience, and communication to ensure that you continue to fulfill your mission and vision.

photo credit: 13a.LedelleMoe.Collapse.Lofts14Two.WDC.29jul06 via photopin (license)

Valuing people hurts your bonds

Posted on by Zinga H

In preparation for a workshop I was going to give, I ended up doing a value identification exercise.

quarters balancing represents value and teamwork

It was then I realized the names of the important people in my life: my husband, daughter, and other family members did not pop up.

Part of me felt obligated to write them down on my list, but my mind kept calculating that this connection was off. After reflecting for a bit, I realized that value should only be placed on objects, actions, and ideas. For instance, my husband is priceless and, therefore, invaluable. Now his influence skills, care of his family, and trustworthiness are actions and qualities I have come to value during our relationship. His being as a person was never something I could weigh against any human measurement of value.

When we value others we equate them to commodities. Whether it is positive (Jenny a valuable member of the team) or negative (Rich wasn’t worth a dime) we lower their potential and limit their possibilities to imperfect human measurements. Finally, we subject ourselves to the possibility of measuring our worth with money, possessions, or other human values. Karl Marx, a philosopher who studied weaknesses in the purely capitalist society, noted the concept of commodity fetishism or measuring social relationships by their usability or where the object is valued in place of the work behind the object. A lot like reality celebrities Hollywood glitz and glam supersedes the low-budget, low-quality content produced on reality TV shows.

So when relating with others, build a stronger connection not by valuing them for who they are, but seek, find, and appreciate the value of what others do. How do we relate to others in a positive way without placing value directly on the person?

Consider all of the other ways we can relate. 

For instance, I love my husband, care deeply for my daughter and value the trust I share with my sister. There are so many other ways to connect our beings to another without demoting them to the level of an object.

How can you do that today?

photo credit: Balance (license)