Being a leader who is aware, is extremely powerful. This is a key attribute of The Leader Manager™. It’s almost a sixth sense that is developed. Let’s dive into this to understand it deeper.
(Listen to the Podcast on this topic: link)
Let’s start with your staff meetings (assuming you are having them…if you are not, I can tell you now, you are not engaged with your own team).
What are these meetings typically like?
One person brings the topics in
It’s led by the managers
One-way conversation
Limited contributions from the team
What employees are saying:
Our manager just talks at us
Our manager doesn’t understand what’s going on in our worlds
Our manager doesn’t care about what we think
Our manager just goes off on their own tangents & stories
Our meetings are not worth my time
Reactions when managers sense this:
- They reduce the duration of the meeting. “Give time back” to the team
- They space the meetings further apart
What happens:
- Less and less engagement.
Before you blame COVID and Zoom, let’s first eliminate this from the conversation.
COVID and Zoom are environmental factors that you, as a Leader, need to overcome. No different than when you are in the office, during non-COVID times, you had to find a location that was suitable for this meeting, a time of day that made sense, enough chairs for people to sit in, etc. The obstacles that COVID and Zoom present are just factors you need to both accommodate for and solve, to make the environment conducive for connecting with your team.
So, what does an engaged meeting team look like?
People contributing to the conversation (sharing, asking questions, clarifying)
People are making eye contact; they are present and following the conversations
They are coming to the meeting prepared to share, prepared to converse
They look forward to these moments of meeting as a team
What employees are saying:
This is a good use of my time
I learn and develop here
I enjoy the connectedness of our team
Our Leader spends quality time with us, we feel supported and valued
Now, how is this created? Here are some pointers:
Setup a regular cadence that make sense for the level of engagement you are seeking from your employees
Create a clear vision and expectations for the staff meeting
Leverages the team to understand what are important topics to be discussed
The leader isn’t the one with the mic the entire meeting
Use your 1:1s with your employees to understand how you can leverage them/grow them and seek ways to elevate them with their strengths, that can be incorporated into topics in the staff meeting
Ensure everyone is included in the conversations, specifically tap on them for feedback, ask for insights & inputs
Given everyone the opportunity to share, allowing enough time to do a roundtable that can help people form their thoughts and be ready to share pertinent information
Avoid your own personal stories and tangents, ask them to share theirs instead
Facilitate the conversation, don’t dominate it. Help to ensure the conversation is productive and value add
Don’t make it all business. Staff meetings are a prime opportunity to develop relationships, skills, experiences, as well as have fun, that isn’t work related. 5-10 minutes of non-work will pay huge dividends.
These 10 points are just a few. You may find that you feel you do some or many of these items. Each team is unique. It takes reflection, awareness and coaching to help identify what is missing in how you are leading.
Becoming a Leader Manager will equip you with the advanced skills to be able to create a powerful, successful and engaged team. IONIS Leadership Development & Coaching creates Leader Managers!