How to support your own employees now: Three perspectives that can make a difference
In 2020 the whole world learned the real feeling of lack of control due to COVID-19. I dare not talk about what those most affected by these adversities are currently experiencing, but I dare to know that together we are experiencing difficult moments that affect all of our life activities.
We often talk about the competencies that a good corporate leader should have. We have to ask ourselves which ones are the most important in moments like this when life and work go on. In more practical language, how to support your own employees in these stressful times? Here are three perspectives that can make a difference.
1. Choose vulnerability instead of emotional distance
Although in different forms, we all have a common sense of heaviness . To show vulnerability in this regard in the workplace and to talk openly about how we feel means simply to show humanity. We show that we are real, and the power of that characteristic is that it connects us instantly. Recognizing the importance of connectedness in the current circumstances means overcoming one’s own discomfort and stepping into a field of vulnerability for the common good. Brené Brown , a professor at the University of Houston; dedicated to researching vulnerability, sees this as a healthy and liberating step given that in vulnerability we find - as she puts it - the very meaning of human experiences. And if there’s anything that we all desperately need at this time, it’s meaning.
2. Listen to the story of others even when you find it difficult to sit with your own
Knowing that we are all affected in different ways, it’s not easy to listen to others in moments when it’s very difficult for us to be at ease with our own story. But great leaders know how to deal with the emotional content created by circumstances and relationships in the workplace. In the current situation, they especially understand the importance of expanding their own ability to provide care to others. This concern can begin with honest and patient listening to employees, a human interest in their stories without condemning their reaction to the current circumstances. In this way, we allow them to be what they truly are in these moments, without being - in the weight of their emotional state - additionally burdened by the need to build an unreal self-image.
3. Whatever you think, don't ask 'how'
We opened this conversation with the question of how to support employees in these stressful circumstances. What we know for sure is that no one has all the answers. The only thing that seems certain is the lack of control . But looking away from the work environment, you notice that not having control actually stops anyone from doing the most important thing - helping others immediately and in any way . Excessive thinking about how to help prevents us from entering into our human hearts to find the answer at times like this. Because whatever you think, in an effort to help your employees in what they are currently going through, don’t ask ‘how’. Unless you are starting the conversation with the question: How are you?
This article was first published in Lider.media on 31st December 2020