by Nuture HR
With the results of the recent American election, the transition of leadership appears to be on many individual’s minds and with it a bevy of emotions ranging from fear through to hope, internationally.
On another level, many of us throughout our careers have experienced a highly valued leader departing an organisation with mixed thoughts and feelings on what the oncoming leader may bring to our workplace and what this could mean for us as individuals.
Given what we are seeing playing out in international politics and based on previous experiences, what can we as individuals and organisations do, to foster the successful transition of leadership?
Successful transition of leadership appears to be based on:
- Planning the transition
- Positive, concise and continued communication about the transition – communication is vital in explaining the handover of leadership, what this will mean for a business and how its workforce will be supported throughout this change over
- Recognising the work of the previous leader and building on this
- The incoming leader being aware that not everyone is an early adopter of change and identifying those who are early adopters
- The incoming leader recognising the need to work together to mobilise those individuals whom may not be initial supporters by recognising and guiding them through the grief cycle i.e. moving individuals the stages of disbelief to acceptance, hope and commitment
- Celebrating early wins and
- Continuing to communicate across all levels of the workforce
For further information on transitioning leadership, please contact Eva & her team at Nurture HR Consulting.
by Nuture HR
All of us, whether we want to or not, carry biases with us into the workplace based upon the environment we grew up in, our education, our life experiences and our values.
Most importantly, it is a matter of how we deal with these biases by understanding what they are, how they are formed and how we deal with these on a day to day basis to understand why we make / support certain decisions in the workplace.
How are biases formed?
Psychological scholars posit that biases are evolutionary adaptions. Mental shortcuts that reduce cognitive processing and free up the mind to complete other tasks. They typically lead to fast paced judgments that are made priority, in order to maintain basic survival. Though some seem irrational at times and cannot even be explained rationally, they have often been passed down through our genetics as a form of adaption.
Some types of bias include:
- Belief perseverance: once a belief is formed and a rationale has been developed it is very difficult to demolish it (Ross and Anderson 1982).
- Confirmative Bias: the tendency to seek information that supports our beliefs while ignoring information that does not.
- Illusion of control: for example – lotto!
- Heuristics: mental shortcuts we all take to reduce complex judgements
What we can to do increase our self awareness around our biases?
- Recognise that we carry biases
- Define what these are
- Obtain all the facts before jumping to a conclusion regarding an individual or a matter and
- as the old saying goes don’t judge a book by its cover!
by Nuture HR
Listening to a radio interview recently, in relation to “VR” i.e. Virtual Reality in the music industry, it had me musing on what this could mean for the not so distant future of the workplace. That is, what benefits could be had and correspondingly what concerns should we have?
Some exciting opportunities of VR in the workplace could include:
- Meetings held in a virtual workspace, where all or a number of participants could be working from different locations across the globe however each will feel as though they are working in the same space as one another,
- The ability to virtually try new roles / work activities and even occupations from anywhere at anytime,
- Training utilising a virtual scenario or virtual workplace thereby reducing costs and mistakes in reality and improving opportunities to learn from this and
- Virtual interviewing enabling applicants to be interviewed from anywhere in the same virtual workplace.
An exciting time lies ahead for workplaces embracing “VR” technology, however let’s not forget the value of real human contact in our quest for workplace excellence!
by Nuture HR
Although we are all varyingly dissimilar and similar to one another, how is it that some people are better employees than others?
Typically, a great employee is someone considered to be: • Productive • Honest • Self-motivated • Reliable • Ethical
• Communicative • Committed • Passionate • Task focused • Dedicated
Many of these predictors appear to be personality traits, interestingly research has found a correlational relationship between vocational choice and personality traits (Garcia-Sedeño, Navarro & Menacho, 2009; Nordvik, 1996). Therefore, if in the same fields we all have similar personalities, why are others ahead?
A recent analysis by Uusiautti and Maatta (2015, pp. 34-38) found the best predictive qualities of a great employee, is their appreciation for challenges, exceptional interpersonal skills, autonomous working skills, the belief that work is rewarding accompanied with a positive attitude towards work. Many people possess some of these skills individually, but when all are acting in conjunction with one another, success is apparent. These attitudes have also been linked to high productivity, long term success and a greater sense of wellbeing (Sherman, Randall & Kauanui, 2015).
Furthermore, Uusiautti and Maatta (2015, pp. 141) determined that an equally fundamental factor of great employees are positive work experiences; from the work itself and the employee’s experiences at work. Successful workers need successful work environments to flourish in conjunction with the individual personality traits. A supportive work environment is central to an employee’s ability to achieve.
For further information on this, please contact Eva and her team at Nurture HR Consulting via phone 43 125 120 or email: eva@nurturehrconsulting.com.au
by Nuture HR
The awe inspiring performances of our Australian athletes at this year’s Rio Olympics show them to be nothing less than determined, driven and focused. These Olympians faced the highs and the lows and need to be resilient and persevere to get back up when they don’t reach the success they strive for in their individual disciplines.
Cate Campbell freestyle world record holder finished 6th in her strongest event, she had been tipped as strongest to win. Translating this into our everyday organisations, how do we encourage those driven and ambitious employees in our workforce to maintain high performance and consistency in their day to day work, even in challenging times.
Organisations can encourage and support their employees in driving and continuing high performance via:
- Ensuring expectations are clear
Employees like clear direction from the organisation on what is expected so they can meet those expectations and strive for success.
- Provide employees with a vision for the organisation
Be inspirational when setting the vision for the organisation and ensuring that message is communicated effectively. Employees like to know what the organisation is doing and where it is going. A clear vision and inspirational message will provide employees with confidence that the organisation has clear goals and objectives, which will provide them with security and stability on the future of the organisation.
- Provide regular feedback and encouragement
Communicate clear strategies and goals to employees. Employees like to know what they are doing right. Are their actions making an impact in the organisation, and how can they improve? Through the setting of clear, realistic and measured goals, both the line manager and employee can discuss performance and provide feedback during performance development meetings. Employees are more motivated when they are recognised and given regular feedback, goal setting can ensure both these can be can be met.
- Negative feedback
Employees aren’t motivated by negative feedback or being dressed down in from of their colleagues and peers. Negative feedback should be delivered in a tactful, direct way behind closed doors to maintain professionalism and to avoid the matter escalating out of control.
- Recognition
Praise your employees, let them know they have done a great job. Employees are highly motivated if they feel they are being appreciated for the time and effort they put into a task or project. It doesn’t cost anything to simply say, “Thank you”.
- Development and training
Providing regular training and development to your employees, not only identifies you as an organisation that is committed to investing in their employees and developing them, it also a great way of motivating and keeping them interested in their job which will maintain their performance.
- Be interested in your employees
Showing an interest in your employees will highlight to them that you are aware of them and their individual circumstances. Employees will feel a strong sense of connection and affiliation with their workplace and a sense of pride. Happy employees are motivated employees who will strive to do the best they can!
For further information on how to motivate your employees please contact Eva and her team at Nurture HR Consulting via phone 43 125 120 or email: eva@nurturehrconsulting.com.au
by Nuture HR
What is outplacement and career transition?
Outplacement is the provision of support for employees whose roles have been declared redundant to assist them in transitioning to a new career or new role.
Support occurs through:
- Assisting an individual in better understanding what motivates or drives them and what career / role they may be better suited to or have a preference
- Understanding networking; including how to network using traditional techniques and digital mediums
- Assistance with developing and or updating resumes and application letters
- Interview techniques and
- Emotional support
Outplacement benefits both the transitioning employee and the organisation they are leaving. This is achieved via an employee receiving the practical and emotional support they require, plus the organisation being sure they have provided all that was within their realm to assist the transitioning employee in securing future work and or meeting their career aspirations.
For further information on outplacement please contact Eva and her team via
email eva@nurturehrconsulting.com.au or phone on 43 125 120.
