For managers in large organizations, the challenge of communicating change is undeniably complex. However, with the right strategy, it's possible to not just communicate but also inspire and motivate. Whether you choose the cascading approach, town hall meetings, or deploy change ambassadors, remember: clarity, consistency, and genuine engagement are your best allies in the journey of change.
Creative Brainstorming with Hybrid Teams: A Guide for People Managers
In today's work landscape, hybrid teams are the new norm. This evolution brings challenges in brainstorming techniques, especially when aiming for maximum creativity. As people managers navigate this terrain, integrating diverse idea generation techniques becomes crucial. Here's how to boost creative brainstorming in hybrid settings:
The Art of Feedback: Why It's Crucial for People Managers and How to Master It
Why "Yes, And" Skills are Essential for Effective Team Collaboration
Among team collaboration best practices, one technique stands out: the "Yes, And" method. Originating from improv comedy, it has seamlessly transitioned into team collaboration workshops, proving its weight in gold. Here’s why it's an indispensable strategy for those wondering how to collaborate effectively, especially in remote settings.
Setting Up Your Work From Home Environment for Effective Virtual Presentations
The Benefits of Leadership Coaching
The Moment is Now: Elevate Your Team Before Year's End
Time flies. Here we are, with only 15 weeks left to wrap up the year. As the adage goes, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." While you can't turn back the hands of time, you can make sure the remaining weeks are fruitful, impactful, and set the stage for an even more dynamic year ahead.
Active Listening: The Key to Genuine Communication
In today's fast-paced world, genuine communication can often get lost amidst the noise. It’s easy to misunderstand someone, be misunderstood, or miss key details. At the heart of genuine workplace communication lies the essential skill of active listening. But what exactly is active listening?
Simply put, active listening involves fully concentrating, understanding, and responding to what someone is saying. It's not just about hearing words; it's about comprehending and internalizing them. Alongside verbal cues, nonverbal communication such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions play a crucial role. By honing your ability to pick up on these, you elevate your overall listening skills.
One of the biggest benefits of active listening is that it fosters a deep connection between the speaker and listener. It allows for genuine understanding, validating the speaker's feelings and perspective. It’s not about formulating a response while the other person talks but about truly being in the moment with them. This level of attentiveness is what separates active listening skills from just plain hearing what someone is saying.
Moreover, empathetic listening, a subset of active listening, delves even deeper. It’s about immersing oneself in the speaker's emotional state, essentially feeling with them. This kind of profound connection can not only resolve conflicts but also strengthen relationships.
You might now be wondering, how do you get better at this? Like any skill, it demands practice and dedication. Thankfully, there are various active listening exercises and techniques to help.
Active Listening Techniques to Enhance Communication:
Reflect: Paraphrase what the speaker said to ensure you've understood them correctly. It also reinforces to the speaker that they're being heard.
Ask open-ended questions: Instead of questions that can be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, open-ended questions allow the speaker to elaborate further.
Give feedback: Offer a thoughtful response or insight, but always ensure it doesn’t overshadow the speaker's message.
Avoid interrupting: Let the speaker finish their thought before responding.
Nonverbal cues: Maintain eye contact, nod occasionally, and keep your body posture open. It signals that you're engaged and receptive.
Among the many benefits of active listening, some standout advantages include:
Enhanced relationships due to increased trust and respect.
Better problem-solving and conflict resolution.
Improved memory and retention of information.
Reduced chances of misunderstandings.
However, like all skills, this requires practice. Consider setting aside time in your regular one on one conversations with direct reports, teammates or leaders where you consciously apply the techniques mentioned. Regularly engaging in active listening exercises, whether solo or with a partner, can also offer immense value.
Active listening isn’t just a skill; it's an art form. It requires patience, understanding, and a genuine desire to connect with another person. In the age of virtual work and endless distractions, mastering this skill is more crucial than ever. It's not just about improving communication; it's about building lasting, meaningful connections. Dive deep into the world of active listening, and discover the difference it can make in both your personal and professional life.
Feedback Habits (March 2023)
an expressive oil painting of two snow leopards hunting in the mountains / Dall-e
"Work from Home Wednesday" LinkedIn live series continues in March with a workshop to help you fix up your feedback habits.
Many people struggle to build feedback into their regular interactions with colleagues and reports. It can feel daunting (even impossible!) to deliver a critical piece of constructive feedback, even when it’s affecting your daily work.
In this 15-minute mini-workshop, we’ll work on ways to reframe your feedback mindset to feel like you’re “sitting on the same side of the table” when delivering challenging feedback. You’ll also learn a framework for providing real-time, specific, and constructive feedback in a way that is easy for a recipient to digest. We’ll also explore the differences between delivering feedback “in-person” vs. doing it virtually and discuss techniques for increasing your empathy and connection to the person on the receiving end.
When? Wednesday, 3/1 @ 12PM PT
Where? LinkedIn
What? Feedback Skills
Click the link below to register for the event and I’ll see you on LinkedIn!
February 2023 Work from Home Wednesday: Coaching
"Work from Home Wednesday" LinkedIn live series continues in February with a workshop on coaching skills. Come learn and practice techniques for helping guide your peers and reports solve their own challenges with their own tools.
When? Wednesday, 2/8 @ 12PM PT
Where? LinkedIn
What? This Month's Topic: Coaching Skills
Click the link below to register for the event and I’ll see you on LinkedIn next Wednesday!
Work from Home Wednesday Returns (January 2023)
We're relaunching our popular "Work from Home Wednesday" series in 2023 with a workshop on active listening skills. Come watch and participate as we practice skills and techniques for engaging and listening better while working from home.
This Month's Topic: Active Listening Skills
It’s fifteen minutes of learning plus fifteen minutes of practice. Thirty minutes total and you’ll have a brand new skill under your belt.
Click the link below to view the recording:
Learning in a Layoff
How do we keep our teams learning when budgets are tight?
"A cat in a cubicle working at a computer, digital art" / DALL-E
The past few months have been a rough time in terms of job security. Many clients, colleagues and friends have either had their positions eliminated or seen their teams shrink. Fears of a recession, lagging stock prices, price increases and inflation worries are causing many businesses to pause and pull back growth and spending plans.
One of the first things to go in a spending crunch are “cost centers” - non-revenue generating parts of the business that can sometimes been seen as “non-essential”. Of particular interest to me (and to readers of this newsletter!) is how learning and development teams fare during these lean times.
An important thing to remember is that developing a learning culture in your organization doesn’t require a big budget. There are many small, inexpensive and effective things you and your teams can do during periods of disruption that will pay dividends in the long run. Here are a few ideas:
Create Peer Coaching Groups
Organize groups of 5-7 employees together to meet on a monthly cadence for one hour. The agenda is simple - ask people to bring their a challenge they’re facing, and encourage the group to break off into pairs and triads (groups of three) to coach each other through their issues. Developing bonds of peers helps build a sense of belonging and also enhances the levels of trust across teams that don’t normally interact. If you need a teaching guide to help people with the skill of coaching, I highly recommend The Coaching Habit.
Create Learning “Office Hours”
Sometimes people have a quick question, or might not know about existing resources to help with their people management or communication challenges. Set aside an hour per week for people to pop into a Zoom call to ask questions and get mini-trainings on whatever they’re interested in. If you’re struggling with attendance, you can focus these these by team and see if you can get invited to different team meetings to give a quick five minute plug to let people know this resource exists.
Take your Facilitation skills “on the road”
It’s amazing to see the impact that a skilled facilitator with a fresh set of eyes can have on a project or team goal. Offer yourself as a “guest facilitator” to help different teams resolve long standing challenges or simply break old habits for team meetings, check-ins or standups. Doing so will help you get a better understanding of what other teams are working on, and put you in a great position to go back to those teams later with offers for skill building sessions they might want in the future.
What kinds of “zero budget” ideas are you bringing to the table this winter? Reply back and let me know!
(not so) Quick Reads:
If you’re looking to add some structure to your people management approach, I highly recommend the book “The Effective Manager” by Mark Horstman. His step by step guide to people management is research-based, simple to follow and exceptionally clear in its approach. If you’re a people manager (or an aspiring one) this guide is a fantastic way to enter 2023 in a more organized, structured and…effective way. If you read it, let me know - I’d love to to chat with you about the tools and recommendations.
Virtual Public Speaking
When presenting on video calls, do you ever think…
I don’t know where to look. Do I look at the camera? At my slides? I've been doing this for months and it still feels awkward to me.
I have no idea if anyone is paying attention. I feel like my ideas are strong but I don't know how to engage the virtual audience in discussions. Whenever I ask a question all I hear is crickets.
I feel nervous even though I know what I'm talking about. I used to present in meetings all the time in person, but now when I'm working from home I don't have the same level of confidence sharing in hybrid meetings.
We have officially launched our “Virtual Public Speaking Skills” Online Class!
This self-directed, online video class is perfect for experienced presenters looking to "level-up" their virtual communication techniques. By the end of the course you'll be confidently preparing for virtual meetings, "dominating the mechanics" of virtual presentation software, engaging with your audience in quality two-way dialogue and wow-ing each and every virtual audience you find yourself in front of!
Want a Workshop or Coaching for Your Team?
Oak and Reeds offers training on hybrid communication, managing remote teams, interviewer skills, change leadership and more.
All our trainings can be conducted virtually using Zoom or in person.
Interested in scheduling a training for a team? Click the link below to set up some time to chat with Dave Collins about your training and coaching needs: