With the ebb and flow of the past year’s workplace landscape, many employers are finding they need to adapt their managing style. Now more than ever it is important to see how diverse your team is and how they specifically thrive. There is no formula to plug in variables and constants to receive a perfect managing balance but these tips can help!
The need to express empathy is high on the list. With the after-effects of the coronavirus, home and work life have been jumbled together requiring an employee to play parent, teacher, homemaker, and worker multiple times throughout the day; sometimes all at the same time.
Next, you want to ensure you are practicing active listening. This can be defined as listening in order to see why a person’s situation exists and helping them realize what steps can be taken to get them to their goal.
One step I am sure every employer has found useful is a weekly one on one and team meeting check in. Gone are the days where you could walk around the office for face time with employees, employers are forced to be intentional about meeting their employee weekly to ensure that not only are office tasks are being communicated effectively but to allow for some semblance of human interaction and unity.
When it comes to setting goals, this tip is two-fold: be flexible about how it is met and factor in team members’ individual circumstances when setting goals. Pairing the active listening and empathy previously mentioned, will help open a conversation with an employee that can set attainable goals because their situation is being considered. It would be unreasonable to expect an employee who is also a parent trying to ensure their child’s education while at home, to be in meetings all day without interruptions.
Lastly, it is important that we all acknowledge the realistic aspect of what you and your employees are going through. Starting a meeting or check-in with a genuine interest and acknowledgment that times are hard helps an employee feel like there is a united front they are a part of. Giving them the freedom and comfort to vent is more important now than ever.
Even though it has been over a year, it can still be hard to strike a balance as a manger. Taking time to be intentional in small ways can mean the world to your employees. A staff member that feels valued will exponentially increase the return on your investment of time and energies and help a workplace succeed and meet its goals.
Keys to Striking an Effective Balance as a Manager
