Leaders - your empathy will be critical

We all experience things differently, so one event can have multiple interpretations. This is what is happening now. Covid-19 is triggering different reactions in you and the people you know.

For example, some people are anxious, some are frustrated, some are relaxed and others are behaving as if nothing has changed.

As a leader, it's critical that you try to understand all of these perspectives, particularly those that differ from yours. It is your empathy that will help you keep your team together through a challenging time.
The better you understand how your team are thinking and feeling, the easier it is for you to take the actions that support them.

I recommend you ask everyone individually, as well as in team meetings, what's one thing that is going well and what is one thing that's difficult about the Covid-19 situation.

And listen to them.

I was observing a conversation last week where one individual was saying that they couldn't focus. They had 2 children and a dog in the house with them while they tried to work - it was noisy and distracting. Another person in the same team said they felt lonely. They live alone and were finding their house too quiet.

Hearing those two polar opposite perspectives shot my empathy through the roof. Because it's hard to think of a perspective that isn't your own. And impossible to come up with ALL the possible different perspectives.

By asking the open question you're learning how people are feeling and why. This information means you can make suggestions that support them vs. assuming that everyone is ok because they've worked from home before.

Some questions that will help build empathy:
- How are you feeling today? How is that different from how you felt last week?
- What is one thing about your new environment (e.g. for those working at home) that is setting you up for success?
- What is one thing, that's in your control, that you want to change about how you are working?
- How are you amending your routine to manage both work and your wellbeing?
- How are your family?

Raising your empathy will directly support your teams success over coming months. Interested to hear how you're managing engagement - hit comment and let me know.

The key is to keep enquiring.

Someone who is okay today may not be okay tomorrow.

P.S.  Make sure you're investing as much time looking after yourself as you are others. What do you need in order to support your own wellbeing?