Archives for April 2020

Given all that is going on these days and the intense level of uncertainty in our world, many people are understandably feeling scared, angry, sad, and more.  One of the best things we can do to address this and support everyone around us, including ourselves, is to lead with compassion.

As I talk about in my new book, We’re All in This Together, I’ve heard compassion described as “empathy in action.” While empathy is about understanding and feeling the emotions of others, compassion is about wanting to contribute to their happiness and well-being. Compassion, therefore, is more proactive, which means we can make a habit of it. Teams that intentionally and habitually show compassion to one another are more connected and successful. In operating with compassion, we’re demonstrating our care for each other in a specific, overt, and powerful way.

In an interview for Psychology Today in April 2018, Chris Kukk, professor of political and social science at Western Connecticut State University and author of The Compassionate Achiever, said, “Success is often associated with the individualistic idea of only looking out for number one. However, even Darwin suggested that the most efficient and effective species have the highest number of sympathetic members.”

According to Kukk’s research, compassion helps build resilience, improve physical health, and is a consistent characteristic of success—individually and collectively. Teams that create a culture of compassion are more likely to be engaged, innovative, and collaborative with one another, and to perform at their best.

I had a chance to interview Scott Shute on my podcast. Scott was the VP of global customer operations at LinkedIn for six years—leading an organization of 1,000 people. His interest in leadership, culture, and performance led him to take on a new role in 2018 as the head of mindfulness and compassion programs. Scott and his team have implemented programs to support the people, leaders, and groups at LinkedIn to expand their awareness and skills. “One of the biggest skills needed to achieve our vision at LinkedIn is compassion,” he said. “We believe that compassion is not just a better way to live, it’s a better way to build a team and grow a business that is successful, sustainable, and has a positive impact in the world.”

Kindness, like compassion, is something we can cultivate, nurture, and practice. Different from being “nice,” which we previously discussed, being kind is about consciously and authentically choosing to be friendly, supportive, generous, and considerate toward our teammates (and everyone else we work and interact with). According to a study conducted by the American Psychological Association, people who were treated kindly at work repaid it by being 278 percent more generous to co-workers compared to a control group.

The great thing about both kindness and compassion is that they’re contagious. The more willing we are to be compassionate and kind to our fellow team members, the more likely they are to be that way with us and everyone else on the team. And, as we consistently and deliberately practice compassion and kindness with the people on our team, we demonstrate our care for them and contribute to a culture that can allow us all to achieve our best results.

Here are a few things you can do to cultivate compassion and kindness right now:

1. Check in with people – Ask people how they are doing, and give them the space to really answer.  Being interested in others and their well-being is one of the best ways we can let them know we care and it is the embodiment of compassion and kindness.

2. Listen without giving advice – What most people want more than anything else, especially right now, is to be seen and heard.  When we listen to people with empathy and hold back from giving them advice, unless then specifically ask for it, we let them know we care about and value them.

3. Share how you’re feeling with vulnerability – The nature human response to vulnerability is empathy.  The more willing we are to share our authentic feelings with others, the safer they’ll feel to do the same with us.  And, when we operate with vulnerability it liberates us, connects us authentically with those around us, and encourages compassion all the way around.

 

* This is an adapted excerpt from We’re All in This Together, by Mike Robbins, published by Hay House Business, April 2020

When I wrote my latest book, We’re All in This Together: Creating a Team Culture of High Performance, Trust, and Belonging, I had no idea it would come out in the midst of a global pandemic which has had a significant impact on every aspect of work and life in our world.  However, now more than ever, for our teams to navigate these challenging times successfully, we must come together, connect authentically, and lean on each other, which is what my new book and my work are all about.

For the past 20 years, I’ve been studying, researching, speaking, and writing about the qualities of great teams. I’ve been honored to partner with organizations like Google, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Schwab, eBay, Genentech, Gap, the NBA, the Oakland A’s, and so many others—helping them enhance the culture and performance of their teams.

In addition to these large, well-known brands, I’ve also worked with small businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, nonprofits, local school districts, and more. And, while each team and organization have their own unique challenges, goals, and dynamics, there are some universal qualities that allow teams to effectively collaborate, trust each other, and perform at the highest level.

Here are the four key traits of high performing teams that I’ve learned through all of my research and experience:

1. Create Psychological Safety. Psychological safety is a shared belief that the team is safe for risk-taking. People on teams with psychological safety have a sense of confidence that their team will not embarrass, reject, or punish them for speaking up or taking risks. The team climate is characterized by an atmosphere of interpersonal trust and mutual respect in which people are comfortable being themselves without fear of negative consequences to their self-image, status, or career. Essentially, psychological safety is trust at a group level.

Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson has researched and written extensively about psychological safety over the past 20 years. “It’s not enough for organizations to simply hire talent,” she says. “If leaders want to unleash individual and collective talent, they must foster a psychologically safe climate where employees feel free to contribute ideas, share information, and report mistakes.”

A 2017 Gallup study found that only three in ten employees strongly agree with the statement that their opinions count at work. Gallup calculated that by “moving the ratio to six in ten employees, organizations could realize a 27 percent reduction in turnover, a 40 percent reduction in safety incidents, and a 12 percent increase in productivity.”

2. Focus on Inclusion and Belonging. An essential element of creating a safe environment that allows people to trust each other, collaborate with one another, and perform at their highest level as a team is inclusion and belonging. There are countless studies linking inclusion to higher profits, increased engagement scores, and enhanced business results.

For example, according to a study of 140 U.S. companies by Accenture alongside the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN, those that offered the most inclusive working environment for employees with disabilities achieved an average 28 percent higher revenue, 30 percent greater economic pro t margins, and twice the net income of their industry peers between 2015 and 2018.

Inclusion means “having respect for and appreciation of differences in ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, education, and religion.” It also means “actively involving everyone’s ideas, knowledge, perspectives, approaches, and styles to maximize business success.” And, as important as it is for us to focus on both diversity and inclusion, the ultimate goal is to create an environment on the team and in the company where everyone feels as though they belong, regardless of who they are, the role they have, and their background.

3. Embrace Sweaty-Palmed Conversations. Great teams embrace conflict and feedback as natural and important aspects of growth, collaboration, and success. This means we have to be willing to have those awkward, uncomfortable, sweaty-palmed conversations with each other. The problem is that because conflict and feedback can be hard, most teams aren’t very good at it. However, when team members create an environment that is conducive to having healthy and productive conflict, they have an ability to connect more deeply, navigate challenges effectively, give each other feedback in a way that makes everyone better, and innovate in ways that allow them to thrive. Research conducted by CPP Inc., publisher of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, has shown that in the U.S., workplace conflict costs companies more than $350 billion a year. And that figure reflects just the time people spend dealing with conflict; it doesn’t include the emotional, psychological, and physical toll it takes on people personally.

Nate Regier, author of Conflict without Casualties, whom I had a chance to interview on my podcast, says, “The purpose of conflict is to create, not destroy.”

4. Care About and Challenge Each Other. What I’ve seen, experienced, and learned about high-performing teams over the years is that they understand and have a balance of two important things at the same time: Caring About Each Other and Challenging Each Other. Both are essential and both have to be focused on with the same level of intensity for the team and all of its members to perform at the highest level.

For a team to thrive there must be a deep level of trust that everyone has each other’s backs, has good intentions, and is moving in the same direction together.

In a piece published in the Harvard Business Review in 2017, neuroeconomist Paul Zak writes, “Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies report 74 percent less stress, 50 percent higher productivity, and 76 percent more engagement.” In other words, creating a strong culture of trust, as well as an environment where people know they’re cared about and supported by their teammates, leads to significantly greater engagement and performance.

When our team understands, practices, and embodies these four key traits, we can create a culture of high performance, trust, and belonging.  And, doing this allows us to thrive, even and especially when we’re facing uncertainty and challenge like we are today.

For more information about the book click here.  Feel free to leave any questions or comments below in the comments section.

* This is an adapted excerpt from We’re All in This Together, by Mike Robbins, published by Hay House Business, April 2020

This piece was originally published on Business Insider on March 30, 2020

The coronavirus has had a significant impact on the world, the economy, and just about every aspect of our day-to-day lives.  For those of us who are fortunate enough to have a job that allows us to work from home, we’re now working in a completely virtual environment, which poses a whole new set of challenges for people, leaders, and teams.

How can we communicate, connect, and collaborate effectively?  How will we brainstorm and solve problems?  What’s the best way for us to give and receive feedback?  How can we make sure people feel included and have a sense of belonging when we’re isolated from one another (and from just about everyone else in our lives)?

These and other important questions have become front and center for many of us and most of the leaders and teams I work with.  And while working from home and connecting virtually has been a normal part of our working lives for many years now (and often seen as a perk), being forced to work remotely because of a global pandemic and not knowing how long it will last isn’t something any of us planned for or even thought was possible.

And, here we are.  How can your team still thrive in the midst of this challenging experience?  Through my work and research on team performance over the past twenty years, I’ve learned that there are two things that separate good teams from great ones: Authenticity and Appreciation.

In the environment in which we find ourselves at the moment with everyone working from home, it’s essential for teams to double down on authenticity and appreciation, so that the team can stay connected, communicate openly with one another, support each other, and still do great work in the midst of everything that is going on.

Here are a few specific things you and your team can do right now in this regard:

1.  Lower the waterline on your iceberg – The metaphor I use when talking about authenticity is the iceberg.  How we can show up more authentically and enhance the culture of authenticity on our team is by lowering the waterline on our iceberg – sharing honestly about how we’re really feeling and what’s truly going on for us.  There’s a powerful exercise that I’ve facilitated for many years with teams which I explain in my TED talk on authenticity called, “If you really knew me…”.  Each member of the team takes a minute or two to answer this question and shares how they’re feeling in the moment, vulnerably, with the team.  This is a great exercise to do regularly, especially right now.

2.  Reach out for support – Most of us are more than happy to help others, but we have a harder time asking for help.  One of the best ways to be authentic in a practical way and to create more connection with our team, particularly when we’re separated from one another, is to reach out for support.  And, when we do this, not only might we get the help and connection we’re looking for, we give other people the opportunity to do something that most people love to do – contribute to others.  As the saying goes, “The answer is always ‘no’ if you don’t ask.”

3.  Check in with each other – Now more than ever it’s important to check in with the people on your team.  People are understandably feeling stressed and scared.  Everyone is dealing with a lot right now – children at home, people in their lives they may be worried about, uncertainty about the future, isolation, loneliness, and more.  Checking in with one another about more than just work, projects, and deadlines, but about life and how people are actually doing and feeling, can go a long way in both staying connected to each other, and also supporting everyone’s well-being.

4.  Ask for feedback – Feedback is hard to both give and receive, although it’s necessary for our growth and development, individually and collectively.  And, given the circumstances we find ourselves in right now, it’s even more challenging to make sure we’re getting and giving essential feedback.  One specific way to make this easier all the way around is to pro-actively ask for it.  When we do this, we not only make sure we’re getting important feedback ourselves, but we make it more conducive for others to give it.  We all have to make lots of adjustments right now, so we’re going to need even more feedback than usual.  A great way to do this, which I talked about on a podcast episode early this year, is to ask, “What can I start, stop, and continue doing right now to ensure that I’m as effective as possible.”  This “start, stop, continue” technique is simple, specific, and direct.

5.  Appreciate each other – There’s a really important distinction I’ve learned over the years working with people, leaders, and teams.  It’s the difference between recognition and appreciation.  Recognition is about what we do.  Appreciation is about who we are.  Both of these things are important and motivating.  And, appreciation runs deeper and cuts to the core of who we are and our relationships with one another.  Teams that appreciate each other authentically have a huge advantage, especially in difficult times of change, adversity, and uncertainty, like right now.  Take time when you connect one-on-one with each other on video or the phone, and especially when you meet virtually as a team, for everyone to get some genuine appreciation from others.  People are starving for appreciation, especially right now, and if we can make sure that everyone on the teams knows that we value them, care about them, and that we’re all in this together, it can make a huge difference in their lives personally and in the success of the team.

Feel free to leave a question, thought, or comment below.