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3 Tips to Communicate in Times of Fear and Uncertainty

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Fear and uncertainty can bring a wave of emotions and stress within an organization. In times like this, leaders are often in a position where they need to provide an action plan, counter sweeping statements or acknowledge feelings in way that will not only communicate the next steps but also calm their listeners.

Here are some effective examples to structure your message to deliver it in a clear, focused and empathetic way.

1.Use points in time to communicate an Action Plan: 

Communicate the next steps using logical points in time. This gives the listeners clear focus and allows them to see practical actions and progression. Example: “As of April we will be putting this project on hold, by mid May we will re-evaluate the bottlenecks and resources needed to complete it and in June we will notify all departments about the new timelines and action items.”

2. Focus on a solution to Counter Sweeping Statements:

Counter generalized statements by focusing on a single solution that makes your point. This will help your listener look at things through a different perspective. Example: “Overall, yes, we have seen a decline in sales, however, we have come up with a few solutions. Specifically, we are going to boost our online sales and training.”

3. Recognize and Acknowledge Feelings:

Acknowledge a person’s feelings of fear and uncertainty by recognizing their question. This shows empathy and connects you better with your listener.  Example: “We welcome that question”; “We appreciate you asking”; “We were expecting that response.”

Although we can’t control how a person feels during times of fear or uncertainty, we can help calm their nerves and answer any questions with confidence. When we use structured communications to deliver an action plan, counter sweeping statements and acknowledge feelings, we will calm our listeners and deliver our message in a clear, focused and empathetic way.

Are you ready to power up your communication skills? Join our Think On Your Feet public workshop on the 19th and 20th of May, 2021. Find out more. 

Building capacity for our new virtual reality.

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Written by Kirsty Thompson

 

Never before in our recent history has the world of work changed so fundamentally, and so rapidly.  Doubtlessly, as the events and tragedies unfold around the world, we will be called to think differently.  About our humanity, about our planet and about our world of work.

Over the past several years, around the world and across all industries, training programs have seen a gradual shift away from face-to-face and toward digital training methods. However, the recent severe restrictions on travel and movement borne of the CovID-19 crisis have accelerated this shift rendering ‘Virtual’ a critical reality in doing any sort of business. 

In an effort to support clients and associates with a successful transition to virtual training and remote working BRG has committed to running a number of FREE virtual webinars and workshops. These are designed to assist with building the internal business capacity to conduct and receive virtual training and operate in a virtual environment. We invite you to register below and share the details with others you feel may benefit. These sessions are also available in-house.

FROM ZERO TO HERO ON ZOOM…. or your own platform!

Prepare your team to shoot the lights out with our Zero to Hero Video Conferencing session.  In just 45-minutes you will learn the key essentials, tools and success factors that will literally save days of your time.  You will discover how to turn an average (or awful) video meeting into a slick, interactive and memorable session. Learn the tools that will not only allow you and your teams to present on any VC platform with impact and credibility but also be able to inspire and excite.

USING SIX THINKING HATS™ IN VIRTUAL MEETINGS

This proven and powerful approach to thinking has been used around the world to address some of the world’s biggest challenges, from jury service in the USA to rescue teams in the Thailand Tsunami.  Six Hats is a method that will not only improve your meeting management but will show you how to harness the power of parallel thinking to deliver superior business results.

MANAGING VIRTUAL TEAMS – 7 STEPS TO GOING VIRTUAL

Remote working, or working from home, used to be a thing of the future but it’s now suddenly here and reality for most. Many managers, however, have not had the opportunity to develop the skill set required to manage remote teams and are struggling with the transition. Fortunately, there are some quick, relatively easy steps that managers can take to support and motivate remote team members whilst improving engagement, productivity, and motivation.  In this session you will discover seven steps to running a successful virtual team, and what it takes to ensure teams are engaged, present and committed.

Click HERE for more information or to book your spot

For more information or help with booking multiple delegates contact Boiko Lehana Boiko@brg.co.za

 

How HR Creates (and Destroys) Credibility with Business Leaders

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Written by Mark Nyman

 
 
 

We work with hundreds of HR organizations across the globe. Some HR groups are well thought of and are viewed by business leaders as critical to the success of the organization. Some are viewed as a necessary evil who show up when something is wrong and whose primary role is policing the organization. Many HR groups are somewhere in between the two extremes, but most HR organizations have room to improve in being credible and partnering effectively.

In our work we have observed patterns that increase credibility and also patterns that erode credibility. Below are some simple observations about the approach HR takes that creates or detracts from credibility.

Credibility Creators

Optimize the Business: Many HR leaders lose sight of the fact that HR is a support organization. The goal is not to optimize HR. HR leaders who consistently make decisions using a business lens rather than an HR lens know that sometimes HR work will become more difficult, but that is OK. It does not mean that efficiencies are ignored, but the priority is clear with HR groups that are highly credible. A global pharmaceutical company that we worked with recognized this issue in how they designed talent acquisition. One part of the organization had very different needs and timelines than the rest of the organization. The CHRO responded to the need by embedding talent acquisition capability from an otherwise centralized TA group into that part of the organization. Effective HR leaders have this kind of logic embedded in their DNA.

Outside-In Approach: For years we have talked about the need for HR to be connected to the business. That is valuable but not sufficient. HR groups that are credible have a keen understanding of customers, investors, competitors, and emerging external trends. They use HR levers to help business leaders respond to external trends. For example, a telecom company facing a shift from grounded phone lines to web-delivered media helped launch a retraining program that would help develop the workforce of the future. We call this HR from the outside in. It is easy to talk about but challenging to pull off.

Credibility Detractors

Neglecting the Basics: There is HR work that is very strategic and connected to helping organizations gain competitive advantage. There is also essential work HR must do that is behind the scenes, needed to keep the business running, and often transactional in nature. If the essential work is not done flawlessly, credibility suffers and leaders are not likely to ask HR for help on strategic matters. If you can’t pay people correctly and on time, you are unlikely to have a voice in how to respond to business threats and opportunities. Most of the HR organizations we work in are striving for more strategic impact and don’t get there because basics like payroll and employee relations work is being done inconsistently. The basics have to be fixed first.

Pushing HR’s Agenda: Credibility takes a huge dive when business leaders spend time doing HR work that is not helping them solve their current and emerging business issues. Often HR groups roll out a number of programs that HR views as key while business leaders see no connection to solving their challenges. We call these solutions looking for problems. One organization we worked in had 17 different businesses in various parts of the world. The central HR group determined that every part of the company needed training in effective teamwork. In a few parts of the organization it was very helpful but for much of the organization it was an activity they had to complete but the time spent did not help solve current business challenges.

Driving the Wrong Standards: One of the longest running challenges for HR organizations (and other key functions as well) is knowing what to standardize and what to customize. The answer to this challenge is at the heart of effectively supporting the business. The related decision is what work to centralize and what work to decentralize. Teasing this out is not easy but always worth it. If you get it wrong from the perspective of business leaders, your credibility will take a significant hit. An energy company with operations all over the world implemented a one-size-fits-all performance management system. Many parts of the business ended up creating their own system so that the system was really helping them manage performance. Thousands of hours of work were dismissed and HR credibility fell because HR failed to recognize that a standard solution would not fit a business reality that required a much more customized answer.

Credibility matters. Businesses need effective HR organizations in order to navigate the challenges of today’s business environment.  Most businesses we work in would like to have HR partners helping them anticipate and meet the challenges facing them. To do so, HR must have the credibility to play the role organizations desperately need them to play.

That credibility comes from knowing how HR contributes to business function, how it can function better, and having solutions that help both happen.

Click here to learn more or contact us to find out how The RBL Group can help you build the credibility of your HR organization.

Original article: rbl.net

Have you flipped the switch to global thinking yet?

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 By Kirsty Thompson

 

 

 

 

Thank you to everyone that voted in our poll on whether international leadership training programs are relevant in South Africa.

An overwhelming number of you voted YES, agreeing that international leadership training programs are relevant in South Africa, but we also had some interesting comments. One hit the nail on the head – ‘we need to start seeing ourselves as international and align to global standards’. Another comment warned against using ‘uniqueness to hide incompetence’.

So why might global programs be relevant?

The most obvious is that leading in a rapidly evolving global environment surely requires that we access a diversity of thought beyond our own borders and frames of reference. Whether it is the concepts and ideas of the ‘grandfathers’ of leadership theory, or the latest thinking and trends such as AI disrupting and transforming learning and development, we simply must expose ourselves more widely.

Relevance too, comes from the fact that many core leadership attributes have been widely shown to transcend geography and are considered universally applicable (GLOBE). Given the increased global nature of organisations, leadership training that can be delivered consistently to leaders across borders, provides a shared language and a reference point that can be powerful in driving the ownership of behaviour change and affecting a cultural shift in the organisation. And as Peter Drucker said: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”!

The trend toward the global economic village is clear, and the 21st century may very well become known as the century of the “global world” (McFarland, Senen, & Childress, 1993). As leaders, now more than ever, it’s time to seek out the best in class thought leadership (from wherever that originates), make it contextually relevant to ourselves and our organisations, and do the hard work necessary to become the responsible, future-ready leaders to take our organisations and ourselves to great heights.

Business Results Group

With more than 15 years of experience in leadership development, BRG stands on the shoulders of giants. We facilitate greatness by partnering with world respected thought leaders to bring them and their content to Africa, and enable our clients to #BeReallyGreat. We continue to be inspired!

Neuroplasticity: Upgrade Your Brain

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by Adam Gale

Focus, creativity and stress-management are all things you can change with a bit of brain science.

WHAT IS NEUROPLASTICITY?

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form new synaptic connections between neurons. It’s what enables us to learn new things.

We’re at our most neuroplastic as babies, but as we get older and become more efficient at doing things we already know how to do, we get less neuroplastic. In recent years, however, scientists have discovered that adult brains are far more malleable than they’d previously thought.

WHY DOES IT MATTER TO ME?

Because it means you’re able to improve things that you didn’t realise you could. Whereas before you may have thought there was no point trying to improve because you were congenitally unimaginative or irredeemably scatterbrained, now you have no excuse.

‘Neuroplasticity is happening anyway, we don’t have to do anything to make it happen,’ explains Dr Jenny Brockis, author of The Future Brain: The 12 Keys to Create Your High Performance Brain. ‘If you are exposed to new stimuli, your brain will rewire itself in response.  But if you choose to, you can literally upgrade how well your brain functions in areas like memory or focus.’

HOW CAN YOU USE NEUROPLASTICITY TO UPGRADE YOUR BRAIN?

We are creatures of habit, whether we like it or not. If we’re in a situation often enough, our brains will form such strong pathways that our responses become automatic. It’s similar to riding a bike or using a keyboard.

Unfortunately, our brains can just as often form unhelpful habits as helpful ones: giving a speech automatically causing unnecessary anxiety, for instance. If we want to harness our inherent neuroplasticity to replace bad habits with good, we simply need to practice applying the good habit in a given situation instead of the bad one, until it becomes our ‘new normal’.

It’s hardly rocket science (or indeed brain surgery…), but it works. To increase your chances, Brockis advises picking one thing to work on at a time. ‘New synaptic connections are incredibly fragile when they first form, so you’ve got to nurture them and make sure they stay intact by going back to them and practising. It’s a bit like when you learn to drive a car for the first time – it’s clunky and horrible at first but with repetition and time it becomes much easier,’ Brockis says.

Don’t expect a one-off fix, however. Vigilance and discipline are required. ‘We don’t break habits, they just get weaker if we can replace them with a new, stronger habit. But when a bit pressure comes along, the stress levels go up and we default to the old ways. The brain’s hardwired to go back to the simplest route it knows best.’

WHAT IF YOU DON’T GET THE CHANCE TO PRACTISE YOUR NEW GOOD HABIT?

Rewiring how your brain responds to something that happens regularly (your nightmare morning commute, let’s say) is a lot easier than when the trigger happens less frequently.

Public speaking, for example, is something that for many people only comes along once or twice a year. It’s not impossible to use neuroplasticity to your advantage in these situations, however. Visualisation has been proven to activate the same parts of the brain as actual practice does while focusing on a positive past memory can help to improve your mindset.

ARE THERE LIMITS TO NEUROPLASTICITY?

The short answer is we don’t know. The research is still in its infancy. However, it would seem unlikely to expect you could transform yourself from, say, a numbers dunce to an arithmetical genius, just through a spot of practice. Some things are just hardwired.

But progress is possible where before we assumed it wasn’t. It’s a particularly relevant message for older workers, who might face the prospect of having to retrain mid or late career. ‘The more we use our brain to continue to learn new things the more plasticity we retain. That old saying of “use it or lose it” was right,’ says Brockis.

Old dogs can learn new tricks then, but only if they keep trying.

 

This article was originally posted on Management Today.

Contact us at info@brg.co.za to book Dr Tara Swart and achieve peak brain performance through neuroscience.

 

Sleep your way to the top

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By Dr Tara Swart

What makes a good leader?

Senior executives, managers, and business leaders are paid to use their brains. So it is surprising how little emphasis many put on this vital organ.

In a fast-paced world that is constantly changing, the brain’s executive functions, such as creative and flexible thinking, task-switching, bias suppression, and emotional regulation, are becoming increasingly important. But our ability to perform well at these outputs will be enhanced only if fed the right inputs. These include nourishing, hydrating, and oxygenating the brain appropriately, simplifying tasks to give the brain mindful time, and resting it.

That final element – rest – is one of the most crucial. We often hear stories about famous leaders such as Margaret Thatcher surviving and even thriving on very little sleep (Thatcher did suffer from dementia in her later life). It is true that an extremely limited number of people (1-2% of the population) have a genetic mutation that reduces the amount of sleep they truly require for optimal functioning to 4-5 hours a night. But for the rest of us, getting seven to nine hours of good, quality sleep every night is vital for staying on top of our game.

Why is sleep important?

Sleep deprivation will negatively impact your cognitive performance. Getting less sleep than the recommended amount can cause an apparent IQ loss of five to eight points the next day, and population norm studies have shown that losing an entire night’s sleep can lead to up to one standard deviation loss on your IQ. In other words, you’re effectively operating with the equivalent of a learning disability.

Shorting your sleep can have longer-term effects as well. Our glymphatic system requires seven to eight hours to clean our brains, a process which flushes out protein plaques and beta-amyloid tangles that can lead to dementing diseases if allowed to accumulate. Not getting enough sleep, or getting poor quality sleep (which includes sleeping after drinking alcohol) inhibits this process and can therefore increase the risk of developing these types of disease.

While high stress levels can make sleeping more difficult, getting a good night’s sleep can also help to reduce the effects of stress.

How can I improve the quality of my sleep?

There are many simple but effective ways you can improve the quality of your sleep. Those who work late on phones, laptops, and tablets are at a higher risk of poor sleep quality. This is because melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate our sleep, is released by the pineal gland into the bloodstream. The blue light that phone and laptop screens emit confuses the gland because darkness is what triggers it to start work. Our ability to fall asleep, and the quality of that sleep, is thus impacted. Brain activity may increase by virtue of the information we are consuming at those late hours as well. Turning off all screens an hour before bed is a good antidote to this.

Other simple ways of improving sleep quality include:

  • Making sure you are sleeping in complete darkness—no stand-by lights in the bedroom and with black-out curtains (or wear an eye mask).
  • Avoid caffeinated drinks after 2:00 pm. The half-life of caffeine is 8-10 hours and its effects can disturb your sleep.
  • Try lavender. Our olfactory nerves directly connect the nose to the limbic part of our brain. Lavender is the strongest naturally occurring neuro-modulator. Try using it to relax and to create an association with sleep when you go to bed.
  • Skip the nightcap. Although alcohol is often used by people to help them fall asleep, it interferes with proper sleep cycles and does not provide a benefit.

If your sleep has been disrupted, there are ways you can cope in the short term:

  • Napping during the day gives your brain a power boost. A 30-minute nap improves your learning and memory. A 60–90 minute nap will help additional connections to form, which aids creativity.
  • As little as 12 minutes of meditation or mindfulness activity can boost your cognitive function significantly enough to build up your mental resilience.

Through my work as a leadership coach and the courses,I teach at MIT (Applied Neuroscience: Unleashing Brain Power for You and Your People and Neuroscience for Leadership) I regularly come across driven, ambitious, capable people who want to excel at what they do. But often they have not considered the mental resilience it will take to achieve and sustain their goals, whether heading up a global company or simply reaching the next level in their career. Resting your brain properly through a good night’s sleep is essential to achieving mental resilience and peak brain performance.

About the Author: Dr Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, leadership coach, award-winning author and a medical doctor. She works with leaders all over the world to help them achieve mental resilience and peak brain performance, improving their ability to manage stress, regulate emotions and retain information.

Contact us at info@brg.co.za to book Dr Tara Swart and achieve peak brain performance through neuroscience.