Make gender balance a smart strategic goal

If you are working on launching or accelerating a push for more gender balance in your company, you need to focus on the opportunity — not the problem — to engage others. Approach the conversation by first laying out a set of future objectives, targets and milestones. Then describe how gender balance is a key lever to help you reach those goals. It helps to consider a few questions: 1) Are you using language that accuses or language that invites people to build skills and enhance leadership impact? 2) Are you engaging with managers on things they understand are central to both their individual success and the company’s goals? Or are your efforts being perceived as politically correct, tick-the-box exercises? Remember: The final goal isn’t just about balance. It’s having more engaged employees and more connected customers.

(Adapted from Tackle Bias in Your Company Without Making People Defensive, by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox)

Empower your staff

Many senior executives have probably sat through useless regularly scheduled meetings. You know the ones — 20-plus attendees, everyone multitasks and no one gets much value out of them. To liberate people from this vicious cycle, you need to create a culture where everyone is empowered to say no to meetings, ask why their attendance is needed and identify strategies for making meetings more effective — whether it’s requiring an agenda in advance or a plan of action afterward. Leaders should acknowledge the problem and communicate that they’re committed to fixing it. Make clear that this isn’t about micromanaging people’s days — it’s about asking them to be more conscious of the cost of their own and others’ time. Ask managers to keep track of how many meetings they set up each week, how many people they invite, how long these meetings last and how many end up feeling valuable.

(Adapted from How to Finally Kill the Useless, Recurring Meeting, by Ryan Fuller)

Look for emotional cues

Many managers take a rational approach to handling tough conversations at work. This means they often fail to pay enough attention to the emotions involved. But when emotions are ignored, they can derail everything. Let’s say an employee is underperforming and needs to be coached. Before explaining where he’s falling short and setting goals for improvement, pause to think about how both you and he feel. Acknowledge how disappointed you are, and consider how scared and threatened he might be. Doing this will help you notice, once you sit down, that his arms are crossed or that he looks worried. This suggests he’s already on the defensive, so you should try to establish a connection or more upbeat tone before addressing the issue. Launching right into his performance likely won’t lead to a productive coaching conversation. Recognising small emotional cues like these will help you respond proactively and adaptively.

(Adapted from Emotional Intelligence in Tough Conversations, by Susan David)

Win trust

Leaders have been trained to hide vulnerabilities, to minimise risk and to be consistent, levelheaded and in complete control at all times. But it’s impossible to trust someone who is always rational, serious and in control. If you want to win trust from your employees, colleagues and bosses, you need to have the courage to present yourself as a more complex being. This means becoming comfortable with expressing doubt. Smart leaders know there is more than one right answer, and so even after they commit to a decision, they’re not afraid to revisit and change course if necessary. You should adopt the ‘strong opinions, weakly held’ mantra, especially when trying to navigate complex and uncertain situations. Don’t focus so much on always being the visionary; instead, try to be more human. Express doubt, ask for contrarian options and be willing to change your mind.

(Adapted from Leaders Win Trust When They Show a Bit of Humanity, by Tim Leberecht)

Challenge yourself

There’s no question that we’re at greater risk of burnout today than we were 10 years ago. One way to recharge is to schedule restorative experiences that you look forward to. Making plans to play tennis with a friend or cook a meal with your spouse compels you to focus on an approach goal (doing something pleasurable) instead of an avoidance goal (not checking email). Approach goals are often easier and more enjoyable to achieve. Studies have indicated that doing an activity you find interesting is better for you than simply relaxing. Sure, it’s appealing to laze on your couch with a tub of popcorn and Netflix, but try to engage in something more challenging — like a crossword or game of chess. What you do with your downtime matters.

(Adapted from How to Overcome Burnout and Stay Motivated, by Rebecca Knight)

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business ,July 13th, 2015

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