Was manche Kunden noch nicht von KICK OFF wissen: wir sind nicht nur ein international tätiges Unternehmen, sondern wir haben auch „Außenstellen“ in der Schweiz und in Australien.

Unsere liebe australische Kollegin Ilona Vass beschäftigt sich, genau wie wir, derzeit intensiv mit dem Thema Führung in der Krise. Im Folgenden einige interessante Inputs dazu.

 

Leading a team or department, not to mention an entire organisation, is super challenging right now.

Many managers and team leaders question their ability to communicate effectively to keep the ball rolling, to keep the individual employee motivated and to hold on to their own sanity.

More so than ever, it is important to be resilient in your communication. Communication can easily get out of hand when you are stressed and overworked. When things start to weigh heavily on yourself and you lose confidence in your communication ability, the following situations might happen …

  • You want to help in a conflict, but seem to make things worse
  • You desperately try to find a way to (virtually) motivate your staff
  • You want to be on top of things and are seen as “overcontrolling boss”
  • You sense your people are losing trust in you
  • You feel disconnected from your staff in the virtual environment

It’s time to build resilience around your communication and this starts with understanding your own preferences. How do I convey messages, talk to the staff? Do I stick to what I think is best practice, even more so with the “stubborn” ones? Do I apply certain phrases which were recommended to use in difficult conversations and they still did not go down well on the other side? Or, do I give up and not address the issue of low performance any longer?

Are the staff members you seem to have consistent miscommunication with becoming your DRAGONS? I had clients telling me that they tried to apply even more structure and explaining things slowly and clearly for them.  Other clients said they tried to highlight the importance of putting in the extra effort to their staff member.  Or they were very concerned about their staff and checked in with “are you OK?” on a regular basis. And it all did not work, they did not seem to get through and connect with that person. I call this “doubling the wrong effort”.

Understanding your own communication style and learning about the process of communication gets you started to consciously activate other communication styles. When you start to adapt and adjust communication to the individual, they can listen to you. 

  • They perform. 
  • They are motivated 
  • They trust you. 
  • They feel heard. 
  • They feel valued

By applying this communication process, you build resilience. 

  • You know what to do. 
  • You know what to say. 
  • You are not discouraged by negativity, by conflict or by pressure created by others. 
  • You know you can adapt and change and won’t be so easily swayed. 
  • You learn how to dance with the dragons!

Business is not easy. Having been hijacked by the pandemic, teams have been overworked and dispersed. Our lives have been changed quite dramatically and as it seems forever. The ways we hold conversations with each other also have changed and now is a good time to pay extra attention.

 

Dragon Story #1

Dragons are powerful and symbolic creatures. Dragons are represented in Western and Eastern Mythology with different connotations. In western cultures, dragons are portrayed as monsters which need to be tamed or overcome the person who slays a dragon is usually a hero or saint, often rescuing and freeing people who are trapped or haunted by the dragon. In easter cultures, dragons are associated with good fortune and are thought to have power over rain. They were also symbols historically used exclusively by the Chinese emperor and they are ranked highest in the animal hierarchy. For me dragons symbolise people with whom we have difficulties with or who seem to be high above us.

We have two choices:

1. We either retreat, fear them, continuously feel terrorised by them, fight therm order die (emotionally) (western dragon). OR, we put them on a pedestal, feel we are not entitled to get near them and are infatuated by them. They seem to be high above us and out of reach (eastern dragon). OR, we kill it and a new dragon emerges.

2. We learn how to dance with the dragons. With empowering our knowledge in communication (in particular around the process of communication and the compassionate mindset) we become free. The western dragon is not hurting us any longer, and we don't take its attitude personally. The eastern dragon becomes an equal and inspires us to be successful.

So why don't YOU take the leap and learn how to dance with your dragon? Using new-to-market, practical and evidence-based solutions, I help leaders to master real communication and handle challenging conversations with confidence and compassion.

 

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