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Hints and tips for new and experienced managers
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eManagement Tips - June 2021

Our monthly update for Associates and Members of RiverRhee's Managers' Community
Welcome to the June 2021 issue of eManagement Tips.
 

This issue's themes include:
  • Self-care and wellbeing
  • Understanding each others' communication needs
  • What to look for in a good project sponsor
But before I get onto that:
 
Did you catch Episode 4 of "One step towards realising our potential".  I had the great pleasure of interviewing Marijn Vlaming, Head of Biology at Beerse & Leiden, Charles River Laboratories, together with my co-interviewee Michelle Ware Head of Blended Learning, OBRIZUM Group.

On 14th July, from 12:30 - 13:30, we will be going live, so that you can have the opportunity to watch our latest interview and join the Q&A with , founder and Chief Executive at Pellis Care Ltd and board director of PIPMG LTD
Tickets are free and can be booked here
 
Do get in touch if you would like some support for realising your own, or your team's potential through our one-to-one coaching, team coaching or our group coaching-style courses.

Elisabeth Goodman

ACC - International Coaching Federation

(P.S. If you aspire to or already take a coaching approach to your work and are looking for a way to continue your learning and development around this, you might be interested in joining The Coaches' Forum.  We have monthly live events and a LinkedIn group to support it.  Details on our next event are available on the RiverRhee website.)

Self-care and wellbeing



Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England posted this graphic on LinkedIn earlier this month with the question: "How often do you check-in with your colleagues about their wellbeing?"

This and the fact that questions of what to do about stress and feeling overwhelmed keep coming up in my one-to-one coaching and in our group coaching-style courses prompted me to write an article on this topic for One Nucleus's June issue of People Pathways.

What I reflected on was that there’s something about the different patterns of working that we’ve been living through that have caused us to forget or neglect some of our self-care strategies.

I asked, when was the last time that you:

Stopped to have an informal chat with colleagues?

Wove regular breaks into your working day?

Made sure that you had a ready supply of water to hand to keep yourself hydrated?

Truly stopped at lunchtime and grabbed some fresh air and exercise, or did so at the start or end of the day?

Gave yourself a bit of distance from your work, and some thinking time?

Took a good look at your workload to assess whether what you are doing actually fits with your remit and what’s important to you?

Put your work fully to one side at the end of the working day, and at the weekend?

These are just some of the strategies that could help you and the people you work with look after their wellbeing at work.

I've also written previously about "Saying 'no' for a more effective 'yes' in the workplace" - which seems to me another possible way to deal with feeling overwhelmed.

Finally, as a delegate said to me at the end of one of our recent management courses: "it's all about building our awareness isn't it"? 

So, how aware are you of your level of stress and that of the people that you manage? 

What are or could be your strategies for your own self-care, and for checking-in on that of others?

Understanding each others' communication needs

As readers might know by now, I am a strong advocate for Neurodiversity: a recognition that we are all 'wired' differently, and so will think, feel and behave differently too!



I had the privilege to contribute to another item for One Nucleus recently: a blog about Diversity and Inclusion.  Jasmin Bannister's request for my contribution coincided with the release of 20 tips to aid communication at work in a newsletter I subscribe to from Professor Amanda Kirby, CEO of Do-IT Profile Solutions and a Campaigner for Neurodiversity.

We would all probably say "oh yes" to a good number of the 20 tips.  I've picked out a few that might be helpful to managers, and added some of my own words:

Be specific and direct in asking for what you want.

Check for understanding and use emails as a reminder of key points from a conversation.

Time estimation may sometimes be a challenge. Help may be needed for breaking up more complex tasks, and in the form of check-ins. Be prepared to discuss this when delegating.

Your way might not be the only or best way!

If there has been a misunderstanding, work out together why this was the case.  You will both learn from the conversation.

Give people advance warning of meetings and phone calls to help them prepare, and minimise anxiety by explaining what they are for.

Allow time buffers between meetings (and maybe include reminders) so as to help people to more easily switch in and out of absorbing trains of thought.

Use an email subject line that reflects what the content is about (and with a clear indication of any deadline too).

Keep emails short and to the point, with bullet points and a clear indication of what is most important.

Recognise that people use different strategies to help them focus during meetings.  Having cameras off, doodling, fidgeting can all be part of that.

Communicating with each other in a way that combines openness, dignity and respect can be challenging at any time. 

Encouraging discussions about the approach to communication that will help each of us be at our best is a great place to start.

What to look for in a good project sponsor

One of our more popular courses continues to be our introduction to project management. We have one and two-day versions of the course that we've tailored for clients.

As I know from my own experience of leading global business change programmes, a key factor for the success of a project is the role played by the sponsor.  The summer issue of the APM (Association for Project Management) Project magazine (p.47 - 49) carries a great list of tips for this.

Authors Carl Gavin and Stuart Forsyth remind us that the role of the sponsor is to ensure that a project is led and managed effectively, and that it delivers the objectives that it set out to do.

Sponsors need to role model the behaviour that they expect in projects such as open, honest and regular communication, making it safe for team members to speak "truth to power", and a willingness to accept and encourage learning from mistakes.

Sponsors have a responsibility to build strong working relationships with the project leader or manager and team, and to provide the necessary resources and other forms of support as needed.  They have ultimate accountability for the success of the project, and will have a high level business view that may enable them to spot danger signs sooner than others.

Given all of this, sponsors should commit to active, early, visible and accessible involvement or else step aside.

Organisations would do well to document what they expect from sponsors, and to hold sponsors accountable for that. 

We are keen to tailor RiverRhee’s coaching, workshops and courses in a way that will help you, your managers and your teams be at their best.

See the RiverRhee Consulting website or contact Elisabeth at elisabeth@riverrhee.com or on +44 (0)7876 130 817.
Copyright © 2021 RiverRhee Consulting, All rights reserved.


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