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eManagement Tips - March 2021

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

I have been having some lovely conversations with other coaches as part of developing my coaching practice, and would like to quote these uplifting words from Francine Campone: "Spring has arrived and new possibilities are starting to bloom."  Keep well.

My monthly eManagement Tips are inspired by whatever I happen to read and come across from one month to the next.  This issue's themes relate to ones that often come up in RiverRhee's work with managers and teams around how to interact and communicate with each other more effectively.

They are:
  • How to raise your influencing skills to the next level
  • Valuing your employees through the recruitment lifecycle
  • The impact of metaphors on our understanding and communication
My opportunities to present and participate in panel discussions with One Nucleus will be culminating (for now) with a panel discussion on "Why is Mentoring Good for Recruitment, Retention and Fostering Innovation?" during Building Life Science Adventures on 30th - 31st March.

Do get in touch if you would like us to support you through one-to-one coaching, team coaching or a version of our group coaching, or if you are interested in any of our team workshops or 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.)

How to raise your influencing skills to the next level



The question of how to influence "difficult" managers or team members often comes up in our coaching and training.  The illustration above sums up some of the approaches that might work.  But what if they don't?

I had the pleasure of attending this year's The Rising Festival, celebrating International Women's Day and hearing from Julia Hoggett, soon to be CEO of the London Stock Exchange, amongst others. One of her comments that stayed with me was the importance, as a leader, of surrounding yourself with people who think differently to you, and who will, as a consequence, stretch your comfort zone in the opinions and questions that they ask you to consider.

A manager or leader is unlikely to hesitate about the value of persevering with a direct report who is not receptive to alternative points of view.  But it might be harder to do this with a manager or leader who apparently won't listen to you.

An article by Adam Grant in the latest issue of Harvard Business Review suggested that the following approaches might work:

  • Ask the 'intransigent' person to describe how they would do something, in detail.  Knowing you are interested might make them more receptive to your ideas if they find they don't have all the answers.
  • Let a 'stubborn' person have control.  They are less likely to get defensive, and again, might respond better to you if you ask questions such as "What if..?"
  • Consider starting with praise - everyone likes a bit of affirmation.  They might then be more open to some constructive criticism on some other aspect of their performance
  • Be prepared to get involved in an energetic discussion.  They might value you for your boldness - especially if you back it up with facts.

You can read more about this in Taking your influencing skills to the next level - in seemingly impossible situations.

Valuing your employees through the recruitment lifecycle

We had a lively discussion during the One Nucleus lunchtime session that I hosted recently on "My question is...If individuals can choose the company they work for, how do leaders and managers demonstrate that they value that choice?”

We concluded that, whilst monetary compensation obviously has some role to play, so do:

  • Responding to requests for new ways of working, arising from experiences during the pandemic
  • Regular (quality) interactions with managers and team members
  • Opportunities for ongoing learning and development.
Two articles in the latest issue of Harvard Business Review also echo these themes.

Valuing prospective candidates

The first article is a review of a Gartner white paper (2021) on “Reengineering the recruitment process”.

Amongst the trends is an indication that prospective candidates are increasingly selecting where they work based on the “value proposition” of the employer. Candidates’ criteria include such things as companies' attitudes towards work / life balance, flexibility in working practices and also whether the work will be "meaningful". 

Valuing people when they leave

Dachner and Makarius explore the concept of a company alumni scheme, alongside open discussions about their employees' career ambitions that might take them outside the company.

This kind of approach, as the authors say, makes sense in a competitive recruitment market: it builds reputation and also maintains healthy links with past employees who might return to support the company in some capacity in the future.

You can read more about this in Recruitment, retention and off-boarding - a lifecycle for valuing your employees.

The impact of metaphors on our communication and understanding


Metaphors are embedded in everything that we hear, read and write!

The illustration, inspired by Lakoff and Johnson, gives some examples of these.

The words (and metaphors) we use are often representative of our own experiences, feelings and intuition. 

As Gina Campbell says: 

"Hidden below your conscious awareness are metaphors… that influence how you experience the world and handle what life brings. Your feelings, your thoughts, your actions, your responses to what happens each day are influenced by these metaphors. And you created them.”

We can also use metaphors consciously to enhance the quality of our communication with others.

Either way, the fact that our communication can be 'threaded' with metaphors is another reason why we have to check that our meaning has actually 'landed' in the way that we intended with another person.

You can read more about metaphors, and my insights from Campbell, and also Lackoff and Johnson in: The impact of metaphors in communication and understanding.

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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