Episode 178 - Are We Still Debating the Office?

Summary

Ongoing debates remain about returning to the office. Here are some thoughts to tackle this often contentious topic.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 178 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. Ongoing debates remain about returning to the office. This week we explore ideas to tackle this often contentious topic.

In many geographies the opportunity to return to the office following the worst of the pandemic has coincided with tight labor markets. As a result, employees often have more bargaining power than employers when it comes to workplace conditions and ways of operating. Many senior leaders want people back in the office, citing perceptions of collaboration and culture suffering under remote working. These views often align with their personally preferred way of working, and less so with the experiences of employees. Many employees are enjoying their new found flexibility and ability to give the commute a miss. They’re delivering the same level of performance, so why come in to the office? So how do we progress these conversations? Here are six steps to consider:

1. Start with the work: This sounds obvious, but it’s important to determine the best way to work by starting with the results you’re after. We need to start with the why and what before we get to the how of the work. This should include consideration of how each job interacts with others.

2. Recognise your own biases and interests: Write down how you prefer to work and be as detailed and honest as you can be. Have people in your team do the same thing. It’s easy to assume that the way we prefer to work is what everyone else prefers as well, but you will quickly learn from this process that isn’t true. We need to be careful not to inflict our preferences on others.

3. Listen with respect: Be genuinely interested and provide space for people to share their opinions.

4. Recognise that no one has best practice: It’s helpful to look at what organisations are doing around flexible work, but no one has it all sorted out yet. Be careful not to blindly follow the lead of others.

5. Measure the right things: When changing the way we work, we need to be able to measure performance. Without that we are flying in the dark.

6. Experiment: Rather than setting things in place for all time, try something for a month or two and evaluate how it went. You can then make adjustments. 

This experimental mindset will help reduce the level of debate and unstick many of the conversations around returning to the office. Give it a try and let me know how you go. 

Episode 177 - Making Work Transformational

Summary

The pandemic shifted much of our work away from transformational towards transactional. What has this meant for us and what can we do?

Transcript

Welcome to episode 177 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we discuss making work transformational.

It was just over a year ago when I was speaking with a relatively new employee in an organisation. They described how their work was being undertaken. They joined the organisation when everyone was working remotely, so they had not met any fellow employees in person. Their manager was helpful, but clearly busy. The employee’s typical work day involved their manager asking them to do something via email, which they worked on for the next hour or two and then forwarded on the completed work. Then they waited for the next work request. Sometimes there would be another request, and other times they would be left wondering what else they should do with the remainder of their day.

This is an almost textbook definition of transactional work. Yes - work is being completed, but it’s easy to see the lost productivity, engagement, and enjoyment in this way of working. Added to this is a greater risk of the employee leaving for another job. The employee remains unchanged - not really learning or growing. The team isn’t benefiting from interactions, creativity and support, so they’re not collectively growing either. While this might be an extreme example, I believe work has shifted far more towards transactional and away from transformational over the past few years. The mantra has become “just let me get my work done”. Efforts to bring people together to collaborate, support, and build connections are rarely made, and actively resisted.

In contrast, transformational work leaves the individual, team, and organisation different. It’s like working out. If you lift weights, at the end of the workout you are different to when you started. There’s strengthening and growth. That growth compounds over time to the point where you are transformed through the workouts you complete. It’s the same with our work. If we continue to stretch, challenge, and support our people, they will grow. In contrast, transactional work doesn’t just inhibit growth - it leads people to go backwards in their performance, engagement, and satisfaction.

So what can we do to make work transformational? Here are four ideas you can try out this week:

1. Talk about frustrations with a view towards improvement. A soldier in the Army once described to me the somewhat unorthodox approach of their commanding officer. The leader told their people that it was okay to occasionally complain or express frustration, provided they then focused on improvements and solutions. He asked that they remove their symbols of rank - the bands and stripes on their chest and shoulders that were velcroed on, to walk in and share their issues. He then asked them to walk out of the office, put their symbols of rank back on, and come back in to focus on improvements. This senior officer made it safe to raise concerns, but coupled that with accountability. He made it safe to open up, and compelling to act.

2. Delegate meaningful work. Transactional leadership involves delegating tasks. “Complete this report for me” or “setup a time with this person”. When the task is done you need to delegate again. When you delegate accountabilities, it provides ongoing responsibility and direction. Here you are asking the person to be accountable for producing the reports, or for liaising with the stakeholder. This transformational approach allows the leader to operate as a coach or mentor, rather than relying on command and control. It’s far better for the individual and the leader.

3. Build intra and inter-connection. Part of a leader’s role is to identify opportunities for their people to work with a diverse range of colleagues within the team and across the organisation. You can actively support this process to help build connections, support, and collaboration.

4. Have work-related fun. Daniel Goleman once said that great leaders recognise that having a good time isn’t a waste of time. That doesn’t necessarily mean going out bowling or other activities outside work hours. Work with your team to find enjoyment in the work.

I hope you found this helpful. If it is of interest, there’s more detail in my 2023 Leadership Today conference session titled “Bring Belonging Back”. You can find that and all the other conference sessions at 2023.leadership.today - have a great week.

Episode 176 - Putting the “Inter” Into Connection

Summary

In this episode we explore putting the “inter” into connection.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 176 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore putting the “inter” into connection. 

I’m recording this in March 2023. The last few years have brought dramatic changes to the way we work. Necessary adjustments during a pandemic have had positive, negative and interesting impacts on how we approach our work today. There are individual impact, but today we’re going to focus on teams and collaboration. 

One of the interesting shifts highlighted through research conducted by Microsoft and others is that teams have become more intra-connected and less inter-connected. Teams have become more siloed - showing a 25% reduction in cross-group collaboration when compared to 2019. At the same time, teams are more intra-connected - adding more active connections within the team. 

The positives from this shift include greater team identity and connection at a local level. It’s an understandable response to extraordinary times - we draw in with those we’re closest to. But a negative is that we invest less time working across the organisation. We become more “intra” than “inter” connected. However one of the advantages of being in an organisation is the cross-team collaboration that allows us to deliver more than the sum of its parts. The challenge for many organisations now is how we bring inter-connection back. Here are three tips for re-building inter-connection. 

1. Self-reflection point. Ask your team to identify the positives, negatives and interesting elements of how we work in our organisation today. Why do we include interesting? The author Edward de Bono has helped people to think about thinking. His six thinking hats framework for example encouraged people to approach problems from six different perspectives, and also recognise their more typical approach to situations. One thing that stood out for me from his work was our tendency to look at things from a perspective of positives and negatives. That many of our institutions such as politics and our legal systems are adversarial. But this way of looking at the world can constrain us. There’s also interesting things - things that aren’t necessarily positive or negative, but are still relevant. I’m sure you’ll find exploring positives, negatives and interesting elements of how we work to be beneficial.

2. Work across teams to identify how we can help each other. You might think of this as paying it forward at a team level. What can our team do to help another part of the organisation? If you’re a support function that might be easier. But if you’re in operations, consider how you can help a support function and make their life easier. Or perhaps your organisation is segmented by geography - look for ways to support other regions.

3. Actively connect people across the organisation. Help people in your team to build their network. You don’t necessarily have to do this with an outcome in mind beyond building inter-connection. You’re likely to have more connections than the people you lead, so use these connections to help build their network.

I believe as we rebuild inter-connection our teams and organisations will be able to achieve far more than we could by just focusing on our own team. Have a great week.

Episode 175 - Drew Ginn - Career Planning and Taking Risks

This month we’re featuring one of the guests from our 2023 Leadership Today conference. I had the pleasure of interviewing four time Olympian Drew Ginn talking all things leadership, teams, stress and careers. Drew has had an extraordinarily successful athletic career in rowing with three Olympic Golds and a Silver together with a host of international medals, has coached at elite levels in rowing and cricket, while also having worked in business leadership. The full interview and other conference sessions from leadership experts will be available to subscribers from February 25th. Just go to Leadership.Today and follow the on-demand link, or download the Leadership Today app.

Episode 174 - Drew Ginn - Longevity and Trusting the Process

This month we’re featuring one of the guests from our 2023 Leadership Today conference. I had the pleasure of interviewing four time Olympian Drew Ginn talking all things leadership, teams, stress and careers. Drew has had an extraordinarily successful athletic career in rowing with three Olympic Golds and a Silver together with a host of international medals, has coached at elite levels in rowing and cricket, while also having worked in business leadership. The full interview and other conference sessions from leadership experts will be available to subscribers from February 25th. Just go to Leadership.Today and follow the on-demand link, or download the Leadership Today app.

Episode 173 - Drew Ginn - Thriving Through Stress

This month we’re featuring one of the guests from our 2023 Leadership Today conference. I had the pleasure of interviewing four time Olympian Drew Ginn talking all things leadership, teams, stress and careers. Drew has had an extraordinarily successful athletic career in rowing with three Olympic Golds and a Silver together with a host of international medals, has coached at elite levels in rowing and cricket, while also having worked in business leadership. The full interview and other conference sessions from leadership experts will be available to subscribers from February 25th. Just go to Leadership.Today and follow the on-demand link, or download the Leadership Today app.

Episode 172 - Drew Ginn - Building a World Class Team

This month we’re featuring one of the guests from our 2023 Leadership Today conference. I had the pleasure of interviewing four time Olympian Drew Ginn talking all things leadership, teams, stress and careers. Drew has had an extraordinarily successful athletic career in rowing with three Olympic Golds and a Silver together with a host of international medals, has coached at elite levels in rowing and cricket, while also having worked in business leadership. The full interview and other conference sessions from leadership experts will be available to subscribers from February 25th. Just go to Leadership.Today and follow the on-demand link, or download the Leadership Today app.

Episode 171 - We Are Made to Care for Others

Summary

In this episode we explore the numerous benefits of building a culture of care at work.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 171 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore how to build a culture of care at work.

Psychology demonstrates that we benefit not just from being cared for, but we’re also wired to care for others. Organisations can benefit from meeting this basic human need through a culture that fosters belonging, connections and care. This helps to build trust, effective communication, meaning and purpose. All of this contributes to productivity and effectiveness.

So how do we build a culture of care at work? Here are a few ideas:

1. Role-model the importance of care by actively caring for others. There’s no point expecting others to demonstrate care if it doesn’t start with us.

2. Recognise that care doesn’t have to be soft - it can be very practical. It can include demonstrating a genuine interest in the work of others, or offering to help somewhen when they are under pressure. 

3. Show appreciation. Genuine thanks for the contributions of others helps to show you care. Appreciation can often focus on outcomes, but it’s also worth recognising efforts even when they don’t produce the anticipated results.

4. Recognise and reward efforts to care for others. Celebrate the times when people have gone out of their way to care for others.

5. Look for opportunities to care for others outside your organisation. That might include extending care to your customers and in to the communities where you operate through charities. This helps provide additional meaning and purpose to the work we conduct.

Caring isn’t just good for the people we care for, it’s good for us as well. Why not grab one of these points and apply it this week.

If this was of interest, you’re going to really like our upcoming Leadership Today On-Demand conference on the theme “Belong”. 

Episode 170 - Sleep Helps Positive Emotions

Summary

This week we explore research into why sleep matters so much for our emotional state, and tips for better sleep.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 170 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore research into why sleep matters so much for our emotional state, and tips for better sleep.

We all know that sleep matters for our general health and wellbeing. Getting 7 to 8 hours of high quality sleep a night makes a big difference in our ability to concentrate, be resilient, and relate well with others. REM sleep, characterised by rapid eye movements and dreaming, is thought to be particularly beneficial for memory consolidation and emotional processing. Recent research suggests that REM sleep assists with the consolidation of positive emotions associated with safety, while suppressing the influence of negative emotions associated with danger. It’s thought this process helps people to maintain a healthy balance in their focus on safety and danger. A lack of REM sleep can tip this balance too much toward a focus on danger, and a range of anxiety-related disorders can result. Having an appropriate emotional balance will help greatly in the daily stresses of leadership.

Given sleep is so important, how do we make sure we’re getting enough? Here are seven tips:

1. Maintain a consistent sleep schedule. It’s tempting to vary when we go to bed and wake up across the week, but sticking to the same schedule helps. 

2. Set your bed room up for sleep. Make sure the room is dark, quiet and cool. Don’t get in the habit of watching TV in your bedroom. 

3. Avoid screens at night. The blue light from screens, particularly from phones, laptops and tablets, messes with your sleep cycle and hormones such as melatonin.

4. Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the hours before sleep. Both can negatively impact your ability to get to sleep and stay asleep.

5. Wind down before sleep. Most smart phones allow you to set sleep reminders which can prompt you to have a relaxing routine before bed. This might include taking a bath, reading, or undertaking relaxation techniques.

6. Have an exercise routine. Exerting yourself physically during the day will help you to fall asleep.

7. If you wake during the night and are struggling to fall back to sleep, get up and do something relaxing until you feel tired again. This can help your body and brain to reset for more sleep.

Getting enough sleep is an important element of effective leadership. The better you rest and restore, the better prepared you are to lead others. Have a great week.

Reference

Mattia Aime, Niccolò Calcini, Micaela Borsa, Tiago Campelo, Thomas Rusterholz, Andrea Sattin, Tommaso Fellin, Antoine Adamantidis. Paradoxical somatodendritic decoupling supports cortical plasticity during REM sleep. Science, 2022; 376 (6594): 724

Episode 169 - Flexible Hours Beats Working at Home

Summary

Much of the discussion around flexible work has focused on the ‘where’ of work. It turns out the ‘when’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ of work matter even more.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 169 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore how the discussions around flexible work are often the wrong way around. Instead of starting with the ‘where’, we should begin with the ‘why’.

A lot of discussion about flexible work has focused on the ‘where’ of work. Can I work at home instead of the office? If so, how many days a week? Are you going to force me to come in particular days?

Interestingly, a recent survey of 10,000 knowledge workers in the US found the ability to set their own hours was even more important than working from home. While 78% of workers wanted flexibility for where they worked, 95% wanted flexibility over when they worked. 

While people are focused on the ‘where’ and ‘when’ of their jobs, the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of work provide even greater opportunities to engage and motivate people.

Clarifying the ‘why’ of the work involves identifying why this work matters, the broader purpose people are contributing to, and how this role contributes to that purpose. This sense of purpose helps with motivation - people are more motivated when they feel like they are contributing to something meaningful and important. And it also ensures people are working in the same direction. When things are unclear, they can refer back to this broader purpose to guide their decision making and efforts. This is what I describe as aligned motivation - people are motivated and heading in the same direction. But it’s possible to be aligned and not motivated, so what else can we do to motivate others?

Deci and Ryan’s work shows motivation is about providing autonomy, building capability and confidence, and fostering a sense of belonging through meaningful connections. If you’re interested in how leaders practically do this you can take a look at our Leadership Practices in the Leadership Today app for a free assessment and tips.

When you’re seeking to engage your people, it’s easy to become drawn into a discussion about the ‘where’ and ‘when’ of work. Instead, make sure you begin with the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of work before moving on to the ‘when’ and ‘where’.

Reference

Katherine Bindley and Chip Cutter. Workers Care More About Flexible Hours Than Remote Work , Wall Street Journal.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/workers-care-more-about-lexible-hours-than-remote-work-11643112004  

Episode 168 - When Deadlines Backfire

Summary

Are deadlines always a good thing? And when might they backfire? This week we explore research focused on exactly these questions.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 168 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore when setting a deadline might backfire, leading to a reduced chance of delivering.

If you want someone to complete a simple task for you, are you better off setting a one week deadline, a one month deadline, or no deadline at all? 

A team of researchers explored just this question. They randomly selected New Zealand participants and offered a $10 donation to charity in return for completing a 5 minute survey. Their findings showed that a shorter deadline of one week resulted in a greater response rate than a one month deadline. 6.6% completed the voluntary survey with the shorter deadline, versus 5.5% for the longer deadline. The researchers believed the one month deadline provided the greatest opportunity to procrastinate, and it also saw the lowest number of completions of early responses. So a shorter deadline is definitely better.

Interestingly, providing no deadline to complete the survey actually worked best, with 8.3% of people voluntarily completing the survey. Like the one week deadline, not providing a deadline at all led to a higher number of early responses to the survey than a long deadline.

So how do we apply this research in our leadership? The most direct application is in surveys. When I was heavily involved in employee surveys we used to apply a combination approach. Our initial survey requests typically didn’t include a deadline. After two weeks, we would then provide a one week deadline to those who hadn’t completed the survey. And we would always keep the survey open a week after the deadline. For whatever reason there is always a small number of people who don’t start things until the deadline has passed. This combination produced better results than just providing a two or three week deadline up front.

When we want people to voluntarily complete a short task, we’re best to initially not provide a deadline. If we are asked for a deadline, we’re better off specifying something short like one or two weeks, rather than a longer deadline of a month. This approach helps to provide people with freedom to manage their time. Not setting a deadline provides that freedom while avoiding the risk of procrastination for simple tasks. It’s like we all operate with a range of vision for deadlines. 

In a firm I worked for there was a running joke. If anyone ever said something would be ready in six weeks, it was taken to mean that it would never be done. Six weeks was long enough into the future that it was beyond most people’s planning and attention.

For smaller tasks, why not experiment with shorter deadlines and not having deadlines at all. You will likely find things will be completed more reliably and faster than if you set a one month deadline.

Reference 

Knowles, S., Servátka, M., Sullivan, T. & Genç, M. (2022) Procrastination and the non-monotonic effect of deadlines on task completion. Economic Inquiry, 60( 2), 706– 720. 

Episode 167 - Agreeableness, Work Investment and Teamwork

Summary

This week we explore how agreeableness as a personality trait has a positive impact on work investment and teamwork.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 167 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore how agreeableness as a personality trait has a positive impact on work investment and teamwork.

Since the 1950s, and particularly from the 1980’s, personality research has focused primarily on the big 5 personality traits - Openness-to-Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. Taken together these 5 traits account for the majority of differences in personality between individuals while also having predictive ability across a range of positive and negative outcomes in workplace settings. They provide our best understanding of personality across a range of settings and individuals.

A recent study focused on the agreeableness trait. As a personality trait this describes people who are cooperative, polite, friendly and kind. Agreeableness is associated with an interest in others and in building positive relationships. The study by Wilmot and Ones is of the most comprehensive analyses of agreeableness undertaken, bringing together 1.9 million participants across more than 3,900 research studies.

Their research highlighted a broad range of positive outcomes associated with agreeableness in a workplace context. 

The benefits for individuals and teams included:

• Focus on growth and concern for others

• Contentment with current circumstance

• Investment in building and maintaining relationships with others

• Team working including cooperating with others and working towards shared goals

• Work investment and commitment

• Tendency to place less emphasis on results, and being more lenient in rating others’ performance

• Ability to adjust to new contexts

• Greater likelihood of respecting social norms and rules

In summary, those with agreeableness as a personality trait are likely to invest more effort into their work, primarily in a corporative and team-building way.

Here are some tips for building agreeableness:

1. Take a genuine interest in others. Empathy is a cornerstone of agreeableness. It’s easier to get along with people that we understand and can relate to.

2. Invest time in building relationships. Agreeableness is often about quantity time. Relationships require investment.

3. Consider shared goals, not just individual goals. Agreeableness is interested in collective outcomes and team wins.

4. Maintain connections during moments of disagreement and conflict. Relationships are usually more important than winning an argument.

It’s also worth nothing that, as a leader, you can assess and select for agreeableness and other personality traits that may be important for work performance. This requires personality instruments that are specifically designed for a selection context, but is worth exploring if you want to build effective teams.

References

Wilmot, M. P., & Ones, D. S. (2022). Agreeableness and Its Consequences: A Quantitative Review of Meta-Analytic Findings. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 26(3), 242–280.

Episode 166 - Is it Better to be Pessimistic, Realistic or Optimistic?

Summary

Is optimism always better for happiness and well-being? This week we explore which is best for mental well-being - being pessimistic, realistic or optimistic. 

Transcript

Welcome to episode 166 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore which is best for mental well-being - being pessimistic, realistic or optimistic.

The benefits of optimism have been widely promoted over the past few years. However, as we have discussed before, unrealistic optimism can lead to negative outcomes. Pessimism often has a range of even worse outcomes. The classical view in psychology is that mental health requires accurate self-perception. So are we better off just being realistic?

A recent study tackled the question of pessimism, optimism and well-being in a clever way. They tracked the financial expectations and actual outcome of 1,600 people over an 18 year period. 

The researchers identified those with unrealistic optimism - where they consistently overestimated the likelihood of positive financial outcomes - as having a 14% reduction in long-term mental well-being, and 12% increased level of distress. Constantly falling short of expectations is clearly damaging. But those who were unrealistically pessimistic were even worse off, showing a 22% reduction in long-term well-being and 37% higher psychological distress than those with realistic and accurate expectations.

So what can we take away from this research? Here are four ideas to improve our mental well-being:

1. Learn from the surprise wins and the tough times. It’s striking how these patterns of unrealistic optimism and pessimism were sustained by participants over nearly two decades. Let’s aim for learning and improvement, converting these wins and losses into personal development and growth.

2. Gather information to confirm or refute your perspective. When things are uncertain our natural tendency can be to avoid information. Instead, we should actively seek out alternative perspectives.

3. Speak to others and gain their perspectives. Good advice and feedback are priceless. We often underestimate how important it is to learn from others.

4. Aim for accurate self-perception. The more we can see ourselves and events as they really are, the greater our mental well-being.

Reference

de Meza, D., & Dawson, C. (2021). Neither an Optimist Nor a Pessimist Be: Mistaken Expectations Lower Well-Being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(4), 540–550.

Episode 165 - Expecting to be Bored is Boring

Summary

If we expect something to be boring, it ends up being even more boring. 

Transcript

Welcome to episode 165 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore how expecting something to be boring makes it even more boring.

Let’s face it, we all get a little bored at times. Sometimes we even expect something to be boring in advance. Universities are a great place to research boredom. Lectures can be amazing, but they can also be a little tedious. One of the best psychology lectures I ever went to was on human perception. Our amazing and rather elderly professor put glow in the dark dots on his torso and limbs, then turned out the lights in the lecture theatre. He walked around in front of a hundred or so students demonstrating how just a few dots allow us to clearly see the human form. Unfortunately he then tripped over, and the dots all ended up being in a pile on the floor. Fortunately he was fine, but the lesson always stuck with me. But for every lecture like that, there were many others that didn’t quite reach the same heights.

Researchers have shown that our expectations about a lecture can impact the way we feel about the lecture. If we expect a lecture to be boring, we actually end up feeling even more bored than we would have otherwise felt. Expecting something to be boring makes it even more boring.

So what can we do about this? Here are four ideas.

1. Remain curious. Even the most boring topic, presentation or meeting will have some interesting elements if we just look out for them.

2. Remind yourself of why you’re there in the first place. Positioning the potentially boring even in the context of a broader purpose can make that time more meaningful.

3. Try a little daydreaming. Letting your mind wander during a boring event might just help you to come up with that breakthrough idea you have been chasing.

4. Cut your losses. If something is truly boring and doesn’t add any value, you can always walk out.

Have a great, and not boring, week. 

Reference

https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/if-you-expect-lecture-be-boring-youll-probably-end-feeling-more-bored 

Episode 164 - How Biased People Become More Biased

Summary

Research demonstrates the process by which biased people become more biased. Here’s what to do about it.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 164 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore how biased people become even more biased.

We are living in particularly polarised times. On so many issues across society and politics we see people becoming more entrenched in their thinking and less open to alternate perspectives. Clearly this isn’t great for us individually and collectively. I’m sure, like me, you would love people to be open to changing their mind.

A key driver of what we’re seeing around us is selective exposure bias. Research demonstrates that people will actually walk away from the opportunity to make money if it allows them to avoid reading an alternative view of issues like same-sex marriage or gun control. A recent piece of research showed so-called “pro-diversity” thinkers are less susceptible to this bias. Someone who is pro-diversity in their approach is more comfortable interacting with new ideas and people who don’t share their perspective. They don’t necessarily just agree with others, but they’re happy to listen to different perspectives.

This presents a challenge though. If people who aren’t open to diversity in the first place also actively avoid information that might change their perspective, aren’t we doomed to just become more polarised? The authors of the study believe part of the answer is in making cross-group interactions inevitable. If we can, in our organisations and in society at large, cause people of differing views to come together. How do we do become more pro-diversity and less prone to selective exposure?

1. Read widely. Don’t limit yourself to one news publisher. Actively expose yourself to new ideas and different perspectives.

2. Engage someone who you know has different views to you. There’s just one rule here though - you’re only allowed to ask questions. Don’t argue back, just seek to understand.

3. Agree to disagree, but be open to changing your mind. Saying we agree to disagree is a bit of a cop out - it closes down further discussion. Instead, be open to changing your mind.

Adam Grant’s book Think Again is a great read if you want to extend on these ideas.

Reference

https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/cognitive-bias-can-push-people-more-extreme-ideological-positions

Episode 163 - The Key to Building Professional Connections

Summary

The mindset we bring impacts our ability to build professional connections.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 163 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore how the mindset we bring impacts our ability to build professional connections.

One of the challenges and opportunities in any career is building and maintaining professional connections. For some of us, even hearing the word “networking” gets our heart racing - and not in a good way.. Our success in building and keeping these connections is often about the expectations we bring into the relationship.

Attachment theory describes three main sets of mindsets and expectations with which we approach building new connections.

The first attachment type is “Secure”. With this mindset we expect that people want to connect. We also see ourselves as  worthy of those connections. Furthermore, someone with a secure attachment type believes that people can generally be trusted. Having a secure attachment type allows us to establish and maintain connections well. This is what we’re aiming for.The two other attachment types we will consider today are less effective, and can be actively detrimental to building professional connections.

The “Anxious” attachment type assumes that there’s always a risk of losing a connection - that people will just leave one day. As a result, they work overly hard at making connections, and then cling on to people once the connection is made. Ironically this approach makes others more likely to leave, so it becomes a self—fulfilling prophecy.

The third attachment type is “Avoidant”. People with this approach to relationships are also worried about people leaving or letting them down, but instead of clinging on to people, they keep them at a distance. As a result, they form fewer close connections in an effort to protect themselves from someone leaving.

These attachment types are formed through our experiences. If significant people have let us down or left us early in life, it’s probably no surprise that we make an effort to protect ourselves in the future. And the attachment style we use may vary over time and with different circumstances. You might have a secure attachment type outside of work, but be more avoidant at work.

Being aware of the primary attachment styles we demonstrate can help us to actively try new things. If we know we tend to cling on to people, we might focus instead on building a broader network of connections. If we know we tend to avoid making new connections, we might set ourselves a goal to build up the connections we have at work. All of this requires us to step out of our comfort zone, but that is where all growth happens.

So reflect on the attachment styles you tend towards and use this knowledge to build up your professional connections.

Further reading:

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/08/making-keeping-friends-attachment-theory-styles/671222/

Episode 162 - Cross-Cultural Leadership

Summary

This week we consider the challenges of cross-cultural leadership.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 162 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we consider the challenges of cross-cultural leadership.

How have you found working across different cultures? Perhaps you’ve travelled to other parts of the world, or maybe the business you work in has a broad cultural representation. Sometimes it can be challenging to figure out what’s a personality difference and what’s a cultural difference.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work across a wide range of cultures, yet I’m still surprised by cultural differences. Given the global audience for the work we do, I’m always conscious of cultural assumptions that might creep in to the way we think about leadership development. It can be challenging working across cultures. There are core assumptions in our cultural world view that we may not even recognise.

Researchers have built various frameworks to try to understand how cultures differ. One of the better know frameworks is the Lewis Model of Cultural Types. As someone who had travelled the world and spoke 10 languages, Richard Lewis realised he was in a good position to explore cultural differences. His book “When Cultures Collide”, first released in 1996, brought together a framework to understand how cultures can differ. His model is based on a triangle, with the points of the triangle being linear-active, multi-active, and reactive. Lewis then plots countries at each of these points and along the edges of the triangle.

Linear-active cultures are about doing one thing at a time. He saw linear-active cultures such as those in Germany and Switzerland as cool, factual, decisive planners. The UK and US are also close to this cultural type. Multi-active is about trying to do multiple things at once. Multi-active countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Mexico have cultures that are warm, emotional and impulsive. Parts of Europe including Italy and Greece, and sub-saharan Africa are also near this cultural type. Reactive cultures are about responding to others. Reactive cultures like Vietnam were described by Lewis as courteous, accommodating, compromising and polite. China and Japan are also near this cultural type.

It’s clear how these cultural types can create conflict and confusion when we bring them together.

So how do we tackle these cultural differences. Here are six ideas:

1. Be aware cultural differences exist. Keeping this in mind as you work across cultures will help you be prepared.

2. Don’t fall back on to stereotypes. This is a risk in Lewis’ work - that we end up stereotyping millions of people just based on where they live. In any cultural group there can be a very broad range of expressions and approaches.

3. Be actively curious about other cultures and people. Questions are always a great place to start. Be actively curious about people and their cultural background.

4. Talk about culture. If your team works across cultures, help them to step back to reflect on effectiveness.

5. Clarify expectations. Cultural differences and conflict can be amplified when there are unclear expectations.

6. Discuss how we can best work together. This is a great levelling questions that allows everyone to contribute.

Next time you’re working across cultures or in a culturally diverse team, take a few moments to review these points and apply them. Have a great week.

Episode 161 - Letting Go and Moving On

Summary

This week we explore goal setting, and the importance of letting go and moving on.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 161 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we are exploring letting go and moving on.

Striving for goals is generally a good thing. Self-control helps us to move towards our goals, delaying other potentially tempting distractions in the hope for a better return for our efforts. Hope-filled people are great at varying their plans towards goals when they hit obstacles. But what happens when the goal we are chasing after becomes unachievable for reasons outside our control? What’s the best way to respond to having our plans thwarted?

The Covid pandemic provided an opportunity to study this in detail. Many of us found our goals upended by the impact of Covid restrictions. We all know people who were unable to see family members for extended periods, whose holiday plans were thrown into chaos, or whose goals at work needed to be jettisoned altogether. Some people seemed to handle this more effectively, disengaging from their old goals and setting new goals. They seemed able to let go and move on. However, others seemed stuck and unable to move on from the dead end goal they had set. 

Researchers are clear to distinguish between goal disengagement and goal reengagement. Goal disengagement is letting go of a previous goal. Goal reengagement is the ability of a person to move on to a new goal. People can be good at goal disengagement but not good at reengagement and vice versa.

Researchers have found that goal reengagement is particularly important to satisfaction. For example, in people with life changing acquired brain injuries, researchers found that goal disengagement had little impact on quality of life and satisfaction, while goal reengagement had a markedly positive impact. In these cases, the ability to set and chase after new goals seemed far more important than investing energy into letting go of goals that had become unachievable. 

This research suggests that rather than focusing on the loss associated with thwarted goals, we are better investing our energy into setting new goals. This optimistic, future-focused and flexible approach is something we can build in ourselves and others. If there are goals that have become completely unrealistic, it’s important to note this and then help the team to establish new goals. Picking over the disappointments associated with the old goal is less helpful than establishing an inspiring future. Letting go matters, but moving on is even more important. 

References

https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/good-self-control-can-both-help-and-hinder-attempts-move-after-failure

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09602011.2019.1608265?journalCode=pnrh20 

Bonus Episode - Don Schmincke - What Leaders can Learn from Samurai, Mountaineers and Entrepreneurs

Don Schmincke is a best-selling author, researcher with MIT and Johns Hopkins and adviser to CEOs across a broad range of industries. You only have to read one of Don’s books or see him in action to recognise Don is not your typical leadership thinker.

We discuss leadership failures and fads, why our approaches to leadership development often fall short, and what we should do about that. We also explore themes from Don's books including what leaders can learn from 9th-century samurai, the experiences of mountaineers, and his latest focus on entrepreneurs.

Learn more about Don and his work - Saga Leadership

Episode 160 - Clearing the Way

Summary

This week we explore how delegating isn’t just great for results, it also helps people to develop.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 160 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership.

This is the last in our series focusing on Leadership Practices - the skills leaders apply day to day that allow them to effectively respond to the challenges they face. I believe this leadership practice is one of the most overlooked and important activities a leader can undertake to maintain the motivation and commitment of their people. Clearing is about identifying frustrations and reducing their impact. Frustrations are disastrous for engagement and well-being. This is particularly true when people really want to deliver results but are held back, whether that’s by excessive red tape, clunky processes or uncooperative colleagues. 

The role of a leader is to help people investigate the cause and impact of frustrations. Sometime we can’t fix a problem at the root cause, but we can often reduce the negative impact the frustration has on people at the point of impact. Sometimes we want to avoid discussing frustrations because it feels too negative. However if the focus is on improvement of processes and outcomes then frustrations can become the key to increased productivity and performance. Clearing makes sense with a capable team that is trying to deliver, but frustrations are holding them back. When productivity and performance need to improve, it’s important to involve the team. They’re often closest to the issues that are holding performance back. Our research has shown a strong relationship between reducing frustrations leading to greater satisfaction, productivity, engagement and well-being. Clearing the way is great for your people and great for your organisation. 

Just a reminder to complete our brand new Leadership Practices Assessment. It’s completely free, and you will find a link to it in the show notes. Have a great week.

Access the Leadership Practices Assessment - https://leadership.today/lpa