Leaders Influence
Leaders can profoundly influence their workplaces’ overall behavior, attitude, and culture. For example, activities such as dealing with a conflict, actively listening, showing a little kindness, or being willing to apologize have measurable influence. You’ll see the effects on productivity and bottom line accounting in any business or organization.
Let’s continue with Part Two of 2021 Highlights
Dealing with conflict
When various people are working together in the same place – you can expect different views, opinions, and ideas. We should hope for them. We need the skills and opinions of others, even when we don’t agree with, or even like, the people.
Of course, differences also foster disagreements. Fortunately, a manager’s influence significantly impacts how the conflicts escalate or not. Moreover, a skilled leader can often turn those points of serious contention into a paradigm shift that benefits everyone.
Contain the conflict early
When you contain the conflict, a manager isolates it from other day-to-day events and job aspects. The event is set aside as a separate issue.
Maintain your objectivity
Your focus is to maintain an objective viewpoint, especially during the early stages.
Look for the facts
What are the different perspectives? What is really driving the conflict? Often there are hidden grievances from past disputes which influence how coworkers interact in the present. Active listening is essential at this stage as you may carry preconceived conclusions based on other conversations regarding the event or grievance.
Listen to both sides
Allowing both sides to present their ideas enables you to hear with “the beginner’s mind” that is open and ready to know and understand what you have not understood until this moment. Usually, each perspective has relevance and truth within.
Find common ground
By exploring and naming what points all parties can agree with, leaders can help employees acknowledge that they can find some middle ground on which to meet.
Allow enough time
Don’t rush it. Although it may not include all views, a well-considered solution respects all parties’ perspectives. It takes time to think it through and get it right!
Be proactive
Taking preventative measures to minimize workplace conflict can nip things in the bud before they have an opportunity to escalate. If your workplace is struggling with repetitive conflicts and struggles, use that as an indicator to increase regular, ongoing relationship building.
Listen, really listen
Let’s face it; active listening is a skill that takes practice. Becoming a more effective listener will increase your influence. People will trust and appreciate you knowing that you will likely “show up” in the world (work) with more of an open mind and heart.
Stay in the moment
There is a time and a place for everything. And it’s safe to say that you will be better served—as will your colleagues—if you focus on the information being presented, actively listening to all that is being said.
The sound of silence is OK
Silence isn’t a bad thing. Although our culture seems uncomfortable with silence, it can be helpful. People can gather their thoughts, control their emotions and reflect on thoughtful, reasoned responses.
You know what they say about assuming
If you are assuming, likely you are not listening. You may be jumping to conclusions and judgments, or worse yet, being disrespectful. It’s important to avoid the tendency to assume anything! Strive to be objective with your views and resist the tendency to fill in specific gaps with what we assume will be or has been said.
You are allowed to ask questions
Please, ask questions! Questions will show that you are listening and ensure that you are actively listening. In addition, thoughtful questions help to validate what you have heard. Questions are a bedrock foundational behavior for respectful behavior at work.
Look for those non-verbal cues
Discussions will often have layers of meaning and nuance. As the leader, it will help you to understand what those nuances may be. Often communicated with non-verbal cues, undercurrents express themselves in the facial expressions of the person speaking and listening, their tone, enthusiasm, etc. Allow these cues to guide your interpretation of the discussion and adjust your reaction or questions accordingly.
The power of our body language
Our physical presentation of ourselves to others is just as important as our verbal communication—we speak more through our bodies than we do verbally.
Your posture, eye movements, hand gestures, and even your breathing convey more than you realize at the moment – and perhaps more than you want to expose. Our bodies communicate hundreds of signals during a conversation, many of which are controlled and received subconsciously.
It’s important to understand the power and impact of our body language in the workplace. Positive body language improves communication and collaboration and can play a significant role in overall workplace morale and conflict resolution.
The importance of kindness
We all experience a form of improved well-being after being around kindness. Regardless of which end of the kindness you may be on, the effects are undeniable. Acts of kindness release a hormone called serotonin. The job of serotonin is to help us feel happy, calm, safe, and satisfied. There are physical benefits too! Lower blood pressure and even improved cardiovascular health are among them. Kindness makes us feel good!
It’s no surprise that kindness also positively impacts a workplace’s morale and culture. People feel less anxious, more energetic and experience improved confidence.
Kindness brings out the positive qualities in others. Our kindness encourages others to act kindly also, wherever they are. Kindness is a revolution and leads to a kinder, happier workforce, but it also leads to better ideas, better outputs, and perhaps most importantly, a happier work culture. Influential leaders are kind, thoughtful leaders.
The leader’s influence – apologies are necessary
Apologies are a necessary, fundamental aspect of successful interactions among coworkers. Without ownership of our “misses,” we are dominated by volatile feelings, egos, and individual personalities. A workplace without apologies will be full of offended people who will offend, irritate, and hurt others.
When we take full responsibility for our actions, we demonstrate without excuses, that we are committed to nurturing relationships with them and willing to learn from our mistakes.
Sincere apologies show integrity; they show respect to our coworkers, compassion, and a continuous desire to grow working relationships. (We show ourselves respect at the same time, recognizing we can make mistakes and grow from them.)
Apologetic leaders are not weak leaders. On the contrary, few actions show more gratitude and respect toward a team than when their manager owns their “stuff” and is not afraid to show there is always a better way to conduct oneself.
