Creating a Community Pipeline of Healing

The majority of us encounter unexpected bumps in the road throughout our lives: illness, conflict, death, fiscal demands. Life’s unpredictable diversity can leave us feeling emotionally cornered at times, and desperate for a helping hand. Recognizing that you need the assistance of others– let alone finding it – can be a daunting experience in itself.
 

One thing social media has taught us here at Global Learning is that our communities are exploding with people and organizations that have made it their mission to assist those in need. Whatever that need may be, whenever that assistance is needed. Everything from self-help groups to demographical associations to advocacy organizations; everyone now has a place to turn. 

Emotionally overwhelming experiences have a high potential to leave anyone distracted or even volatile while at work.

Every sharp leader has a keen eye on the emotional state of their team members. If you are ignoring how emotional intelligence as a leader can be the key to innovation, then you have missed the boat. Hopefully you can row yourself along to catch up, without damaging too many people along your leadership way.

In times of need, varying the ways you choose to ‘be there’ for your team members as a leader or manager is imperative to the development of your corporate and organizational culture.

How do you care?

I advocate absolutely for creating “in-house” resources for your employees. I encourage you, however, to also think beyond the scope of your organization for a variety of reasons, as there are many benefits to encouraging your team to connect with community-driven initiatives.

First and foremost, you are leading your team member to guidance that they require and that you may not be equipped to give. 

It’s great to say “Let me know if there is anything I can do.” But it’s even greater to say “Here is what I can do for you.”

Not all employees wish to reach out to “in-house” resource groups. Sharing personal situations with co-workers or superiors may not be comfortable for everyone. Even if the fear is unfounded, some won’t reach out to their employer or employee resource group in a time of need simply because they believe it may have a negative effect on their job or potential career path. 

Offering your team access to additional services is a way to encourage a person to see that they have options; that perhaps they aren’t backed into the emotional corner they are feeling.

Community outreach is becoming imperative to corporate success. We often view community outreach as what can I do for the community. Building and curating a running resource of community groups and initiatives is a great way to collaborate with the community. It offers more chances for inclusion, as well as creating a brand advocacy pipeline to a wide range of diverse demographics.

 By connecting your team to the community, you are also connecting the community to your team.   

Employees that know you care tell the community that you care; a community which, in turn, will utilize your services because of your accountability and credibility.

If creating such a resource list for your team interests you, there are some important things to keep in mind:

• Be sure to make it clear that you are not endorsing these organizations, only mentioning their existence for your teams to further research themselves and on their own time.
• Avoid including organizations that practice discrimination.
• If including faith-based organizations, include groups of all relevant denominations.
• Make the team feel welcome to offer suggestions to add to the list.
• Offer assistance in finding an additional community group for your team member should they not find one on your list.
• Twitter is a fantastic source to locate untapped local resources.

It may take some time and effort, but the rewards are vast in understanding the benefits to all when introducing your team to the broad community resources available.

“I just might have a problem that you'll understand. We all need somebody to lean on.” – Lean on Me by Billy Withers

Sense and Sensitivity

In the last month, I have received a multitude of calls from both existing and potential new clients, asking for Global Learning’s guidance when it comes to workplace sensitivity.   

Workplace sensitivity is the physical, cultural and emotional awareness of people in a shared workspace. 

From Halloween costumes to poorly communicated frustration to lifestyle assumptions, here are some examples of the situations I have been recently hearing about:

Situation 1:

It’s Halloween, and the office is filled to the brim with pirates, kittens, and zombies. In walks a manager, a 50 year old Korean-Canadian woman wearing a Jamaican flag, colored Rastafarian hat complete with fake dreadlock extensions, baggy jeans, and an armband with a symbolic marijuana leaf on it. To make matters worse, she also chooses to carry around a fake “joint” for the day.

The issue (beyond it being blatantly racist): A subordinate of the manager is the child of Jamaican immigrants.

Situation 2:

In the midst of meeting a deadline, an employee’s computer crashes leaving their work inaccessible for over an hour. While describing the situation to a co-worker, the employee uses the phrase:

“I just want to shoot myself, I’m so frustrated. Seriously pass me the gun so I can kill myself now.”

The issue: A family member of a nearby co-worker had recently attempted to commit suicide. 

Situation 3:

An employee is reading a fashion/health magazine on her break and begins to talk about a featured article on breastfeeding. The employee turns to a co-worker and states:

“Oh my god, that is just so disgusting! This woman breast-fed her child till he was 3. That’s so gross!”

The issue: The co-worker she was speaking to has very specific views about breast-feeding, and chose to breast feed her children until they were 5. 

As to why many organizations feel motivated to deal with workplace sensitivity, the two reasons we hear most often are: “We don’t want to get sued.” and “Because it’s the right thing to do.” But as leaders, workplace sensitivity goes well beyond legal compliance and social justice.

Workplace sensitivity issues are often deeply rooted in shame. Not only does the initial person feeling offended deal with a sense of shame, but very often, shame is used as retaliation to the person who sincerely made a mistake. 

Shame invokes withdrawal, anger and fear. These emotions lead to mental distraction and any number of volatile reactions. It’s our responsibility as leaders to inspire, instill and maintain a constant flow of innovative productivity within our organization. Shame in any form is lethal to innovation.

In case you missed it, we highly recommend watching the TED talk by @BreneBrown on Shame.

You can watch it here: http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame.html

Workplace sensitivity issues frequently arise from what many perceive as harmlessly intended humour. Humour in the workplace can be a wonderful thing: it can attract business, enhance the relationship with clients, and can even be a clear sign of a great leader. Truly humourous people can be quick problem-solvers, all while maintaining a team’s energy level. But there has to be very clear lines drawn as to what your organization will and will not tolerate as “funny”.    

As a leader, ask yourself these two questions in regard to workplace sensibility:

How are you as an organizational leader educating your team in regard to understanding workplace sensibility?  

How do you as an organizational leader handle the situation when insensitivity occurs in your workplace?  

Your response to these sensitive, yet real life situations set the tone for your employees as well as for the reputation of your organization as a whole.

“Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.”  - Eric Hoffer