A member of TRACOM’s Learning and Development team is featured on Industry Week as the author of an article discussing critical techniques that all leaders should bestow upon their staff.
According to the article, “Business owners and leaders can help their employees both to create positive change (what we call agility) and respond productively to change forced upon them (resiliency).” Click here to learn more.
“Encourage greater resiliency among employees.” How? Demonstrate the kinds of behaviors and attitudes you would want in your own employees, and lead by example. Set the standard through your own actions and your employees will emulate you. People have what neuroscientists call ‘mirror neurons’ – we activate the same neuro-circuitry in our own brains when observing another as we would if we were the ones actually performing the behavior. Mirror neurons are critical for learning new skills by imitation. So, a great way to build employee resiliency is simply by modeling resilient behaviors yourself. Examples include remaining calm in the face of unexpected shifts in demands, setting ambitious but achievable goals for the company, and asking questions freely and openly.” Learn more about building an emotionally resilient workforce.
The second tip featured in the article is to “encourage greater agility & innovation among employees.” In order to encourage agility, failure must be acceptable. If your employees are fearful of ever making mistakes they will never be innovative. They will maintain current practices without ever thinking outside of the box or challenging the status quo out of fear of discipline or embarrassment if their idea doesn’t work. The article notes that “You can encourage innovation by giving employees time to work on their own ideas and projects. You can also be a better leader in this area by hiring people who disagree with you, drawing attention to differences in opinion and encouraging active debates.” Another important takeaway warns managers of is to be careful not “…mismanage freedom by changing goals frequently or failing to define them clearly.” Learn more about the need for change in an organization.
Click here to read the full article and gain more insights in how to encourage resiliency and agility among your staff.
Click here to learn more about TRACOM’s Resiliency Model.
