4 Tips for Leading While Absent

by Brie Barker | Leadership

My leadership blog is all about helping current and emerging leaders learn how to transform difficult conversations and dysfunctional workplace relationships into positive and productive ones.

Brie Barker

4 Tips for Leading While Absent

/

It hasn’t been the best of times around the Barker household this week:

/

On Sunday, my 11-year old son came down with a fever, a fairly severe headache and a stiff neck./

/

I’ve been home with him, as he’s been off school all week, and Advil and Tylenol have had a tough time keeping his symptoms fully at bay./

/

Our doctor’s advised us to keep an eye out for any additional symptoms that are related to meningitis (as a stiff neck is) and, if his fever and headache aren’t gone by this afternoon, we’re to take him to the ER for further assessment.

/

On Tuesday, my 81 year-old father had a seizure and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital./

/

Thankfully, a battery of tests revealed nothing of further concern./

/

He was drained by the time I got him home that night but by Thursday he was back to his normal self.

/

Needless to say, we remain pretty concerned, not knowing why it happened and hoping it won’t happen again.

/

Then, since yesterday, perhaps not surprisingly, I haven’t been feeling all that great.

/

I’ve got an intermittent sore throat, low energy and I’m feeling overtired.

“So what does all this have to do with leadership, Brie?”

Well, I don’t have a staff to lead and manage … but I’m going to assume that you do.

Now, imagine that you’ve had a week like I’ve had.

/

Actually, you probably don’t have to imagine all that much; I’m sure you’ve had similar weeks in your life.

Here are some thoughts on how you can demonstrate good leadership when circumstances call for you be away from work in order to care for your family — and for yourself.

/

1. Actually STAY away from work and attend to your family.

If you try to do both, you’ll have a split focus and probably won’t do a very good job of either one.

Staying away sends important messages to your staff, that you:

trust them as a team and as individuals to step-up and look after things while you’re away, and
believe attending to urgent and exceptional family and personal matters is at least equally, if not more important, than work.

/

This is a chance to model the behaviour that you’d want your staff to demonstrate in similar circumstances.

/

2. Be candid with your staff.

Let your staff know what’s calling you to be away. Again, this is modelling the behaviour you’d want from your staff.

Now, we all have different comfort levels in sharing this type of information.

/

If sharing this kind of thing makes you uncomfortable, all the more reason to be open.

/

This is a place where you can stretch and grow as a leader, to put what’s best for your team and organization above your own personal discomfort.

/

If you share these things, it will help staff members who share your preference for privacy feel more comfortable opening up to you.

/

You can also expect to receive some empathy from your staff. The situation provides a conduit for strengthening the human connection. All you need to do is receive and acknowledge it with gratitude.

/

3. Provide direction where necessary.

/

Give specific direction to staff on what to do in your absence — but only what’s necessary, i.e. don’t micromanage.

/

For example, you may want to have certain people look after specific things, whether it be a task or just keeping an eye on something.

/

Unless there’s a compelling reason to communicate these things in a private email, lay it out for the whole group.

/

This way everyone’s aware of who’s doing what — efforts will not be duplicated and people will know who to go to for what while you’re away.

/

4. Set communication protocols.

/

Set things up so your don’t even see emails or receive phone calls that don’t TRULY require your immediate attention.

/

Have one of your staff members monitor and filter these things.

/

Give them a list of people and/or subject matters that you know will require an immediate response from only you — these are the only items that should be forwarded to you while you’re away.

/

Entrust this person to forward additional items outside of this list that they deem urgent.

/

This, too, reinforces your trust in your staff and will help you keep your focus on what you’re attending to at home.

/

I hope this reinforces the notion that you have the opportunity to demonstrate good leadership even when you’re away from the office and attending to the well-being of you and your family.

/

Have a productive and enjoyable day!

/

— Brie

/

Blog Post

4 Tips for Leading While Absent

/

It hasn’t been the best of times around the Barker household this week:

/

On Sunday, my 11-year old son came down with a fever, a fairly severe headache and a stiff neck./

/

I’ve been home with him, as he’s been off school all week, and Advil and Tylenol have had a tough time keeping his symptoms fully at bay./

/

Our doctor’s advised us to keep an eye out for any additional symptoms that are related to meningitis (as a stiff neck is) and, if his fever and headache aren’t gone by this afternoon, we’re to take him to the ER for further assessment.

/

On Tuesday, my 81 year-old father had a seizure and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital./

/

Thankfully, a battery of tests revealed nothing of further concern./

/

He was drained by the time I got him home that night but by Thursday he was back to his normal self.

/

Needless to say, we remain pretty concerned, not knowing why it happened and hoping it won’t happen again.

/

Then, since yesterday, perhaps not surprisingly, I haven’t been feeling all that great.

/

I’ve got an intermittent sore throat, low energy and I’m feeling overtired.

“So what does all this have to do with leadership, Brie?”

Well, I don’t have a staff to lead and manage … but I’m going to assume that you do.

Now, imagine that you’ve had a week like I’ve had.

/

Actually, you probably don’t have to imagine all that much; I’m sure you’ve had similar weeks in your life.

Here are some thoughts on how you can demonstrate good leadership when circumstances call for you be away from work in order to care for your family — and for yourself.

/

1. Actually STAY away from work and attend to your family.

If you try to do both, you’ll have a split focus and probably won’t do a very good job of either one.

Staying away sends important messages to your staff, that you:

trust them as a team and as individuals to step-up and look after things while you’re away, and
believe attending to urgent and exceptional family and personal matters is at least equally, if not more important, than work.

/

This is a chance to model the behaviour that you’d want your staff to demonstrate in similar circumstances.

/

2. Be candid with your staff.

Let your staff know what’s calling you to be away. Again, this is modelling the behaviour you’d want from your staff.

Now, we all have different comfort levels in sharing this type of information.

/

If sharing this kind of thing makes you uncomfortable, all the more reason to be open.

/

This is a place where you can stretch and grow as a leader, to put what’s best for your team and organization above your own personal discomfort.

/

If you share these things, it will help staff members who share your preference for privacy feel more comfortable opening up to you.

/

You can also expect to receive some empathy from your staff. The situation provides a conduit for strengthening the human connection. All you need to do is receive and acknowledge it with gratitude.

/

3. Provide direction where necessary.

/

Give specific direction to staff on what to do in your absence — but only what’s necessary, i.e. don’t micromanage.

/

For example, you may want to have certain people look after specific things, whether it be a task or just keeping an eye on something.

/

Unless there’s a compelling reason to communicate these things in a private email, lay it out for the whole group.

/

This way everyone’s aware of who’s doing what — efforts will not be duplicated and people will know who to go to for what while you’re away.

/

4. Set communication protocols.

/

Set things up so your don’t even see emails or receive phone calls that don’t TRULY require your immediate attention.

/

Have one of your staff members monitor and filter these things.

/

Give them a list of people and/or subject matters that you know will require an immediate response from only you — these are the only items that should be forwarded to you while you’re away.

/

Entrust this person to forward additional items outside of this list that they deem urgent.

/

This, too, reinforces your trust in your staff and will help you keep your focus on what you’re attending to at home.

/

I hope this reinforces the notion that you have the opportunity to demonstrate good leadership even when you’re away from the office and attending to the well-being of you and your family.

/

Have a productive and enjoyable day!

/

— Brie

/

© 2018 Connected Conversations™

Addressing a Diminishing Job Performance

by Brie Barker | Difficult Conversations, Leadership Development

My leadership blog is all about helping current and emerging leaders learn how to transform difficult conversations and dysfunctional workplace relationships into positive and productive ones.

Brie Barker

Addressing a Diminishing Job Performance

/

An employee demonstrating diminishing job performance is both common and important enough that, as a leader/manager, you need to know how to address it effectively.

/

From what I’ve seen in my practice, many leaders/managers consider this a difficult conversation to even initiate, let alone execute effectively.

/

Here’s how you can begin that conversation in a way that will yield a positive and productive outcome.

/

In general terms, the answer to reversing a situation of diminishing job performance is to get your employee to either:

/

»» Start doing something,

»» Start doing something BETTER, or

»» Stop doing something.

/

And sometimes it’s some multiple/combination of those things.

/

Now, just telling your employee to start/improve/stop seldom works and, if it does, the change will almost always be temporary.

/

**The first thing you need to do is understand why this change in performance/behaviour is happening — and you’re best to start from a place of non-judgement.**

/

S E E K F I R S T T O U N D E R S T A N D

Seek first to understand.

/

Arrange to have a conversation in a private setting. A neutral place such as a meeting room helps to suspend an unhelpful power dynamic that could be present in your personal office space. The initial tone and feeling of the conversation should be more human-to-human and less boss-to-employee.

/

//

Opening the Conversation:

/

Open your conversation with something like this …

/

“I’ve noticed that your job performance has dropped lately, Chris.

I’m used to you operating on a higher level and I just want to check in with you on that.

Can you shed some light for me on what’s happening?”

/

Let’s unpack this wording a bit …

/

Sentence #1:

You are getting right to the point of the conversation. This helps you stay focused and Chris isn’t left feeling anxious in wondering what the conversation’s going to be about.
You are making an observation about Chris’ performance, not casting blame/shame by saying something like, “You’ve been doing a lousy job lately.”

Sentence #2:

It’s clear to Chris that you acknowledge this is a change from a higher performance level, which will reduce any defensiveness.
Your intention is clear — you have general concern for Chris; you want Chris’ perspective and are not making any assumptions.

Sentence #3:

This is an open invitation for Chris to share, not a demand for accountability.
You may think you know the reasons for the diminishing performance but people feel more empowered and respected when they’re giving the opportunity to self-assess … plus, you might be wrong.
At the end of this sentence, remain silent until Chris has had time to process and respond.

/

Employee’s Possible Responses:

/

Chris’ response will likely come in one of three flavours. Here’s what they are and how you can respond, in turn:

/

Response A:

Chris responds openly with thoughts of what the root cause(s) of the diminishing performance are.

If this happens, it’s a sure sign that Chris trusts you. Give yourself an Awesome Leader checkmark!

/

Response B:

Chris will refute your claim.

/

There are two reasons why Chris might do this:

/

»» Chris agrees but is too egotistical or embarrassed to say so

»» Chris doesn’t agree

/

Either way, you need to respond with specifics that support your claim, e.g.:

/

“You haven’t met your quota for the past two months.”

“You were two weeks late in finishing your part of the System-X project, which pushed our go-live date back another month.”

“Accounting had to send your monthly budget status report back to you three times for you to correct significant errors.”

/

Again, it’s important to cite such things as observations, without hostility.

/

After you lay out the specifics, it will help reduce any defensiveness that might have creeped up by saying something like, “And this just isn’t the solid level of job performance that you’ve always delivered.”

/

Response C:

Chris will acknowledge his poor performance but will say something like, “I’m not really sure why things aren’t going well lately.”

/

A response like this can mean either:

/

»» Chris does know what’s going on but isn’t feeling comfortable enough to talk about it yet (it comes down to trust) or, less likely,

»» Chris really doesn’t know why this is happening.

/

If it means the former you need to re-extend the invitation to share; if it means the latter then you need to try and help Chris figure it out.

/

Either way, there are two specific further lines of enquiry for you to move to now, in order: (Note that both of them still invite Chris to self-assess.)

/

1. Work Environment:

“Can you think of any systemic or procedural issues, or interpersonal problems that could be affecting your performance?”

/

If that yields fruit, continue the conversation. If it doesn’t yield fruit, go to the next line of enquiry,

/

2. Personal Life:

“Can you tell me about anything that’s going on in your personal life that could be affecting your performance at work? We’re all human and sometimes life’s circumstances are really hard to manage.”

/

The second sentence helps normalize the situation in Chris’ mind and continue to make Chris feel less vulnerable.

/

If this line of enquiry yields fruit, continue the exploration.

/

If this doesn’t yield fruit either, then one of two things is likely going on:

»» Chris is feeling too vulnerable to share these things with you — you need to build up more trust.

»» Chris isn’t emotionally ready to recognize the source of problems and may need time and/or professional help to figure this out.

/

So those are a few paths that lead to the first thing you need to accomplish when addressing an employee’s diminishing job performance — understand the root cause(s) — why it’s happening.

/

Of course, there’s quite a way to go before this conversation plays out, but that’s where I’m going to leave things today.

/

Have a productive and enjoyable day!

/

— Brie

/

Blog Post

Addressing a Diminishing Job Performance

/

An employee demonstrating diminishing job performance is both common and important enough that, as a leader/manager, you need to know how to address it effectively.

/

From what I’ve seen in my practice, many leaders/managers consider this a difficult conversation to even initiate, let alone execute effectively.

/

Here’s how you can begin that conversation in a way that will yield a positive and productive outcome.

/

In general terms, the answer to reversing a situation of diminishing job performance is to get your employee to either:

/

»» Start doing something,

»» Start doing something BETTER, or

»» Stop doing something.

/

And sometimes it’s some multiple/combination of those things.

/

Now, just telling your employee to start/improve/stop seldom works and, if it does, the change will almost always be temporary.

/

**The first thing you need to do is understand why this change in performance/behaviour is happening — and you’re best to start from a place of non-judgement.**

/

S E E K F I R S T T O U N D E R S T A N D

Seek first to understand.

/

Arrange to have a conversation in a private setting. A neutral place such as a meeting room helps to suspend an unhelpful power dynamic that could be present in your personal office space. The initial tone and feeling of the conversation should be more human-to-human and less boss-to-employee.

/

//

Opening the Conversation:

/

Open your conversation with something like this …

/

“I’ve noticed that your job performance has dropped lately, Chris.

I’m used to you operating on a higher level and I just want to check in with you on that.

Can you shed some light for me on what’s happening?”

/

Let’s unpack this wording a bit …

/

Sentence #1:

You are getting right to the point of the conversation. This helps you stay focused and Chris isn’t left feeling anxious in wondering what the conversation’s going to be about.
You are making an observation about Chris’ performance, not casting blame/shame by saying something like, “You’ve been doing a lousy job lately.”

Sentence #2:

It’s clear to Chris that you acknowledge this is a change from a higher performance level, which will reduce any defensiveness.
Your intention is clear — you have general concern for Chris; you want Chris’ perspective and are not making any assumptions.

Sentence #3:

This is an open invitation for Chris to share, not a demand for accountability.
You may think you know the reasons for the diminishing performance but people feel more empowered and respected when they’re giving the opportunity to self-assess … plus, you might be wrong.
At the end of this sentence, remain silent until Chris has had time to process and respond.

/

Employee’s Possible Responses:

/

Chris’ response will likely come in one of three flavours. Here’s what they are and how you can respond, in turn:

/

Response A:

Chris responds openly with thoughts of what the root cause(s) of the diminishing performance are.

If this happens, it’s a sure sign that Chris trusts you. Give yourself an Awesome Leader checkmark!

/

Response B:

Chris will refute your claim.

/

There are two reasons why Chris might do this:

/

»» Chris agrees but is too egotistical or embarrassed to say so

»» Chris doesn’t agree

/

Either way, you need to respond with specifics that support your claim, e.g.:

/

“You haven’t met your quota for the past two months.”

“You were two weeks late in finishing your part of the System-X project, which pushed our go-live date back another month.”

“Accounting had to send your monthly budget status report back to you three times for you to correct significant errors.”

/

Again, it’s important to cite such things as observations, without hostility.

/

After you lay out the specifics, it will help reduce any defensiveness that might have creeped up by saying something like, “And this just isn’t the solid level of job performance that you’ve always delivered.”

/

Response C:

Chris will acknowledge his poor performance but will say something like, “I’m not really sure why things aren’t going well lately.”

/

A response like this can mean either:

/

»» Chris does know what’s going on but isn’t feeling comfortable enough to talk about it yet (it comes down to trust) or, less likely,

»» Chris really doesn’t know why this is happening.

/

If it means the former you need to re-extend the invitation to share; if it means the latter then you need to try and help Chris figure it out.

/

Either way, there are two specific further lines of enquiry for you to move to now, in order: (Note that both of them still invite Chris to self-assess.)

/

1. Work Environment:

“Can you think of any systemic or procedural issues, or interpersonal problems that could be affecting your performance?”

/

If that yields fruit, continue the conversation. If it doesn’t yield fruit, go to the next line of enquiry,

/

2. Personal Life:

“Can you tell me about anything that’s going on in your personal life that could be affecting your performance at work? We’re all human and sometimes life’s circumstances are really hard to manage.”

/

The second sentence helps normalize the situation in Chris’ mind and continue to make Chris feel less vulnerable.

/

If this line of enquiry yields fruit, continue the exploration.

/

If this doesn’t yield fruit either, then one of two things is likely going on:

»» Chris is feeling too vulnerable to share these things with you — you need to build up more trust.

»» Chris isn’t emotionally ready to recognize the source of problems and may need time and/or professional help to figure this out.

/

So those are a few paths that lead to the first thing you need to accomplish when addressing an employee’s diminishing job performance — understand the root cause(s) — why it’s happening.

/

Of course, there’s quite a way to go before this conversation plays out, but that’s where I’m going to leave things today.

4 Tips for Leading While Absent

My leadership blog is all about helping current and emerging leaders learn how to transform difficult conversations and dysfunctional workplace relationships into positive and productive ones.

4 Tips for Leading While Absent

/

It hasn’t been the best of times around the Barker household this week:

/

On Sunday, my 11-year old son came down with a fever, a fairly severe headache and a stiff neck./

/

I’ve been home with him, as he’s been off school all week, and Advil and Tylenol have had a tough time keeping his symptoms fully at bay./

/

Our doctor’s advised us to keep an eye out for any additional symptoms that are related to meningitis (as a stiff neck is) and, if his fever and headache aren’t gone by this afternoon, we’re to take him to the ER for further assessment.

/

On Tuesday, my 81 year-old father had a seizure and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital./

/

Thankfully, a battery of tests revealed nothing of further concern./

/

He was drained by the time I got him home that night but by Thursday he was back to his normal self.

/

Needless to say, we remain pretty concerned, not knowing why it happened and hoping it won’t happen again.

/

Then, since yesterday, perhaps not surprisingly, I haven’t been feeling all that great.

/

I’ve got an intermittent sore throat, low energy and I’m feeling overtired.

“So what does all this have to do with leadership, Brie?”

Well, I don’t have a staff to lead and manage … but I’m going to assume that you do.

Now, imagine that you’ve had a week like I’ve had.

/

Actually, you probably don’t have to imagine all that much; I’m sure you’ve had similar weeks in your life.

Here are some thoughts on how you can demonstrate good leadership when circumstances call for you be away from work in order to care for your family — and for yourself.

/

1. Actually STAY away from work and attend to your family.

If you try to do both, you’ll have a split focus and probably won’t do a very good job of either one.

Staying away sends important messages to your staff, that you:

trust them as a team and as individuals to step-up and look after things while you’re away, and

believe attending to urgent and exceptional family and personal matters is at least equally, if not more important, than work.

/

This is a chance to model the behaviour that you’d want your staff to demonstrate in similar circumstances.

/

2. Be candid with your staff.

Let your staff know what’s calling you to be away. Again, this is modelling the behaviour you’d want from your staff.

Now, we all have different comfort levels in sharing this type of information.

/

If sharing this kind of thing makes you uncomfortable, all the more reason to be open.

/

This is a place where you can stretch and grow as a leader, to put what’s best for your team and organization above your own personal discomfort.

/

If you share these things, it will help staff members who share your preference for privacy feel more comfortable opening up to you.

/

You can also expect to receive some empathy from your staff. The situation provides a conduit for strengthening the human connection. All you need to do is receive and acknowledge it with gratitude.

/

/

3. Provide direction where necessary.

/

Give specific direction to staff on what to do in your absence — but only what’s necessary, i.e. don’t micromanage.

/

For example, you may want to have certain people look after specific things, whether it be a task or just keeping an eye on something.

/

Unless there’s a compelling reason to communicate these things in a private email, lay it out for the whole group.

/

This way everyone’s aware of who’s doing what — efforts will not be duplicated and people will know who to go to for what while you’re away.

/

/

4. Set communication protocols.

/

Set things up so your don’t even see emails or receive phone calls that don’t TRULY require your immediate attention.

/

Have one of your staff members monitor and filter these things.

/

Give them a list of people and/or subject matters that you know will require an immediate response from only you — these are the only items that should be forwarded to you while you’re away.

/

Entrust this person to forward additional items outside of this list that they deem urgent.

/

This, too, reinforces your trust in your staff and will help you keep your focus on what you’re attending to at home.

/

/

I hope this reinforces the notion that you have the opportunity to demonstrate good leadership even when you’re away from the office and attending to the well-being of you and your family.

/

Have a productive and enjoyable day!

/

— Brie