We have set the rules for social distancing, communicated them and the Why behind them. People have been given the means to comply but some still don’t do so …
A crisis confronts leaders with their past deeds. How their people respond is determined by whether, as leaders, they are seen to have previously been in the relationship to “give” or to “take” …
I have recently been pushed to explain how the infinite mindset helps in times like these. A finite game has known players, fixed rules …
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Question of the Month
By Wendy Lambourne, director, Legitimate Leadership.
Question:We have set the rules for social distancing, communicated them and the Why behind them. People have been given the means to comply but some still don’t do so. We have been “nice” about it, reminding people over and over, but in some instances, to no avail. Should we now sanction the transgressors – maybe even fire those who won’t adhere to the social distancing protocols?
Answer: Social distancing is no different from any other behavioural standard and will not be adhered to unless all seven requirements below are met:
1. Role model – everyone in a leadership role needs to provide the example for others to follow.
2. Define – the standard needs to be simple, clear and exact … Read the full answer by clicking here
EVENT: THE ROLE OF HR IN ASSISTING LINE MANAGERS TO DEMONSTRATE CARE IN A CRISIS
Below is a report on the Legitimate Leadership webinar held on this subject on 7 May 2020 (with some questions and answers at the end). The Legitimate Leadership presenters were Wendy Lambourne and Leanne Maree.
Legitimate Leadership says that only if you are seen to care will you be trusted by those who report to you. People will only consent to being led if their leader cares for them (primarily) and grows them.
So how does human resources (HR) help leaders in their organisations to care for their people?
The conventional view is that care is about looking after people’s physical and material needs. This is true. Particularly in the Covid-19 crisis, line managers need ensure people’s safety and health – for instance PPE (personal protective equipment), screening and social distancing.
They also need to do the best they can, within their means, to ensure that people’s pay needs are catered for. The capacity of companies to do this differs. For instance in the first world, government support is generally much greater than in the developing world.
Some companies can pay 100%; some companies can pay nothing. But trust in leadership will not necessarily differ between those extremes! Appropriate care does not mean paying 100% if that means the business will be out of business.
Legitimate Leadership has identified six key roles that HR can play, to enable line managers to care.
But care is not just about physical matters and pay. The giving should be not just of things but of self.
The How of care is also important. In other words, the care must make employees stronger in the crisis and not do the opposite.
ARTICLE: NOTHING LIKE A CRISIS TO BRING THE CHICKENS HOME TO ROOST
By Wendy Lambourne, director, Legitimate Leadership
In the midst of a strike, a shop steward told me, “Now the chickens will come home to roost!” He was saying the current fraught relationship had been made in the past and management’s poor historical relationship was about to come back and bite them.
WHAT IS NOW WAS MADE IN THE PAST
A crisis confronts leaders with their past deeds. How their people respond is determined by whether, as leaders, they are seen to have previously been in the relationship to “give” or to “take”. Leaders who have put their people first will have people who will respond tenfold and give whatever it takes to weather the storm. Conversely, leaders who have put the results first, should not be surprised if their people don’t come to the fore, give little if at all, and may even rebel or jump ship during the crisis.
In short, leaders determine whether their people will rally or scatter in a crisis by the way they have led them in the past.
VIDEO: THESE ARE NOT UNPRECEDENTED TIMES –THE IMPORTANCE OF INFINITE MINDSET DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS
By Simon Sinek, American author on leadership and motivational speaker, speaking during a recent “company huddle” of his staff.
COMMENT ON THIS VIDEO BY WENDY LAMBOURNE, LEGITIMATE LEADERSHIP: A crisis confronts leaders with their past deeds. Those who have put money aside, rather than taking it out in short-term incentives, will obviously be in a stronger position. Leaders who have been here to “give” to the people in the past are more likely to have employees who pick up the oars and help to row the boat through choppy waters. Those who have historically been “takers” should not be surprised if their people give little, if at all, and may even rebel or jump ship. A crisis as an opportunity to reset the relationship with employees – to take the relationship to new heights. It is also an opportunity to reinvent the business – not the Why of the business but the What and the How. This will be easier in some industries than others. But the losers, irrespective of their industries, will be those who don’t at least try to adapt to the change, who lack the will to seek and find another way.
OUR SUMMARY OF THIS VIDEO: I have recently been pushed to explain how the infinite mindset helps in times like these. A finite game has known players, fixed rules and agreed-upon objectives. By contrast, rules are changeable in the infinite game, with unknown players who are in it to keep playing. Problems arise when finite players are up against infinite players. Often the former end up mired in lost trust and declining innovation.
These are not unprecedented times. There are many famous cases where change or unexpected events has put companies out of business – and made other companies come out stronger and reinvent themselves.
The invention of the internet put many companies out of business – the ones who could not reinvent their companies for the internet age but rather doubled down on the old way they did business. Every video store is out of business because of streaming; they couldn’t reinvent themselves. When Starbucks moved into neighborhoods many coffee shops went out of business because they refused to change the way they did business. Uber is putting taxi companies out of business because the taxis refused to change.
VIDEO: THESE ARE NOT UNPRECEDENTED TIMES –THE IMPORTANCE OF INFINITE MINDSET DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS