Latest / Authentic Living / Creating an Authentic Work Culture with Leadership Expert, Maree Burgess
Transcript
- 0:01Welcome to authentic living with Roxanne, a place where we have as conversations about
- 0:08things that really matter in our lives.
- 0:11And now here's your host, Roxanne Derhodge.
- 0:36Hi, everyone.
- 0:36It's Roxanne Durhard of authentically being with Roxanne.
- 0:39Thanks for tuning in again this week.
- 0:41Today, I have a special guest Mary Burgess, and she's in Australia.
- 0:46So we were talking.
- 0:48She looks so lovely when I look at her and 6 o'clock there.
- 0:52So we I'm so glad that you took the time to get up this early to start your day a bit earlier,
- 0:56to be with us today.
- 0:58So thanks for being here.
- 1:00Okay.
- 1:00So let me tell you a little bit about Marie and her background, which is, you know, at the time
- 1:06we had set this up, you know, we knew that there was an alignment, but obviously now with
- 1:11different things going on, we thought that there would be a bit more, affinity to certain
- 1:15things that we can discuss.
- 1:17So she talks about team performance and organizational excellence being vital, and it's
- 1:22a must to engage people, projects, and change specialists she's a trainer, coach,
- 1:27facilitator, author, and speaker, who particularly, practically guides leaders into
- 1:32the teams to create the culture, you desire, and, importantly, they want to be a part of,
- 1:38which greatly moves performance.
- 1:40She has run her business since 2003.
- 1:43So that's a that's a quite a long time.
- 1:45So you've been doing this kind of work, What guide did you 2 become involved in
- 1:50organizational consulting?
- 1:53So it really, I I've got a bit of an eclectic career because I actually started my working
- 2:00journey as a a nurse in a major hospital here in Melbourne.
- 2:05And then decided to take 12 months off and work in an office so I could work normal hours and
- 2:10not wear shift work.
- 2:10And of course, I never went back as you do.
- 2:13And I never went back to to nursing because I just fell in love with the the the dynamic
- 2:18nature of being part of an organization.
- 2:19And then my, you know, my first experience of being part teams that stay together for a while
- 2:23because when you're hospital trained and nursing, you're in teams that change every 4 or
- 2:285 weeks or even daily because you're all rostered on and stuff like that.
- 2:33So I spent a long time in in the corporate world and particularly in banking.
- 2:38And, realized after having children and because I was working part time, my role was getting
- 2:45narrow and narrow, and I couldn't understand why I was so unhappy, which I've never never
- 2:49disliked any job I'd been in and, you know, did some, did some voluntary work within the
- 2:54organization.
- 2:55I was in at the time, learned some coaching, became part of you know, supporting their
- 2:59graduate program.
- 3:00And that's when I realized that I was actually doing the wrong thing.
- 3:04And basically what I wanted to do was start a coaching business, which has now more them to
- 3:08to training and facilitating.
- 3:11And the nice thing about that is is it's it's not looking after the ill health of people, but
- 3:16it's very aligned what I used to do as a nurse, which was to provide the best care and service
- 3:22that I that I could.
- 3:23So it's just become It's not a natural progression, but it felt very natural for for
- 3:28me to to move into this sphere.
- 3:31And having spent a long time in corporates and being part of a lot of teams, I was always
- 3:36perplexed around why people got stuck in teams that they, and they were very unhappy.
- 3:41Why leaders always and still do always have someone in their team pretty much that's that
- 3:47is perceived as difficult.
- 3:49And I just got really curious about that.
- 3:51So now I really specialize in how to help people create and be part of a team that they
- 3:57actually do wanna be traveled and actually enjoy going to work every day even though
- 4:01they're not going to work at the moment because we're working from home.
- 4:03Yeah.
- 4:04So you're going getting up having your coffee, maybe your quick breakfast and you're going to
- 4:08your your office or your living room that you reconfigured into an office, which is a a
- 4:12change that, a lot of people have had to make full time you know, myself, same thing.
- 4:16I worked a lot from home, but now, you know, this is what I where I am full time.
- 4:20So let's let's pivot back to what you talked about.
- 4:25Why is it that oftentimes teams have 1 or maybe 2 people that create such dissension that's
- 4:33that spins a team.
- 4:34Talk to speak a little bit to that because I'm sure most people, and I know I've been on many
- 4:40teams in my career where you could see it happen speak to
- 4:44a little bit about that and kind of what you know about that and what happens to people like
- 4:48that and how it impacts the teams.
- 4:50Yeah.
- 4:50Look, there's just such a range of reasons why people don't fall into sync with a team or are
- 4:57disenchanted So it could be they've just been part of the organization for a really long
- 5:02time, and they've jaded, and they've seen a lot of change.
- 5:05And it's almost like they're sitting there going, come on.
- 5:07We've seen happened before.
- 5:08It didn't work then.
- 5:09Why would it happen now?
- 5:10So there's a whole there's a whole, you know, a lot of history around that, and I work with a
- 5:14lot of organizations that even now with the turnover of people, we have an organization,
- 5:19see some people that have been in organizations with decades.
- 5:23And if they don't stay fresh and have that love of learning, they become, you know, as Carol
- 5:28Dwick calls it, has that fixed mindset and they just can't see anything else.
- 5:32So that's that's troubling.
- 5:33But then you can have a lack of trust.
- 5:36And I've always been part of great teams and always been part of the teams I was part of,
- 5:41except for one team, which was laid in my corporate career, and I couldn't work out why
- 5:46we weren't working.
- 5:48We just, you know, we were nice, nice to each other.
- 5:51It was very surface level stuff.
- 5:52But when, when I did dive into it and we actually could find out what was going on, it
- 5:57was because there was two people in that team that actually distrusted each other and really
- 6:01didn't like each other, but they smoothed it over.
- 6:04So people, other people in the team couldn't see that.
- 6:07And so there was never any authenticity.
- 6:09So I love the fact that you look for authentic authenticity in leadership or help provide that
- 6:15because if you don't have that, if you don't have trust, then you get clicks forming.
- 6:20So you know, and again, seniority has a lot to do with it.
- 6:24So you get all the bad behavior that can occur when people are very junior because they don't
- 6:28realize the impact on the people around them.
- 6:31But as people get more senior, they can also be hacked really badly as well because they've all
- 6:36got their own agendas.
- 6:39As people, we're slippery little suckers and we we are not often open, authentic, transparent,
- 6:47and and there's so much miscommunication.
- 6:51Totally for reasons.
- 6:53Absolutely so.
- 6:54And to your point, you know, I was I I'm writing my second book on on the topic of
- 6:59authenticity and leadership.
- 7:00And, you know, when you kind of look at it, you know, we look up to your leaders to give that
- 7:07be that guidepost to permissive behavior.
- 7:11And, unfortunately, and I've been on teams you know, I was part of a hospital team, where I
- 7:17was entering as the leader and some of the behaviors on that team, at time was quite
- 7:22infantile.
- 7:23A best.
- 7:24You know, but I I think, you know, some of it was the fact that leadership prior to allowed a
- 7:30lot of nepotism and you know, triangulation and didn't resolve conflicts that kinda permeated
- 7:39the teams.
- 7:39And it it it really I I I think that's a lot of teams, and I don't know if you would agree.
- 7:44Sometimes if leadership does not intervene in a way that digs out, you know, the root of the
- 7:50dandelion, the toxicity really gains momentum.
- 7:54Right?
- 7:55And then a lot of people get away with bad behavior, they put up with bad behavior, all
- 8:01those things.
- 8:02So, you know, when you're going in to work with teams, and you're going into an organization,
- 8:07Marie, what how are you are you doing an organizational kind of snapshot of the teams
- 8:13you're working with prior to deciding to work with it, or how do you kind of, and what how do
- 8:18you get brought into organizations
- 8:20to work with their teams?
- 8:22Yeah.
- 8:23So, look, there can be a range of reasons and at the moment because, I have such a focus on
- 8:30delegation because because you're right, a lot of problems, there's 2 things we really poor
- 8:36at.
- 8:36We're we're poor at having difficult conversations, and we're very poor at asking
- 8:40what if questions.
- 8:42And so people would rather avoid having a conversation with someone that perhaps is
- 8:47troublesome or colored people who are not getting along and just hope that it goes away.
- 8:51And it, as you said, it just festers and intensifies.
- 8:53And then that later might move on to perhaps something more senior or move on to another
- 8:57organization.
- 8:57And a new leader comes in and they inherit that bad behavior.
- 9:01And and often that's the most challenging thing because tell me they've gotta have
- 9:05conversations that they weren't expecting in the sort of their 1st 90 days of being in a
- 9:11role because people just would rather avoid having that difficult conversation.
- 9:16So we're not coming to, organizations, it's usually at the lead level where I'm doing one
- 9:22on one work with them or as you said in in teams.
- 9:28Sometimes rarely, but sometimes I do work with whole organizations if they're sort of medium
- 9:32sized.
- 9:33And the first thing I will do is if it's feasible, it's not always feasible if there's
- 9:392,000,000 numbers, but have one on ones with each person that will be part of whatever I'm
- 9:43doing, whether it's a 6 month program or a a one day workshop to go what's really going on.
- 9:48So I guess I go in with a positive intent that, I don't want to be seen as a fixer because I
- 9:54don't my the toxic teams are the ones I don't wanna work with because they're the hardest to
- 9:59move.
- 10:00I actually love working with performing teams.
- 10:02They're going, how can you do even better and often it's just a few tweaks.
- 10:07But yeah, during the one on one conversations and usually they're only 20 minutes, but it's
- 10:12to find out What's the theme that's going on?
- 10:14Because everyone's got their own individual stuff, but what's the theme going around for
- 10:19that or that that team and you either bring it out and give it air or, you give them some
- 10:26skills to do that themselves.
- 10:29Right.
- 10:29Because sometimes, like, I recently I was doing a bit of consulting and I was brought into an
- 10:33organization, but it was a there was it was through a third party and they, you know, they,
- 10:36like, the CEO said absolutely bring her in.
- 10:39She has the expertise.
- 10:40We're willing to do whatever it takes and, you know, senior managements ready and and we're
- 10:45just gonna work with all our teams.
- 10:47And, so I said, great.
- 10:48I said, so I wanted to do, basically, and I'd reach out prior to to the senior team have
- 10:53really good conversations.
- 10:55I know there was a lot of of change and and things that weren't done well.
- 10:59So, of course, what, unfortunately, as I got going with the the CEO didn't she didn't
- 11:04explicitly make, her intentions made.
- 11:08She basically wanted to brush everything away.
- 11:11So here I am.
- 11:12I'm going in and talking to the teams about, okay.
- 11:16Like, alright.
- 11:16So there's been a lot.
- 11:19And things aren't going so well, and things have not been so done so well.
- 11:22However, where do we need to pivot to the future?
- 11:25Giving them a bit of space to be able to air because they've been told, that's my role.
- 11:31But let's kinda bridge and figure out the next step to get out of of the storm.
- 11:37People were, I would say they were quite forthcoming, but what ended up happening, it
- 11:44was on fortunate.
- 11:45They did for reverberation of what the CEO wanted, was.
- 11:50I don't like that they are bringing up things that they're contentious about that's putting
- 11:55in them in the past, but she couldn't recognize potentially that really, you know, prior to
- 12:00making change, you have to allow people that voice.
- 12:02And I don't know if you would agree with that, Marie.
- 12:04Be able to say, you know, this was cruddy.
- 12:06This was so horrible.
- 12:07And blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
- 12:09And then eventually as they went on, what happened is they kinda, you know, I often say
- 12:13that the dissenters rise to the top when when there's no more validity anymore once they've
- 12:20been put on that stage.
- 12:22And what start to happen is eventually, you know, the real core concerns came out, and the
- 12:27people that were just like, I I'm gonna say the 2% that just wanted to keep them there
- 12:31Eventually, people kinda start to look at them for what it was, and they were ready to work.
- 12:34But, unfortunately, the alignment between where the CEO her perception of things and where
- 12:40things needed to go was out of alignment.
- 12:42So needed I didn't work with them full time.
- 12:45So it's it's that's unfortunate at times.
- 12:48Right?
- 12:49Because it it would have meant a lot of work, long term work, but it it regardless of what
- 12:55the employees and the teams had been through, they were willing to work.
- 12:58Yeah.
- 12:59And look, that's the other thing.
- 13:01The the the person that says come in and fix fix my team but they actually wouldn't wanna be
- 13:07hands off.
- 13:07Or you're right.
- 13:08They don't wanna dive into no.
- 13:10No.
- 13:10Don't go back into the past, because we don't need to go there.
- 13:13Well, actually, yes, you do.
- 13:16You've gotta get it out in the open.
- 13:18It's gonna cause angst and anxiety, but we're gonna talk about this and then go, okay.
- 13:23Time to move on.
- 13:24Absolutely.
- 13:25So I think, you know, in retrospect, because it was a third party, I I figured I'd my due
- 13:30diligence would add a shift in how I approach things now when there's a third party to make
- 13:35sure that I get the proper information that I need to prior to going in.
- 13:39You know?
- 13:40So let's so, obviously, the base that we know with teams is that they need to experience
- 13:47their team members as being transparent.
- 13:51And to your point about leadership, they also need to be able to experience that with their
- 13:56senior leadership that's running the team.
- 13:58So let's say that's in place.
- 14:01And let's talk a little bit more about your your sweet spot or your your super power, which
- 14:07is delegation.
- 14:09And talk about what are some of the core elements that leaders need to have or acquire
- 14:16to be a good delegator?
- 14:18Yeah.
- 14:19So, you know, research that I've done shows that 28% of us have actually trained in
- 14:25delegation.
- 14:27Because it's just perceived as something that that we can do.
- 14:31But when people actually really think about it, they say, actually, we're that very good at it.
- 14:35It really does come back to a whole there's a whole range of reasons.
- 14:38There's stuff going on for us around why that we don't wanna delegate from.
- 14:43My team are too busy.
- 14:46I don't know what to delegate.
- 14:47I'm fearful that if I delegate something, they will do it really badly.
- 14:52Or they'll do it so well that'll make me look badly because it used to be my role.
- 14:56So there's a whole whole lot of fears that prevent people from from delegating or beliefs
- 15:01that they have around around their team.
- 15:06Sometimes they just do because I think faster to just get on and do it.
- 15:10It'll it takes too long to to train people.
- 15:13And sometimes they'll try to delegate and the team will go, that's not my job.
- 15:17And they'll push back.
- 15:19And I guess my my sweet spot is middle management.
- 15:22So I look at middle management leaders who are either mutually leading a team, and so I've
- 15:29never had to delegate and helping them understand what they need to do and how they
- 15:33need to do it because it's more than just handing tasks Sober, there's there's all of
- 15:37these leadership components which we've touched on authenticity, trust communication, building
- 15:43relationships, and so on.
- 15:47One of the first things I get people to do, and I actually did this with a, you know, as for
- 15:51the first time with a really simulator a couple of years ago in an organization who had stepped
- 15:55into a more senior role into the C suite.
- 15:59And I and I was thinking, gosh, what will we start with?
- 16:01What will I do?
- 16:02And I thought, I know we'll just work out what's on the plate for her 1st 90 days.
- 16:07That'll take the first 10 minutes, and then we'll get into a good conversation.
- 16:11Well, 90 minutes later, we're still putting up things on her huge whiteboard around what was
- 16:19on her plate.
- 16:20And that's when I realized that we've got a look and it was Madro and we didn't, you know,
- 16:25it wasn't 90 minutes worth of this, this, this, this, it was actually what about this tell me
- 16:29more about that conversation as we went.
- 16:32And when we both looked at that list, it was then the other stand back and go, actually,
- 16:39that is something I can park.
- 16:41That is something that that doesn't need to be done for another 6 months.
- 16:45And the list became much more feasible.
- 16:48The other issue was there was no team in place to delegate anything to, so that had to be
- 16:53built up as well.
- 16:55So even doing that task audit, which would which is the first thing I get people to do is
- 17:01sometimes enough to lighten the load or to make people realize this is what I can pass on.
- 17:06And the things you can pass on are things that you don't need your absolute expertise to be
- 17:11able to do.
- 17:12But also understanding because when people step up into a new role, they'll often keep doing
- 17:18the activities that they used to do in their old role they could be part of the same team
- 17:24because it's stuff they're really good at and that's why they got promoted.
- 17:27And they find it hard to let go of what they're really good at because then they feel
- 17:31threatened they're doing stuff they're not so good at, which is leading.
- 17:35So it's helping them do that step up, and I call it right level management.
- 17:38So If their leader steps up, but they're still operating here, they're pushing all their team
- 17:43down.
- 17:43So everyone's operating at the wrong level.
- 17:46And if it's throughout the organization, that's a huge issue.
- 17:49So how to get them to step up and and delegate the tasks that they used to do.
- 17:53So that's it.
- 17:55That would be my first tip is to say what is on your task list and what are you, what are you
- 18:00still doing that you shouldn't do?
- 18:01And asking yourself the question, if not, you know, look at it, look at something you're
- 18:05about to do.
- 18:06If not me, who else do this.
- 18:09I like I like the the concept about comfort, really, because, if you're stepping up a level,
- 18:16you know, we all like comfort and safety to feel competent if you think about it.
- 18:22But not thinking, you know, if you're thinking of a leader, you're not thinking that they're
- 18:25struggling with that, but I'm thinking about in my leadership roles.
- 18:27I think, I, Brenna, an addiction unit at a hospital as, you know, one of my first
- 18:34management roles.
- 18:35And, you know, I was quite young also, those types of things, but I worked with another
- 18:40leader, and he was so, kinda lost in being liked that he did everything that that his team
- 18:52wanted.
- 18:52So he went from being one of the team members to being the team lead.
- 18:57And and I would look at it, and I would say, like, but, you know, that particular filing
- 19:03situation is not your, you know, that's your your your expertise and your value is being
- 19:08lost there, you know, but he was, you know, more interested in perceiving this as
- 19:14connection versus recognizing that in fact, he wasn't showing people, you know, the value of
- 19:20what he had been promoted to.
- 19:23Which is which is sort of one of the other things I focus on, and in the white paper that
- 19:28I'm happy to offer people which is a mindset audit, which is what is it that you're doing
- 19:33that that either you should be doing or that you have beliefs about?
- 19:37And and one of them is it it's I often say that that it can be so challenging to step up from
- 19:43within your team.
- 19:44So your your manager or your supervisor had stepped up and and left the peers behind
- 19:49because suddenly he's leading them.
- 19:52And He wants the relationships to stay the same, and they just can't.
- 19:58Right.
- 19:58Right.
- 19:59And I think, you know, you know, this part of when thinking about it for deli from an
- 20:04element, I think every level you go up, my perception is that you can't keep the
- 20:09connections in the organization.
- 20:11So I I always say, you know, you may level up, then you have less connection, then you level
- 20:15up, and then you get to the CEO where the CEO needs to go outside of the organization.
- 20:20Which is which is a lonely place to be.
- 20:22Right?
- 20:23Because as human beings, ultimately, we know that you have the skill and the capacity and
- 20:28the personality and the acumen to do that role.
- 20:31But when you're up there and you're having a tough day, it's like, help anybody.
- 20:36You can't go to the level under, you have to be able to, and that's where, you know, senior
- 20:42senior coaching and executive coaching becomes very, very vital.
- 20:46But it's it's it's a tough thing, and I've seen people go through it, and they struggle because
- 20:50they, you know, they're still wanting to maintain those connections, especially in
- 20:54smaller communities and like that too where you might see the, you know, your managers or your
- 20:59SVPs at the hockey rink or the soccer field or whatever, and then you're still having to meet
- 21:04seeing that certain level of acumen even though you're outside of work.
- 21:08That's right.
- 21:09And and the number of
- 21:10people that I work with who, go, but I used to be best friends with this person.
- 21:15We used to socialize together, and we've had and now these things happened, and it's because
- 21:20you know, sorry.
- 21:22You've stepped up.
- 21:23You're now leading them, and you have to behave differently.
- 21:28So let's So let's talk a little bit about, in this time and, you know, I I, you know, I think
- 21:34we'd be a bit remiss to not, you know, acknowledge that, being a leader is a, a subset
- 21:42of a skill that I think some people are just naturally come into it a little bit better, but
- 21:48obviously with skill and development enhancement, people get it.
- 21:53But the shift in what how we've, you know, you're in Australia and I'm in Canada and we're
- 21:58basically, you know, we're doing the same types of things.
- 22:01We're all having to manage from home.
- 22:03So delegation virtually.
- 22:06Let's talk a little bit about that.
- 22:08And, What kind of thing?
- 22:12I'm I'm just thinking it's probably a bit of a wild, wild west out there potentially for
- 22:16people that have never or haven't acted as teams remotely as their, kinda, their modus up
- 22:24upper end eye.
- 22:25So what what are some of the things that you've heard or you've seen or you think that teams
- 22:30would be experiencing right now virtually with the element of delegation.
- 22:34Yeah.
- 22:34And and it's interesting when, you know, so many organizations do work well previously
- 22:39worked flexibly and now absolutely have to.
- 22:42And but but working flex speed is like, oh, you can work a day from home or you can work
- 22:46somewhere else, whereas now it is literally you're out of the office.
- 22:49And that has, I guess, that has lifted the, I as you know, the visibility of whether you're
- 22:58good at delegating or not or what your leadership is like or what your team is like.
- 23:04Because then a whole new range of fears come into place because people used to be able to
- 23:07see every day, so you can actually see what they're doing.
- 23:10Now they're at home and you can't see it.
- 23:13And that's not to say, in fact, people are busier at home on finding than when they used
- 23:18to be at work, which I'll I'll come back to.
- 23:20But suddenly, people who were in the office and were perceived as pretty good at perhaps
- 23:24delegating and lading, have lost that element of control, which is visibility of what the the
- 23:31team are doing and that raises a bit of fear.
- 23:33And then when we get a bit of fear from a neuroscience perspective, we get sort of
- 23:36cortisol entering system, which makes us feel stressed, and then we start to operate
- 23:40differently, and then we get this domino effect of what's going on.
- 23:45So things that are happening, out of the workplace.
- 23:48But while people are still working, are things like we've got people who used to walk out the
- 23:54front door and and then trouble to their office, fills their commuting time, and they
- 23:58would be away from their family and now working with their family.
- 24:01And all of the challenges that that brings in, if you've got young children, if you've got
- 24:05school age children or children in secondary school or even college, suddenly the dynamics
- 24:11of how you're working had changed just because you've got different people around you.
- 24:16And suddenly, you have to sort of show that you actually do have a real job because all they do
- 24:21is see you sitting Really, what are you doing?
- 24:23We can't play video games all day.
- 24:26The other thing that's happening is people I'm I'm spending more time on video conferencing
- 24:30than ever, ever, ever before, which I love because they are they are getting that face to
- 24:36face, thing, but but again, there's research emerging that we get this cognitive dissonance
- 24:42happening because when I'm talking to you on a computer screen, it looks like we're together,
- 24:46but we know there's this there's this dissonance that actually we're not really.
- 24:50Right.
- 24:50And so that takes up bandwidth of our brain, which again is a bit exhausting.
- 24:55So people who previously could say, hey, Bob, tell me about the results from blah blah blah
- 25:01and they're sitting next to them.
- 25:02Now I have to set up, you know, an instant message or set up a Zoom time to have that
- 25:07conversation.
- 25:08And so they're doing more they're spending more time looking at a computer screen, talking to
- 25:14people.
- 25:15And they're starting earlier because they've lost their commute time, and they're going
- 25:19later.
- 25:19And now because their computer is at home, probably always was, but now it's accessible so
- 25:24much.
- 25:24And they're used to working from that table in the lounge room or in if they have an office.
- 25:30They're also doing, you know, stuff at night when they may not have previously and stuff on
- 25:34weekends.
- 25:35So it it's actually concerning for me from a a health perspective that that people are doing a
- 25:42lot more work, but they're also doing work that creates a cognitive load on our brain because
- 25:49we've got this dissonance about what's real and what's not.
- 25:53So that's, I think, a a bit of an issue without even looking at all the people that have, you
- 25:59know, which is sort of separate completely to what we're saying, but who have lost their jobs
- 26:02and there's that pressure of there's that added pressure of will I have a job in a week if you
- 26:07do still have a job.
- 26:08So there's a lot of stress going on for people at the moment.
- 26:12And if leaders Also have that stress of what am I team doing?
- 26:17They can easily fall into the micro management aspect of internet messaging all the time,
- 26:23checking all the time how you're going with because they're not seeing it, so they've got
- 26:28to check all the time.
- 26:29So It's putting it's putting stress on people.
- 26:33And so it I I try to go as quickly as possible.
- 26:38And now we're sort of 3 or, you know, we'll probably is it 3 weeks?
- 26:413 weeks into, social distancing, people now are falling into a rhythm.
- 26:48So now's the time to go get back into a work based operating rhythm.
- 26:54Set your daytime a day that you're going to work, make sure you have breaks, and bring and
- 26:59bring back some control in how you're operating.
- 27:01Set up a structure, that might be the same or a bit different to how your team and how you used
- 27:08to work with your team.
- 27:09If you had a weekly meeting, have a weekly meeting, if you had daily stand ups, still find
- 27:13a way to have those daily standouts.
- 27:14So try to recreate it knowing it's not gonna be the same, and get back to some sort of normal
- 27:21operating rhythm or put some rules around the fact of how you operate.
- 27:25So that makes that makes so much sense, right, because I think you're right.
- 27:28Like, it was, you know, March 15th here, and then we were like a tumbleweed to use your,
- 27:34your, your familiar kind of space.
- 27:37And now you're right because people are just like, okay.
- 27:40We're calibrating.
- 27:41We know this has been 4 weeks in.
- 27:44We might have another 2 months to go.
- 27:47Alright.
- 27:47Okay.
- 27:48Well, this is our reality, and people are learning things like slack and and and Loom and
- 27:54and and Zoom and and break out rooms and all that stuff and Zoom overload.
- 27:59So I would think, yeah, you're right because that FaceTime was maybe there more often.
- 28:04So managers have to manage their stress and how they're coping so that they're what they're
- 28:10filtering down to their teams.
- 28:12Yeah.
- 28:13And I could I would think on the employee, and then I don't know if you you would agree with
- 28:17us, Marie, but also maybe the the teams at home are worried about how they're being perceived
- 28:23about functioning.
- 28:24So maybe they're hyper functioning because they're concerned when when everybody catches
- 28:29their breath and we go back and we start to look at the KPIs and stuff like that, will I be
- 28:34under the microscope because of how I function at home?
- 28:37Yes.
- 28:38And look, I I hope there's a lot of slack even for, for teams and people and individuals and
- 28:47leaders be well, when we I mean, I was gonna say when we get back to normal, who knows what?
- 28:52Getting back to normal even looks like.
- 28:54Right.
- 28:57Because we are in look, I could We I don't know about calendar, but here in Australia, we are
- 29:03absolutely going to go into a recession.
- 29:05Our unemployment rate is going to skyrocket And so, we have to have some forgiveness because it
- 29:13could be even survivor guilt because people still have jobs.
- 29:17So that, you know, there's, you know, whole heap of things that we've we've gotta make sure
- 29:21that, we find ways to keep business going because we absolutely have too.
- 29:27Mhmm.
- 29:27But also do it in a way that there's a lot of peak evenness in there as well.
- 29:30So, yeah, look, I think performance reviews, maybe this is the
- 29:33year that we'll be able to get rid of them.
- 29:36Everybody's probably you know, everyone's like, oh, no.
- 29:40Performance review time.
- 29:41You know, when you're in corporate, you're like, Okay.
- 29:43It's just a conversation.
- 29:44It's no big deal, but we know that everybody nobody liked them.
- 29:48Nice.
- 29:48Exactly.
- 29:49Maybe this would be the year of, okay.
- 29:51We're not gonna have those But I I would see that, yes, absolutely delegation would be the
- 29:58skill of the leader is being challenged as much as the skill of the team.
- 30:03And the and the state the state of the the leadership and the and the teams and that
- 30:08relationship whatever you kinda took in person and took at home, it it was the say it's it's
- 30:15in it's in a space then that you now you're like, alright.
- 30:18We we had conflict.
- 30:19We had disagreements.
- 30:20We had unresolved concerns.
- 30:22All that stuff, but now we're not even seeing each other.
- 30:25And to your point, I'm reading you, Marie, but if I if I have an issue with you and I'm having
- 30:31to still kind of work with you and nobody was resolving it and it's gonna be harder even even
- 30:38more so, I would think, to work
- 30:40through.
- 30:41Yeah.
- 30:42Far easy to avoid that difficult conversation.
- 30:44Right?
- 30:45Because I can kind of make sure that I'm kind of clocking in when you're clocking out, but
- 30:48now it's like, oh, no.
- 30:50You have to be able to talk to Roxanne at least once a week to check this out, those types of
- 30:54things.
- 30:54So I think, you know, it's it po probably poses some difficulties, but also I'm gonna say that
- 31:01on the on the flip side of things, it probably is teaching us a lot about what we're maybe not
- 31:07wanting to have dealt with before we're being forced to deal with you know, it's kinda like
- 31:11putting on our big girl pants and saying, okay.
- 31:14I have to look at it together.
- 31:16Yeah.
- 31:16Oh, absolutely.
- 31:17Great.
- 31:17I think a lot of good things are coming out of this and is there's a lot of, willingness to
- 31:23work together and to get on and do work.
- 31:26So it's absolutely not all doom and gloom and there's some amazing things happening out
- 31:32there.
- 31:33And, you know, We can say change is difficult, and yet it seems like everyone stepped into
- 31:39this new mode of reality and just getting on with it.
- 31:43So I'm I'm really impressed.
- 31:46I would think so, and I think, you know, it's it's a global issue.
- 31:48It's not And then you look around and you see how much, as communities, you know, here, I'm
- 31:55sure as in Australia also, you know, everybody's putting out little teddy bears in
- 32:00their windows or the kids are, you know, doing chalk signs and all these all these phenomenal
- 32:07things, and it shows you, you know, the capacity that we have as human beings when we
- 32:11just destatify everything and just really look about, you know what?
- 32:15Look, I'm safe.
- 32:16My family's safe.
- 32:18There's food.
- 32:20You know, we have enough to be able to sustain
- 32:22the toilet paper.
- 32:25Yeah.
- 32:25Of all the ridiculousness we have to, you know, and, I think it it is really bringing us to a
- 32:30point where, really, we see that so much similarity with each other, and I hope that
- 32:34that in turn plays into the element that we're all in this together.
- 32:40We're all human beings, and we all have the same worries and the same needs and the same,
- 32:46you know, things that make us happy and those types of things.
- 32:48So potentially from a a business perspective, I would hope that you know, and I think it truly
- 32:53will will have shifted us because now we we are looking at what's important
- 33:00Yes.
- 33:01And and hopefully finding this stuff, going back to to work, finding this stuff that
- 33:05actually we don't need to do anymore and we can become more efficient.
- 33:09Absolutely.
- 33:10Absolutely.
- 33:12So for anybody out there that's It's saying their team, they've gotten their feet wet,
- 33:21they're out of the crisis, and they're functioning, but, but the leaders wanting to
- 33:27kind of create a lit little bit more synergy in their teams.
- 33:32What kind of things would you say that would be some things that they could potentially look at
- 33:36implementing maybe say a bit at a time in the next month
- 33:41definitely look at their operating rhythm.
- 33:44How are they operating day to day and what sort of boundaries have they put in place for
- 33:51themselves, are they making sure they're staying in touch with all of their team?
- 33:58So, just because someone seems to be absolutely fine and you can just, you know, set the get.
- 34:04Don't because you do need to check-in.
- 34:06Really look at, you know, that that task audit and then go, there's so much here I don't need
- 34:12to do because that's often the case or there's so much here that that I can give other people
- 34:16to do because I think we also because again, we don't know how long this will go on.
- 34:20So we also wanna be able to make sure that we're keeping people engaged and enthusiastic
- 34:27about what they're doing to make sure that you're giving, if you are delegating that you
- 34:31giving them stuff that they're actually going to, thrive with or learn from or be challenged
- 34:36by in a positive way and and just check-in how how are they going?
- 34:42Because we've been talking about leading and leading teams, but it's also managing up.
- 34:46As well.
- 34:46So making sure that you're checking in with your boss, making sure you've got a line of
- 34:51communication and are operating with them with them because they've got their own stresses.
- 34:56As well.
- 34:57So, no one has the answers, so look out for each other.
- 35:01Yes.
- 35:01And I I go back to communicate, communicate, communicate, just like you're realizing the
- 35:06tasks and at this level, how are you having that conversation, you know, one step up or two
- 35:12steps up to ensure that there's alignments with how, you know, that information is going up,
- 35:17but also coming back down so that you could kind of look at really what are the unnecessary
- 35:22We gotta throw that stuff out, and we probably should never bring it back.
- 35:26What kind of things do we have to be more relaxed about?
- 35:29And really, I think at this point, it's more about, look, we're fine.
- 35:33We're doing well.
- 35:35Okay.
- 35:35These are the things that have slipped what what should we focus more on and maybe what can
- 35:40we learn.
- 35:41Right?
- 35:41So I think it's in a way you're being forced to to have that ultimate work life balance to some
- 35:46degree.
- 35:47You know, I've been doing, you know, work with clients and somebody comes flying in the room
- 35:51and they say, hold on a second.
- 35:54Some these, you know, TV show just went on pause, and they had to go out and come back.
- 35:58So I think just having that whole sense of, balance as much as we can and accepting that,
- 36:03you know, we'll we'll get through this, and we're gonna learn so much from it.
- 36:07So, Marie, this has been a fantastic, I think, hopefully, I know I have learned a lot of
- 36:14things from today.
- 36:15And I'm sure that anyone listening has done the same.
- 36:19Now for anybody that would want to have you speak or or potentially coach with you for
- 36:25their, their leaders or even their teams.
- 36:28I know we're gonna put a link to a white paper that, Marie has written on a delegation, which
- 36:33I think will be a a fantastic resource.
- 36:35Where could people reach you and any last words of wisdom before I let you go?
- 36:40Thank you, Roxanne.
- 36:41This has been a pleasure.
- 36:42We could be chatting for ages, I think.
- 36:45So, yes, I'll I'll give you the link for my delegation white paper.
- 36:49It's 7 steps to go from do it to delegator.
- 36:51If people do wanna find out more about developing their own delegation skills or
- 36:56building some building that into their team skills.
- 36:58I do one on one coaching for for leaders, but I also do, team sessions, and that's now all
- 37:05online.
- 37:05Now I have a half day delegation workshop or even a 90 minute webinar that that gives people
- 37:11a a good good space.
- 37:13People can email me at mari, which is mardoublee, atmaryburgess.com, and I'm sure
- 37:20that the links will be in your show notes, and all of my other links with LinkedIn and or
- 37:25Facebook or anything like that.
- 37:27And I I guess my last tip would be, you know, be kind.
- 37:33So we we don't need bad behavior at this stage.
- 37:38So, you know, just be kind to everyone that you're interacting with.
- 37:41I like that.
- 37:42Just be kind.
- 37:43You know, this, I say so so long as we, you know, like each other, we get to know each
- 37:48other, which we're having opportunities to do trust comes.
- 37:52And with trust, you know, what happens is that lots of things that used to bother us before
- 37:57when you rebuild that relation ship, we let so many things go because you go, oh, I can see
- 38:02from a different light now.
- 38:03So that's what I talk about.
- 38:05It's about, you know, be aware how am I interfacing is there things that I'm doing
- 38:09that's bothering someone that I have to take responsibility, for to take those steps to be
- 38:14able to think, you know, I'm not like this about this person, but what is it might they
- 38:18might not like about me and how can I maybe meet that person a bit further along so that we
- 38:22can engage in a different way?
- 38:23And being at home, you know, we all have more pressures and to recognize that because that
- 38:29person on the other end of that video is also doing the same kinds of things you are.
- 38:33So this is Roxanne Derhodge.
- 38:35Thanks so much for tuning in again, and Marie for getting up.
- 38:39It's such a, I'm gonna say, on godly hour, but it's it's probably close to the beginning of
- 38:44your day anyway.
- 38:45And, if you're needing any information on mental health and wellness and authenticity,
- 38:49You can go to my website.
- 38:51It's roxanderhodge.com.
- 38:52There's a link for a course that you could do on relationships, which will help you to better
- 38:58lead in whatever we that you need to.
- 39:01Thanks for tuning in to authentic living with Roxanne, creating the space for positive
- 39:07healthy chain.
- 39:08Roxanne is a keynote speaker, psychotherapist, and coach to work with Roxanne, visit Roxanne
- 39:15Durgesh dotcom/blueprint.
- 39:18We'll see you next time on authentic living with Roxanne.