Prioritise people over performance

The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged every aspect of our lives as we knew them. Now when things seem to be settling into what is being described as a new normal, there is yet another challenge ahead of us — that of moving out of our WFH bubble and back into the workplace.

As the world comes to terms with the fact that the pandemic may not go away but merely morph into an epidemic, companies face the challenge of getting people back into their physical workplaces.

People adapt. However, they are also resistant to change, and organisations are going to have to struggle to get people out of their homes.

Many have realised that work can happen nearly as effectively without long commutes that contribute to pollution and traffic snarls; that juggling home, parenting, and caregiving is much easier when working from home.

However, what gets lost is the multiplier effect of employee engagement, organisational culture, personal bonding, collective and creative problem-solving, and innumerous conversations around the water-cooler. Virtual replacements have been created (and thankfully so) but it is not the same.

The workplace that seems most likely to emerge from this pandemic will be hybrid and flexible — with some people in the physical office and some at home, and some alternating between the two.

Much has been said about the long-term mental health impact of the pandemic. Employees are going to be affected even if they have not already been so.

Trauma, anxiety, depression, fear, uncertainty, and grief are widespread emotions at present and these are going to manifest for employees in their work as well.

An employee’s emotional landscape is going to impact their professional world, as these are not separate parts of the whole, but really one undivided whole. Organisations are waking up to the reality that the fuzzy world of emotions may impact their bottom lines.

Skills managers need

So, they transition back into the workplace, there are two skillsets managers will need to develop. The first is to effectively lead and work with hybrid teams — I am sure the management gurus are already addressing this skill gap.

The second, and in my mind more important at the current time, is to nurture an emotionally resilient team that prioritises its people over performance.

Given the current emotional climate that many people have experienced, it is unrealistic to expect team members to always perform at their peak productivity levels. The need of the hour, instead, is to create a human connection and build trust and emotional safety that nurtures the resilience of each team member.

Creating human connection, building trust, and providing emotional safety are not skills you can learn by reading a book, but represent a way of being, a philosophy of life, an introspective journey.

Acknowledge emotions

The journey involves acknowledging your own emotions and being comfortable with your vulnerability, being realistic in your expectations of yourself (and therefore of others), being non-judgmental and accepting of yourself (and therefore of others) with all your imperfections, being able to listen actively (to learn what is being said, and not said).

In essence, it means acknowledging, accepting, and healing your emotional baggage to be able to support your team with theirs; putting your oxygen mask on first before helping your team with theirs; focusing on your self-care and giving your team permission to focus on theirs.

Your openness and regular communication create the connection; your authenticity and vulnerability build trust, and your empathy and non-judgmental understanding provide emotional safety. But none of these happens in a day. And none of these gets built at the time of a crisis. These happen only when a manager focuses on them proactively on an ongoing basis.

It also happens when a manager stays genuinely engaged with the “person”, not just the “employee”.

It happens when the manager makes the time and space to have open conversations and doesn’t rush through them; when each member of the team feels visible and signs of emotional distress are addressed, should they arise.

That is when a manager will be able to create the positive emotional “pull” required to nudge people out of their WFH bubbles and risk venturing back into the workplace.

So, yes, a manager’s role is getting redefined. And now, the number one priority needs to be people, not performance.