Groundhog Day again. Gallup released its State of the Workplace: 2022 report and one headline, Stressed, Sad, and Anxious: A Snapshot of the Workforce summarizes what is a surprise to no one.
Gallup lays blame at the feet of managers. Their research suggests that the top reasons for burnout — unfair treatment, workload, poor communication, lack of support, and time pressure — all point to the manager.
Gallup’s CEO says, “A manager’s effect on a workplace is so significant that Gallup can predict 70% of the variance in team engagement just by getting to know the boss.”
He calls for better leaders, listeners, coaches, and collaborators. People who celebrate good work. Help people learn and grow and feel cared about.
LifeLabs Learning to the rescue
Tania Luna and LeeAnn Renninger founded Lifelabs Learning to simplify the complexity of leadership and becoming a great manager.
The science of learning tells us that mastering new skills requires breaking them down into simple elements and practicing the heck out of them.
LifeLabs took that to heart in creating a robust slate of bite-sized workshops focused on tipping point skills.
Their Manager Core workshops are built on small but powerful "Core Behavioral Units, or BUs" — behaviors of great managers:
Q-Step. The best managers ask five times more questions than average managers. And they put questions before telling. Questions lead to faster diagnosis of underlying problems, quicker and deeper learning, and fuel empowerment and commitment.
Playback. Great managers are powerful listeners. They playback — paraphrase — what they heard a person say to create clarity and build trust.
Deblur. Many of the words we use are interpreted differently by different people. Effective managers Deblur. They create clarity. They get specific about what “better” means, or when “as soon as possible” is.
Validate. They validate. Thank you for bringing that up to me. Your suggestion makes sense.
Linkup. Great managers connect work tasks to goals or the greater vision — the “why” of the work.
Pause. The most productive managers take the time to do nothing. Doing nothing well is a skill. It refreshes and feeds productivity and innovation, and aids in conflict resolution. Pauses can be brief. Mindful breathing or a walk. Or a few hours or even days away from work.
Extract. The best managers mine experiences for new learnings — for themselves and their teams — through what are often called retros or lessons learned: What went well? What could've been better?
Luna and Renninger also published The Leader Lab, a practice-filled summary of the BUs and Manager Core offerings.
Whose job is it?
The real responsibility for learning and using tools like Lifelabs’ sits squarely with the learner. Organizations can provide all the training in the world but it won’t be useful unless used.
Not just for managers
All gain from learning these basic skills, which really boil down to communication 101.
Take a look at those core BUs. They’re universal: Listening. Understanding. Validating. Making meaning and connections. Recharging. Learning from experiences.
“As you master each skill, you’ll notice your life getting easier, and you’ll see yourself making a bigger difference in the world, every day,” Luna and Renninger tell us.
Life’s most useful skills, indeed!
Sunday Morning: 169