In today’s business world, change is a constant.
In today’s business world, change is a constant. But change can be scary. Particularly if you don’t feel in control of what’s happening to you.
People feel happiest when they’re in control
A lack of a sense of control can lead to anxiety and poor decision-making.
But, when a business is making redundancies or restructuring, it might seem like there’s not a lot you, as a manager, can do about it.
Maybe you don’t know what’s happening either. But you want to maintain calm and productivity. So you figure it’s best not to worry employees about what might be happening behind the scenes. The best thing you can do to support your team is by running a tight ship. By maintaining your control over what they do.
Right?
Well, perhaps not.
In my experience, managers often think it’s their responsibility to have all the answers
If they don’t, they think it’s better just to keep quiet. But that silence leads to uncertainty and negativity.
Your team probably knows something’s up already. But they don’t know the details and how they will be affected. And that makes them nervous. They can’t focus on their work. Conspiracy theories are spreading. And they think you’re in on it.
The less people know the more anxious they get
It’s all part of our evolutionary make-up. Our brain is programmed for danger – it’s how we’ve survived over millions of years. When we encounter an unfamiliar situation, our brain thinks “I don’t know what it is therefore it might be dangerous.” This triggers the release of adrenaline to aid a flight or fight response. Useful when you’re up against a sabre-toothed tiger but not so much in the workplace!
In other words uncertainty makes us react in a knee-jerk, instinctive way rather than in a thoughtful, considered way.
The more knowledge we have the less anxious we feel and the more capable we are of dealing with it rationally rather than emotionally.
So what’s the best thing to do?
- Tackle it head on
Allow your team to express their fears about what’s happening. Admit that you don’t know the answers and give them a timeframe when they will hear more, even if it’s bad news.
Having at least some sense of certainty, even if that’s just over when we’ll know something gives us time to prepare and enables our higher level cognitive function to kick in. Meaning we can cope better.
By confessing to not having all the answers, managers can actually help staff to feel less scared about what’s happening.
- Give them back control
In periods of change, it is the lack of control people have over what’s happening that is scary and demotivating.
So, is there a way you can give your team back their sense of control?
You may not be able to give them control over how many people the business has to make redundant. But there will be areas that they can influence.
Perhaps their workload has increased. So why not enable them to explore as a team how they might improve efficiencies. Allow them to own and manage this activity and the outcomes.
Perhaps there are day-to-day basic factors that aren’t working well. Office start and finish times maybe. Or the availability of parking spaces. Or how they book leave.
Surprisingly, it is just this sort of basic workplace issue that forms 30% of what employees worry about.
So, is there a way you can give them control of something that’s bothering them? If they can solve that issue for themselves, not only have they got rid of an irritating problem but they’ve regained a sense of control.
All this might seem counter-intuitive. A manager’s job, after all, is to look after these issues so your team doesn’t have to, so that they can focus on their work.
But by relinquishing some control over these areas, you can make a huge difference to team motivation and employee engagement. Which, during a period of change in a business, is vital.
What could you do to give your team more control over their working environment? Let me know how you get on.