Connectable: How Leaders Can Move Teams From Isolated to All In by Ryan Jenkins & Steven Van Cohen

Author:Ryan Jenkins & Steven Van Cohen [Ryan Jenkins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Published: 2022-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

Stop Asking and Start Giving

Steven’s wife Jen lost her mom in 2020 after a two-year battle with cancer. As the primary caretaker of her mother, Jen witnessed the sad decline of a once vibrant woman who knew how to steal the spotlight at a party. The crushing experience left Jen feeling exhausted, emotionally incapacitated, and drained.

Friends and family would routinely ask, “What can I do to help?” to which Jen defaulted to the standard answer, “nothing.” Even though the gesture of asking what could be done to help was courteous, it did not make Jen feel better. It did not help make her life easier or aid in her ability to recover.

It was those who did not ask Jen how she was doing, but instead sent over food, letters, flowers, keepsakes, and pictures that allowed Jen to feel a sense of relief. When people actually did something proactively that they thought would be helpful, they made a difference. These unasked-for gestures made Jen feel provided for, appreciated, and loved. It did not matter what dish was made or what picture was sent; the proactive gesture had the biggest impact.

Similarly at work, asking employees what they need will often garner a response similar to Jen’s “nothing” or “I’m good.” On the other hand, thinking about how you can help places you in the shoes of the person needing help, support, or encouragement. In other words, it expresses empathy. Belonging isn’t always about pushing people together; it can also occur by pulling people in. Proactive gestures at work might include:

Writing them (or their family member) a letter to share your appreciation for their contributions.

Buying someone a book that you think he’d enjoy.

Scheduling a lunch after someone’s proposal got rejected.

Giving someone the day off following a family incident.

Stop asking if others need help and start giving unprompted, proactive assistance. When it comes to loneliness, based on the numbers (72 percent of global workers feel lonely at least monthly, with 55 percent saying at least weekly), you can safely assume your team wrestles with loneliness and is longing for more belonging.

Allow your thoughtful and proactive actions to speak louder than your words to make people feel valued and included.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.