Today’s post is another tip in our ongoing video series on how to help your employees become resilient. Back in Strategy #9, I shared the six competencies that lead to greater emotional and mental resiliency. Today, I want to delve a little deeper into the sixth one – connection – which is the competency of building strong relationships and supporting others.
Encourage human connection
Research shows that a high number of regular, positive interactions between people has a direct correlation to general happiness and resilience. Conversely, if interactions are few, negative or of poor quality, they also affect your wellbeing, but not in a good way. Therefore, staying connected is crucial to becoming resilient. As a leader, you can help foster those connections.
How? Here are three ideas.
- Celebrate small wins regularly, not just the annual awards or goals that took many years to achieve. A great way to do this is to build it in as a recurring agenda item into your regular team meetings.
- Have some sort of a fun playful connection event at least once a month, something that is focused not on work, but rather on the human connection. Coffee, pizza or quiz contests are great possibilities.
- Take the time to get to know your people informally, perhaps by stopping by to chat briefly at least once during the week. Focus on who they are, and not on what they do.
If you want your people to become resilient, and stay there, then the human connection is critical. As many organizations switch to a hybrid or virtual workplace model, this need for human connection will only accentuate. So take deliberate steps to make it happen. It’s entirely within your control as a leader.
I’d love to hear more about what you are doing to build the human connection in your workplace. And even more so, if your team is hybrid or completely remote. Please, share your tips, and your experiences, by adding a Comment below.