{"id":14879,"date":"2020-04-16T12:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T16:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=14879"},"modified":"2020-04-16T12:43:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T16:43:37","slug":"taking-care-of-your-team-and-yourself-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=14879","title":{"rendered":"Taking Care of Your Team and Yourself During the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>This is a guest post written by Jennie Yelvington,\nProgram Manager for HR Organization and Professional Development.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many issues leaders need to be aware of in this\nunprecedented time in order to help themselves and the people they lead stay as\nsteady and effective as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Issue 1:<strong> Uncertainty<\/strong>\n<br>\nMost like to have a sense of control over their work and lives. Many may\nreact to the vast number of unknowns we are currently facing with anxiety,\nfoggy brain, irritability or fear. Leaders can help allieviate these feelings\nin the following ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Over-communicate<\/strong>. Have regular check-ins,\nforward relevant emails to your team (for example, many of the DDC\nannouncements) and send your team emails summarizing non-confidential\ninformation from your leadership meetings. <\/li><li><strong>Be honest<\/strong>. Tell employees what you don\u2019t\nknow. It is vitally important to share information, but often in times of rapid\nchange, you honestly won\u2019t have all the answers; reassure them that you will\nshare information as soon as it is available. <\/li><li><strong>Be transparent, clear and concise<\/strong> <strong>about\nchallenges<\/strong>, then engage the team in problem-solving mitigation strategies.<\/li><li><strong>Remind them of what isn\u2019t changing<\/strong>. What\naspects of the work and team are unchanged? Even broad statements like our\ncommitment to safety, teaching and research will serve as reminders and can\nhelp guide people. Reassure them that this time of tremendous uncertainty will pass.<\/li><li><strong>Encourage people to be kind<\/strong> <strong>and offer\ngrace to each other<\/strong>. Expect the same of yourself. A bit of empathy goes a\nlong way.<\/li><li><strong>Celebrate victories<\/strong>. Did someone learn\nnew technology? Meet an urgent deadline? Facilitate an important collaboration?\nRecognize and celebrate these victories, even the small ones. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Issue 2:<strong> Connection<\/strong>\n<br>\nSome people are completely isolated in their homes, others are working on-site\nbut without coworkers and most are under high pressure with family and other\ndemands. All can feel lonely and overwhelmed. The following tips encourage\nconnection:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Remember everyone<\/strong>. Connect with everyone\non your team regularly, along with essential stakeholders. This situation will\nend at some point, and re-entry will be smoother if everyone still feels like a\nvital part of the team.<\/li><li><strong>Treat everyone with respect and set that\nexpectation with your team<\/strong>. Sometimes it\u2019s easier to be uncivil when\ncommunicating virtually, which makes it even more important to be explicit in\nyour expectations and to model inclusive, respectful behavior.<\/li><li><strong>Have some fun<\/strong>. Staff meetings may involve\na specific agenda, but don\u2019t forget to also check-in to see <em>how<\/em> people\nare doing, not just <em>what<\/em> they are doing. Try to send a funny (work-appropriate)\nmeme via chat, share an uplifting story or offer a word of encouragement.\nGroups across MSU have started virtual coffee hours, networking opportunities\nand more to stay connected. What could you initiate with your team to stay\nconnected?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Issue 3:<strong> Decision\nMaking and Empowerment <br>\n<\/strong>It can be daunting to make decisions when there are so many unknowns,\nyet a lack of decision making can cause significant problems. The following\nguidance may help:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Let MSU\u2019s mission, departmental goals and\nyour principles<\/strong> <strong>guide you<\/strong>. We must do the best we can with the\ninformation we have and understand that a different decision may be necessary\ntomorrow if new information comes forward.<\/li><li><strong>Trust your team to use their expertise to\nfigure things out<\/strong>. It isn\u2019t necessary to have every answer before starting\nsomething. Allow people to bring their energy to tackling problems and\nsupporting each other. Check-in regularly, provide parameters and offer\nsupport.<\/li><li><strong>Identify allies and constituents that you\nneed to stay in touch with as you make decisions.<\/strong> Think systemically. Who\nelse could be impacted by this? What unintended consequences could arise? Who\nelse might contribute important information? More than ever, this situation has\nhighlighted our interconnectedness. Don\u2019t go it alone.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Issue 4:<strong> Perspective<\/strong>\n<br>\nWhile sugar-coating or denying reality is not helpful, you can acknowledge\nchallenges and still stay positive. John Maxwell said, &#8220;The pessimist\ncomplains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts\nthe sails.&#8221; Consider the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Talk about what is going well, not just the\nchallenges.<\/li><li>Encourage people to utilize their strengths and\nhelp each other.<\/li><li>What opportunities are available for your team? Some\ncould develop new skills, document or improve a process, create a new program, or\ntake on a project they previously didn\u2019t have time for. Others might have a\nchance to clarify priorities or boundaries or develop a habit of better\nself-care.<\/li><li>Acknowledge that there will be days with low\nproductivity. We\u2019ve never been through anything like this before, and we are\nall doing our best. Some days you might be highly productive, and on\nothers,&nbsp;it might be a victory to do the bare minimum and get through the\nday. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p> We are all part of MSU. Being kind to ourselves and others is essential as we adapt to the current situation. Eventually, we will be back with lessons learned, and perhaps lasting changes as we move into the future. For now, connect with others, consider utilizing the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (MSU Employee Assistance Program)\" href=\"https:\/\/eap.msu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">MSU Employee Assistance Program<\/a> for additional support, and reach out to <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (Organization and Professional Development)\" href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/professional-development\/\" target=\"_blank\">Organization and Professional Development<\/a> if we can help with skill-building, leadership challenges or team effectiveness. Most of all, take care of yourself, your team and your loved ones. You\u2019ve got this. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a guest post written by Jennie Yelvington, Program Manager for HR Organization and Professional Development. There are many issues leaders need to be aware of in this unprecedented time in order to help&hellip; <a class=\"continue\" href=\"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=14879\">Continue Reading&#8230;<span> Taking Care of Your Team and Yourself During the Pandemic<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[388,389,387],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb1fcA-3RZ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14879"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14881,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14879\/revisions\/14881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}