Annabel Harper
Owner and Director, Leadership and Executive Coach (Accredited), and Facilitator at Change Connections
Hi, I’m a leadership coach, professional speaker, author and Middle East specialist driven by a passion for elevating female leadership. Through my adaptive leadership coaching...
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- Leadership Development: Skills to inspire and empower leaders
- Female Leadership in the Middle East: Strategies for elevating women's roles
- Adaptive Leadership: Navigating change in dynamic environments
- Collaborative Organizations: Creating agile and effective workplaces
- Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: Enhancing interpersonal skills for leaders.
Meet the mentor
Tricky Workplace Situation Handled
- 1. Develop your team so that they can learn and grow 2. Free up your time to think more strategically about the business 3. Delegation means having to prioritise which can lead to better efficiency around use of time 4. Creates team spirit and psychological safety 5. Happy people contribute to better outputs and more success for the business
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- 1. Delegating more frees up thinking time for the manager to reflect on key projects 2. In the same you learned how to do your job, giving tasks to junior members in the team helps them to learn 3. Your way of doing the job may not be the best way. A fresh pair of eyes is often helpful.
- Think about their strengths and whether you're accessing those enough. If you have tasks to delegate, guage their interest in the topic. It might be an area they want to learn more about. Reflect on those team members who are happy to be given a task and allowed to get on with it and those who like you to check in on how they're doing. Experienced people may need less checking because they know what they're doing, but their personalities may mean they still like you to check in whereas others really dislike you breathing down their necks. Ask yourself if everyone in the team is being sufficiently stretched. There might be someone who is very keen to do more/learn more. Always giving tasks to the same person because you know they'll just get on with it can create a sense of unfairness and the risk that others will feel demotivated. Be very clear what needs to be done and what your expectations are.
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- I would encourage everyone to definite what they think delegation means, think about their personal experiences of being delegated to and what helped or did not help, how it made them feel. I would explore the benefits of delegation such as freeing up thinking time for the manager, creating a development opportunity for a team member, raising their visiblity, giving them credit for a task well done, a way of showing trust and acceptance that the manager's way of doing a task may not be the only way to get a good outcome and how delegation can increase motivation.
- Second one. It's encouraging, supportive, acknowledges past successes and the strenth and power of the team. It shows they are in it together and it is collaborative.
- Transparency means there are no hidden agendas. Dialogue helps to encourage psychological safety so that everyone feels comfortable about speaking out. It reduces silo behaviour and blame culture. Feedback can be given and received comfortably even if it is calling out inappropriate behaviour.
- Yes. Good leadership is about how you are, not the title. It's all about the relationship, your way of being.
- Fair, considerate, firm when needed, providing feedback, trusting, fun to work with, collaborative, relationship builder, clarity of vision and purpose
- Lack of communication causes mistrust, sense of unfairness. Open dialogue, honest conversations even if they are difficult, so people know where they stand and what is expected of them. Appreciation for their contribution, encouragement, respect and equity.
- Discuss their experience of previous toxic work environments and the impact, how it made them feel. Compare and contrast a toxic and a healthy work environment, what would be the benefits, impact on staff retention, impact on business objectives and company growth and impact on them as a leader. Imagine how it would feel to come to work each day dreading the atmosphere and working in an environment with no trust and a workplace which was the opposite. Think about the impact on individual performance and mental health.
- Invite them for a coffee and ask for their help in getting the project going so that there is a good outcome for both of you. Ask them to explain their preferred way of working. It may be a question of different styles and approaches. Ask them what would help, what could you do differently. Emphasise the common ground, shared purpose.
- 1. Remember they are just people. They have people who love them, like them. We are all human. 2. Find one thing you do like about them and concentrate on that. 3. Is your reaction based on how they're reacting to you? Are you sensing that they may dislike you and that's why you find them difficult? How could you interact differently with them? 4. Think about them in a work context. You don't have to be best friends but you do have to get the job done. What do they do well in their job? You may not be able to change them but you can change how you interact with them so you are in control, not them.
- Take a deep breath. Focus on the task, not the person. What needs to be done to get the job done. Look for the common ground and think about the benefits to me, the team and the organisation if the job gets done. Think about the benefits to the other person in the same way.
- You will always come across people that you aren't so comfortable with. That's normal in life as well as work. However frustrating it might be, keep in mind that you are in control of your emotions and your reactions. They may not change around you but you can change the way you react to them so you stay in control.
