Virtual Development Day: Watch our recorded sessions

Click on the link below to enter your details and get access to the recorded sessions from our first ever IML ANZ Virtual Development Day. You will be redirected to the sessions upon submission.

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Mentoring: Support and advice during these tough times

When we are all surrounded by so much uncertainty, it helps to find someone we can trust.

From a professional perspective, a mentor can be just that – someone who has our best interest at heart. Although a manager might seem the best placed to provide work-related advice, sometimes it helps to get a different view of things.

Mentoring provides a safe sounding board

As the University of Melbourne’s Mobile Learning Business Manager, Edwina Coller AFIML explains, “There are often areas that mentees don’t want to discuss with their manager because it’s about them personally and not relevant to their role.”

During these tough times, we are all inundated with things that have changed, that we aren’t sure of and things that cause us to be fearful. We may not be comfortable discussing those things with our manager.

Fresh perspectives during tough times

Surviving through difficult circumstances can take a toll on our ability to think and make decisions. That’s why Onno Van Es FIML, Manager HR Strategy and Engagement at Mackay Hospital and Health Service, makes sure his mentees are clear about how the mentoring process can benefit them.

“My style of mentoring is based around adult learning principles. It’s not a lecture style of learning, where I provide all the answers. Rather, I focus on the mentee taking ownership of their learning by being internally motivated and self-directed,” says Van Es.

Whether you are looking for new perspectives, want a sounding board you can trust or simply need to expand your social and professional connections, mentoring can help you.

Become a mentor or mentee now

IML ANZ Members enjoy complimentary access to the Member Exchange mentoring program.

Now is your chance to give and gain support from other managers and leaders during this extraordinary period. A new mentoring cohort starts in mid-May. To take part, register here before 24 April.

MEMBER EXCHANGE – How to conduct effective meetings

One of the many disadvantages of becoming an ‘accidental manager’ is that most of the time they become managers largely due to technical abilities and less because of their people management skills. After all, it’s never easy to manage people, especially their former peers.

Although new people managers are keen and excited about new challenges there are some fundamental aspects of managing teams which they may have taken for granted. One such example is when they inherit a team meeting format. While this format may be highly effective, often it is heavily influenced and suited to the previous manager.

Being a new manager is the perfect opportunity to make your mark and running an inclusive and effective team meeting is an excellent place to start. Below are some key elements which the research indicates will create a dynamic and purposeful meeting culture.

Have a purpose

Why is the meeting being held? The answers to this question will inform the agenda, structure and style. It helps if the purpose is aligned to the team goals, even in a broad sense. A team meeting is also a perfect opportunity to achieve a lot of things and a chance to catch everyone up on what’s going on in the overall scheme of things – gives the team the big picture context and how this relates to the team.

Set an agenda

If you have a purpose, you need an agenda. This list of things you want to cover will determine how much time can be spent on each item. If an item on the agenda requires more time than is available, it needs to be prioritised, moved to the next meeting or given a meeting of its own. Regular meetings also help provide focus and momentum for the team.

Stay on time

Meetings need to start on time and finish on time. Avoid recapping for people who are late, as this indicates that lateness is OK. Update them after the meeting. Timeliness also relates to following the agenda and being purposeful.

Take minutes (distribute promptly)

Someone should be assigned to take minutes at every meeting (ideally someone different each time). The minutes provide a record of what was discussed and agreed. They help keep everyone in the team aligned and set tasks and time frames for action items.

Create a mindful environment

We don’t mean integrating meditation into your meetings. This simply means making sure everyone is aware and, in the moment, not distracted and wandering mentally. One effective way of doing this is to implement ‘no phone’ periods when discussing the most essential items on the agenda. By doing this you’ll ensure that every minute of the meeting counts toward achieving outcomes.

Paint the bigger picture

Always provide people with a fundamental understanding of where the business is going. Don’t just provide a cursory statement like, “Everything’s good”. Go into detail. The better informed your team, the better decisions they’ll make. Avoid the temptation to launch into long diatribes with too much information. Remember, it’s about getting the broader view.

Encourage participation

A simple way to do this is to have different team members lead the meeting. It’s important that this role is voluntary, so people are in their comfort zone or do so due to a desire to grow and develop in this area. Create a safe environment to encourage contribution. When team members are invited to share ideas, different perspectives emerge. Don’t be quick to shoot new ideas down and commend participants when they volunteer their thoughts.

Celebrate successes

Team meetings provide an excellent opportunity to acknowledge successes for the whole team and individual contributions. Team members are more likely to proactively contribute to tasks and roles if their contribution is valued and appreciated. It doesn’t always need to be a big deal, a simple thanks for specific rather than general contributions will usually do. The key is to be genuine and specific – that way it feels personal.

Make it fun

A simple way of building and maintaining rapport within the team is to have some fun together. Although team meetings need to be purposeful, having personality, a few laughs and celebrating successes all contribute to the effectiveness of a team meeting and connection between team members.

These suggestions and recommendations need to be adopted within the context of your work environment and how your teams and structures are organised. Don’t discount good ideas from team members around what would work well for your meetings. The key is to make the meetings relevant and give them your flavour – it’s a great way to establish your own management style.

Eight moments when leaders must communicate well

By Shane Hatton

When it comes to leading an organisation, every leader fundamentally understands the consequences of a poor leadership approach to finances. We understand the consequences of a poor leadership approach to governance or change management. But how many leaders are fully aware of the consequences of a poor leadership approach to communication?

The impact of ineffective or non-existent communication is felt throughout the organisation. It shows up in higher turnover, absenteeism, negativity and stress; and it perpetuates lower engagement, morale, innovation and productivity. A report from SIS International Research in partnership with Siemens Communications found that an organisation with as few as 100 employees could be leaking over half a million dollars every year as a result of communications barriers and latency.

In a 2013 article, Glassdoor for Employers listed the top five reasons why employees love their CEOs. It wasn’t surprising to read that employees want a leader who is visible both inside and outside the company. Seeing their leader leveraging their platform externally increased pride felt by employees. Hearing regularly from their leader internally, whether they are walking the corridors, writing notes or holding regular town hall meetings, created a culture of accessibility and boosted morale.

Whether in a television interview or online video, a town hall or your weekly meeting, the nature of leadership means you will find yourself addressing a group of people at a moment that demands you do more than just speak – it will be a moment that compels you to lead.

Put another way, every opportunity you have to stand up and speak is a moment either to build or to burn your leadership platform. James C. Humes, speechwriter for five American Presidents, said it this way:

‘The art of communication is the language of leadership. Every time you speak, you are auditioning for leadership.’

James C. Humes

Let’s look at eight unavoidable moments every leader will face. Whether you’re ready for them or not, as a leader you’ll need to know how to communicate effectively and lead your way through them.

  • Moments of pioneering: implementing change
    It has been said that change is the only constant. As a leader you can be certain that you will be required to guide your team through complex change and transition. Some of that change will take you into unfamiliar territory as you pioneer in new spaces. You will need to paint a picture of your desired future, while at the same time intentionally shift fixed mindsets and dysfunctional thinking that causes people to stay where they are.
  • Moments of sensemaking: creating clarity
    You will experience moments of uncertainty when the narrative is open to interpretation. It is in these moments that leaders distinguish themselves. If you cannot tell the story, your people – or worse, someone else – will do it for you. Great leaders view people and circumstances differently and need to help others do the same. You will be required to make sense of uncertainty and chaos and to control the narrative through clearly articulated and compelling messaging.
  • Moments of confronting or reinforcing: shaping culture
    Every time you speak is an opportunity to reinforce and shape your desired culture. By culture, this doesn’t just mean what you want people to do but who you want people to be. The stories you share, the behaviour you confront and the behaviour you reward paint a picture of your culture and reinforce the ‘way things get done here’.
  • Moments of bonding: building connection
    Every moment you have to speak is an opportunity to build and strengthen trust and connection with your team, and trust is a foundation for growth. Leadership author John Maxwell writes, “Teams that don’t bond, can’t build.”
  • Moments of mobilizing: casting a compelling vision
    Do you have a compelling vision or a common purpose to rally around and move towards? Do you know how to communicate it? In his book Amplifiers, Matt Church writes, “It’s been said that when Caesar spoke men wept, but when Cicero spoke men marched.” For a leader to inspire people is valuable but to mobilise people towards action is better.
  • Moments of influencing: strengthening commitment
    Do you have great ideas? Do you want people to buy into those ideas? Do you need something from people? The ability to influence people by articulating and communicating the value of your ideas is a critical leadership skill.
  • Moments of steering: navigating crisis
    There is a challenge and then there is a crisis. As a leader you will be required to navigate both. You must be the calm voice of authority while steering the organisation through turbulence. You must be the steady adviser and voice of reason in seemingly unreasonable circumstances.
  • Moments of translating: managing complexity
    Can you apply your high-level strategy in low-level situations? Can you turn your ideas into strategy and communicate that strategy to generate action? Can you articulate complex information in a jargon-free way that is useful for your team and organisation? In moments that matter, you need to be able to communicate a message that counts. It’s the difference between a person who speaks and a leader who leads.

While all of these moments are unavoidable, all are also important, because every moment you stand in front of your team or organisation is an opportunity to lead. It’s an opportunity to leverage your platform to accomplish collectively in a moment something that might have taken weeks or months to accomplish individually. The question isn’t if you will face them but rather how you will face them. With that in mind, what do you need to do now to get ready?

Shane Hatton is a leadership and communication expert and the author of Lead the Room – Communicate a Message That Counts in Moments That Matter.