A traumatic experience, such as a shooting on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus in 2023, can affect everyone within an organization, but as UNLV assistant professor Payal Sharma writes, it is also an opportunity to experience post-traumatic growth. Sharma outlines the process they used to help those affected by the event rebuild their basic assumptions around safety "that integrates the trauma, including an accompanying collective sense of vulnerability and disillusionment -- but allows the group to move forward and cease fully defining itself by the trauma."
Put it into practice: Post-traumatic growth can be accomplished by showing people they are strong enough to get through the pain, helping them build the capacity to face future challenges and teaching them to not take important things for granted, writes Sharma. "This all speaks to the importance of leaders proactively managing expectations around the reality of trauma at work."
Keep employee engagement high during organizational change by clearly communicating the changes, explaining how employees will be affected and preparing managers to deal with any backlash, writes Shane McFeely, the lead researcher at Quantum Workplace. Rely on those who embrace the change to show others opportunities they may have missed and listen to the critics to improve direction and implementation, McFeely advises.
Put it into practice: Give your employees context for the change by telling them why it's necessary and how it will align with the company's goals and mission, McFeely writes. "Leaders must show authenticity, transparency and honesty in communicating their reasoning."
Those around us have much wisdom they could share, but they may not want to hurt our feelings, so Jeff Wetzler, the co-CEO of Transcend, recommends creating connection, assuring others it's safe to be honest, asking quality questions from genuine curiosity and listening to learn instead of react. "This kind of vulnerability can feel scary but often generates the most valuable information, especially when it comes to relationships," Wetzler writes.
Put it into practice: After you've heard what others have to say, take time to reflect on how they've challenged your worldview or assumptions and what changes, if any, you may need to make, Wetzler advises. "Once you've reflected, reconnect with that person and let them know the meaning and impact that their sharing had on your life."
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Being unprepared for a sudden rainstorm during a leadership camp taught Netflix co-founder and former CEO Marc Randolph to always plan for the unexpected and to use your best judgment, rules he used to create a culture of responsibility. "We believed that what makes someone want to work at a company is being treated like an adult -- being given the opportunity to have an impact," Randolph says.
Eighteen dogs looked fetching as they modeled high fashion on the catwalk during New York's American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog's Pet Gala. The dogs recreated the styles worn by the stars from the recent Met Gala including Miley-Jo the Chorkie wearing Cardi B's outfit and Daffodil the Pomeranian paying homage to Jennifer Lopez.
My former colleague Tim Welsh says he was confused about the use of "EOM," which he saw at the end of email messages. He thought it meant "Every Other Month" and was surprised to learn it meant "End of Message." I suppose it's like saying "over and out" when using a walkie-talkie to let people know you're finished talking.
Ellie E. wrote to say the word "unpack" got on her nerves, and Linda F.-E. noted that in the medical profession, jargon and abbreviations "facilitate written communication and decrease time in documentation."
That's a great point. You want your doctor to be able to say "CABG" and be understood by those around them quickly instead of them taking time actually to say, "cardiac arterial bypass graft." In this case, jargon can save lives!
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