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Filling the Void: Leading with Empathy while working from home

Rocket Station
February 1, 2021
5:49 pm
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When in elementary school, I remembered having favorite teachers, and they were all different in their own way. Back then, I couldn’t find common ground as to why I liked them so much in spite of their differences. One favorite teacher had a particularly good knack of making everything fun and exciting. Another favorite was so detailed and knowledgeable in her subject you could almost see the information radiating from her mind.

My most favorite teacher was an old man who patiently taught us TLE classes and would never tire of answering our questions; even the nonsensical ones. No matter how different they were, there was something about them collectively that had me wanting to connect with them more as a child.

Is there a secret sauce to leading? Is there a way to let people migrate at your influence? As I grew older and worked with different mentors, slowly discovered the singular factor that made them all respected, loved, and productive educators: EMPATHY.

I remembered that despite their differences, they commonly shared an innate sense of compassion and willingness to understand the plights of their students. They did this in their own unique way, and for some reason, the students responded in large numbers. Now, imagine the impact this would have on adults in a workplace set up.

What is Empathy, really?

Empathy is the unique ability to utterly understand the situations and life stories of others as if you were to live it yourself. Empathy is the act of being so emotionally aware; you can feel emotional energies emanating from people and how it affects their behavior and their perception. It is, more succinctly, being able to understand the needs of others. Empathy is a powerful trait that helps you see perspectives that are different from your own and therefore, as a leader, enables you to make more holistic decisions.

Why is Empathy Important at Work?

Having an environment that pushes empathy allows people to feel that they are in an environment that is safe and open for positive feedback. It helps peoplen respond better to constructive criticism, and encourages collaboration. Empathy allows us freedom to make mistakes because we know we will not be unreasonably blamed for them. It encourages an atmosphere of acceptance and shared humanity. Most importantly, empathy, when used with leadership, can act as a conduit for motivation and efficient needs assessment.

Leadership and Empathy

The importance of empathic leadership cannot be overstated enough, especially nowadays where people are all isolated and many are working from home. Having a leader that acts as an overall head giving the most direct and clear orders is not enough to develop positive team culture. One needs to really connect and build relationships with their team in a way that is authentic. Leading with empathy boosts overall team satisfaction by virtue of motivating people based on needs that must be met. Empathic leaders become catalysts for change. They are aware of the needs of their team. They are usually the firstm people to know if there is something wrong with one of their team members. They can explore and respond to the problems team members face in a way that is proactive, thus finding more solutions. Being an empathic leader also garners respect and admiration from those they lead.

How does one become more empathic?

One of the key traits of expressing empathy is learning how to listen actively. earn to understand the perceptions and thought processes of others by truly being interested in them and what their needs are at work, without bias. Be vigilant about your goal in expressing empathy. Take moments to step back, reassess yourself and understand whether you are truly listening, absorbing, and understanding the person you are conversing with. Learning how to understand people at a deeper level takes time and practice. The more you practice, the more natural you become at it.

In a nutshell

Empathy in the workplace as in life is one of the fundamental tools people need to connect. This February, Rocket Station focuses on the topic of building and nurturing relationships. How else better to contribute to this topic other than leading with empathy? If you like our articles and want to read more, feel free to subscribe and get the freshest insights from our blog.

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5 ways to bond with your remote team

Rocket Station
February 1, 2021
3:09 pm
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Who knew that years into the future we would face a life-threatening pandemic? Suddenly, everything we know changed drastically, and yes; this includes the way we work too. The threat of the COVID-19 virus has almost every company investing in a work from home set-up. While many have spear -headed the movement by applying virtual workspaces, developing remote work tasks, and setting up online meeting protocols; it still does not change the fact that bonding with team members has taken a distant turn.

A study released in 2007 states that while working from home can increase a sense of autonomy and boost overall work performance, its main challenge is bringing the team closer to work on overall tasks together. The detachment ram real life work culture can cause individuals to feel excluded, feel like there is favoritism, or in extreme cases, that their colleagues are conspiring to work against their intended goal. Developing this can cause festering of negative emotions and loss of teamwork, the presence of which is crucial in meeting deadlines and in achieving overall project success.

To prevent this from happening, Rocket Station believes it is important to develop regular team building activities. Monthly team building efforts are necessary in establishing a positive team culture. The importance in building a cohesively integrated network in the team is vital for overall team satisfaction. It aids in alleviating the negative interpersonal effects and intends to fully develop relationships that are profound and meaningful.

So how do we keep things lively and unique while building substantial relationships within the team on a monthly basis? Team managers are more likely to scratch their heads thinking of ways to keep the team engaged versus getting them together. In the age of the internet and hyperstimulation, the online environment becomes exceedingly difficult to work up for over -worked adults. Luckily for you, we have listed the five more exciting activities you can use to amplify your religious team bonding in a way that is not just motivating but also meaningful.

Provide an environment to share similar interests.

Creating a channel separate from work, where team members can just share what they are reading, watching, or debating about can make people feel a sense of oneness. Focusing on where we are similar versus where we are different makes people believe that they are in an environment where they can freely share what they like. Some companies have introduced Slack as one of their main platforms in establishing remote work culture. Other companies turn to Facebook and other social media platforms to develop this necessary area of team bonding.

Have the team discuss a shared topic.

An interesting activity would be asking team members to watch a movie, start reading a book, an article, watch a documentary or a TED talk and have them discuss freely during team building meetings what they think. This establishes closeness by hearing what other people have to say outside of issues involving work.

Prepare Ice Breaker Questions and use Question Card Decks.

You can also generate a question for the day that entices thought provoking answers or just a simple icebreaker question such as: “Are you a coffee or tea kind of person? If neither, why not?”. This provides an opportunity for people who want to connect but do not know how to connect, start conversations. We encourage the use of question decks that stimulate conversations. These decks are more often created to start conversations and develop relationships. Once the team members get into the flow of the card game, the rest of the conversations are up to them. Being able to share and gather knowledge about teammates not only humanizes them it also helps us see where we all are alike.

Do online co-op games of any nature.

Try working as a team in achieving an intended goal in online games. Someteams can choose to play in sports games or a team bingo game where prizes can be split among the winning group. This builds the value of trust and reliance in your team without placing the element of work. How can we best apply this? Set a “play time”, whether during break time or during team building activities and make sure to have everyone’s investment in the game. When the game is done don’t stop there! Discuss this in team chatting channels and plot your next big goal.

Have a shared meal online.

Ah, this can be one of the most accessible and easiest things you can do to bolster a psychological sense of oneness. Remotely, this is doable by ordering the same take-out meal the team will agree upon and have everyone eat this during the set team building. Studies have shown that having people eat the same meal can make this group feel closer. It is mainly subconscious and psychological. Shankar Vedantam, a social scientist, chimes in during a podcast, and says that the more people eat the same kind of food the more it increases agreeability of the relationship. Food can shape trust and cooperation, especially if you eat the same kind of dish. The commonality in all these strategies is seeking human connection and the similarities we all share. While working from home may pose as a beneficial set-up today, it does not discount the challenges. This February, Rocket Station sees the value in every relationship that is built. We seek to be part of a community that seeks to capitalize on human connection and the enhancement of lives. The online community platform is an amazing tool where like minded people can break bread together, talk about things that matter and engage in meaningful conversations.