We all need a little S.E.T.H.
As things are starting to open again from lock down, I find myself looking back and pondering over the last couple months. What were the lessons I learned? While optimism is growing among leaders and their teams, it seems like only yesterday I was hearing the news of COVID shutdowns and felt the anxiety that accompanied it. And during this difficult time, I realized that an organization is only as strong as the health of its relationships. As the Coronavirus has demonstrated, at some point or another policies and processes will fail. What remains is your people; how they work together and encourage one another. This got me thinking about what traits helped my team and myself as a leader do relationship well in my organization.
So let me introduce you to SETH. He represents the 4 needs we each have and also are available to give away. SETH is an influential leader; giving someone something they don’t even know they need or want but once they have it, they can imagine living without it. And furthermore, they can’t wait to give it away.
SETH’s Superpowers for us are:
S Stability – Being an assurance of consistency during this time of immense change.
E Empathy – Being understanding of how others are feeling, and making sure they are valued
and heard.
T Trust – Being believable; that your words spoken will connect to actions.
H Hope – Being passionate for a better future; better people together.
These 4 traits can revolutionize the productivity, innovation and engagement of your team. Everyone needs a SETH and can be one to others. And no other time has demonstrated the need for these traits more than during quarantine. So who is or has been your SETH? For me it was a Leadership Coach who is very well known in the coaching world and reached out to me. He took me under his wing for almost 2 years and lead by example a coaching model that embraced these 4 ingredients; stability, empathy, trust and hope. He helped set me up for success and Capstone Coaching. So how do we activate these ingredients in ourselves and our team?
Influential Leaders like you and I need to be intentional with our narratives and messaging across all platforms; email, text, social media, online conversations and meetings to name a few in this season of crisis.
We need to be consistent, and ensure each and all of our people are being valued and heard and that our platforms make unusual things a part of the remote workday. People feel safe and empowered to share what’s really happening; “Sorry I’m late, my son just threw up on the cat who is now rolling on our white couch” and the team hears and responds with empathy.
We need to cast our vision for our desired future that helps us transition from recovery to re-launch to resilience. Furthermore, we have to remind ourselves and the team who we are and why we matter. The rule of thumb has been vision leaks every 30 days; in these times it can be 30 minutes. Be a vision casting story teller that connects vision and values to the team and celebrates their wins.
And the secret sauce, if you will, is doing all of this with SETH in mind and leading with these 4 needs: stability, empathy, trust and hope!
A recent article by Gallup provides some timely communication practices; “Think about the messages leaders in your organization are communicating to employees during this disruption. Before emails or memorandums are sent out, look to see if there are clear "messages within the message" that speak to each of these 4 needs” (SETH’s Superpowers).
SETH and I thank you for being an influential leader and being intentional at activating your superpowers and leading yourself and others well and helping us be #BetterPeopleTogether.
I would love to hear who your SETH is and how they have set you up for success!
For those leaders who are serious about growth and making a positive impact in their spheres and would like some help with that, you can reach out to Michael Walker for a complimentary 45minute coaching conversation. You can reach Coach Mike at michael@capstonecoaching.ca We look forward to helping you achieve your desired success!
