2021 - Tools for navigating uncertain times

Video: two tools to help you and your team charter these uncertain waters

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Do you need a temperature check for your team?

As part of our commitment to support teams through the challenges of 2021, our team has introduced live polling as an option for all virtual events.

The poll is a chance for you to take the temperature of your team, in real time, to check how people are communicating. It measures the extent of "triangle" conversations in your team, and more importantly, it shows what difference a culture of "no triangles" would make in time, energy and productivity. 

It's anonymous, fast, instant and most importantly it's managed by my wonderful AV team here in the broadcast studio - so you don't need to do a thing.

We have found this is an invaluable way of providing data on the important topic of direct conversations.

If you'd like a quick check on your triangle situation please speak to Lisa about arranging a virtual session.

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We are growing!

I am so excited to announce that we have two new team members joining us in 2021.

To meet the huge increase in demand for virtual events we now have a full time Events Manager, Lisa Ryan.

Lisa comes to us with a decade of experience in event management and has worked with many of the most incredible speakers in the world. So it's a real coup for us to have her managing our events and logistics.

If you'd like to discuss your event or enquire about fees and availability please contact Lisa on: events@rachaelrobertson.com.au or phone 0425 254 213

Lisa will work with you to curate the best session for your needs, whether it's an intimate fire-side chat or a conference for 5,000 people broadcast from our studio.

We are also delighted, and yes, very relieved, to announce we now have a dedicated AV Manager who will attend and oversee every virtual event. 

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Working from home - find your third space

The 'Third Space' is that moment of transition between a first activity and the second that follows it, and what it takes to mentally 'show up' right for whatever comes next. Typically, many people use the commute to/from work/home as their third space - the time to reset, reflect and refocus on what's next.

But in these times of working from home, for many of us, that has become challenging. My good friend, and all round great guy, Adam Fraser, has just updated his best-selling book to include a section on working from home.

If you need a few ideas on how to manage the modern demands of work, then I highly recommend this book. It is a game-changer.

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Out of fuel?

If you're feeling a bit tired lately don't worry, you're not alone. I've been speaking to groups all around the globe, and from Seattle to Dubbo, and Brisbane to London, the word I hear the most is 'exhausted'. People are tired and that's totally understandable. 

It's particularly hard if you're in a leadership role - at home, at work, or in the community. You need to prioritise your own health because you can't lead other people if you are burnt out yourself. As the cabin crew say in the safety briefing, "you need to attach the oxygen mask to yourself first, before you help the people around you."

Whatever it is that relaxes you, or energises you, or just makes you smile - do it. Often. 

For me, I find it hard to be sad or angry whenever I watch penguins. So I will leave you with my favourite penguin video that I am sharing far and wide right now. Volume up! And enjoy...

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I hope this toolbox talk provides you with a few ideas and tools to set you and your team up for a big 2021.

Stay safe and all my best wishes,

Rachael

June Newsletter

SPECIAL EDITION

For events, HR and L&D professionals; line managers and leaders

This month’s newsletter is a special call out to anyone involved in preparing, hosting or staging events. This includes both external conferences and internal staff meetings.

Hi,

While many cities around the world are starting to relax restrictions to allow mass gatherings, many more are still in various stages of lockdown. This raises all sorts of challenges for events professionals and those involved in communicating to staff – from HR teams, to line managers, to business owners. It’s impossible to predict what will happen next, but as always, we can control what’s within our control, and that is to provide some support and leadership to our people. Don’t wait to pull together an event for your people, they need you right now. It’s the perfect time to re-group, re-define and re-calibrate.

Latest Research

Restrictions are starting to ease in some parts of the country and with that comes a lot of excitement… and a lot of hesitation!  Research is showing that 80% of businesses will cut travel and entertainment costs and cancel leadership events and offsite conferences in June and beyond, if they haven’t already.

We now have the option of planning larger events, with some borders opening and larger groups being allowed to congregate.  However, we need to consider this from the perspective of the individuals attending the conference or meeting and their level or comfort, or anxiety, in turning up. Our research shows:

• Associations and franchisors won’t risk staging a large live event for their highly dispersed members knowing a single case of Covid 19 will shut down the entire event.

• Companies are willing to send 30 to 50 of their staff off to a conference or event knowing a single Covid 19 case at the event could be diabolical for their business.

• The data overwhelmingly shows there will be no travel spend, so only local events are on the radar.

• It is difficult for event organisers obtain insurance for an event.

• Complexities around networking with social distancing at large events remains.

• Gartner research suggests a similar issue with product launches as part of conferences & trade shows and is steering people into developing different strategies for launches. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/create-contingency-plans-for-events-canceled-due-to-covid-19/

In the past 4 weeks my team and I have been researching the issue of meetings and events and we have identified some key learnings.

With large, live events on hold until at least the end of the year, we’ve noticed that planning for internal events is big right now and provides a great opportunity to get our teams together. This is especially true for the teams already physically working side-by-side along with colleagues working from home such as call centres, many government departments, banking & financial services, essential services, some local government areas, hospitals and schools and many more.

Town Halls, Sales kick-offs, Division/Department/Region "all staff" meetings are the priority for July to September as we slowly move back to work from offices.

Mid-size hybrid events will be the norm for the medium, if not long term, as companies cater to dispersed teams in an inclusive manner. It is anticipated that organisations will be looking at approximately 30 to 70 people per virtual event.

Hot Topics for Leadership

3 trends to navigate the next 6 months

Leaders are looking for advice and ideas about bringing the teams back together; acknowledging they made it through the tough stuff; and working out where to from here. They want a celebration or ‘marker’ event.  The next few months present a great opportunity to re-set, re-define and re-prioritise.

July to September: “Leadership legacy”

• How will you lead your team though this critical phase and leave a lasting impression that inspires and ensures optimism? 

• What tools do you need to help bring your team through the next phase?

• With some people still working from home for the long term, how do you bring them together with the people in the office as "one team"

October: Worksafe month

It is anticipated that there will be a far greater focus on mental health this year. There needs to be an understanding that there will be a spectrum of responses to returning from isolation, from huge excitement to anxiety and stress, with most people falling somewhere in the middle. 

November and December: Christmas and End Of Year

These events will have a much greater focus on "thank you" to staff, suppliers, customers - everyone who helped us get through this tough time. 

In the Media!

I have recently had the opportunity to share my experience of returning from Antarctica with Shonda Rhimes’ website and media hub; Shondaland.  Shonda is the creator behind award-winning series "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal," "How to Get Away with Murder," "For The People" and "Station 19." 

In this article I share my story and my experience of coming out of isolation.  It was definitely a shock to the system for me, and I expect that many of us will experience similar feelings as we slowly emerge from lockdown.  Click on the link below to read more and learn about some of the strategies that I used during my time down south!

https://www.shondaland.com/live/money/a32895460/what-being-an-antarctic-expedition-leader-taught-me-about-life-in-isolation/

7 Tips to prepare for when the new normal arrives!

I’ve been in extended isolation before.  Nine months of temperatures hovering around minus 35 degrees, lack of privacy, the mundane nature of the days and the interpersonal pressure of living with 17 other people was extraordinary.   I had prepared and trained well for this environment and we had a great year.  What I wasn’t prepared for however, was coming home. 

I truly believed we’d slip right back into normal mode, and did not plan for the many challenges that, for many of us, we will now experience returning from this extended lockdown. 

1.       Sensory overload - Take your time slipping back to the office if you can.  

After spending extended periods indoors the noise and smells outside are really strong.  On my return from Antarctica the simple noise of a city was a huge cacophony for me.  Go back for a morning or afternoon through the first week or so and ease into it.

2.       Speed - Try to slow it down by continuing what worked for you in isolation.

Traffic, physically going from one meeting to the next, rushing out for lunch, managing school pickups, sport or study commitments. It’s all very fast and intense. A morning walk, meditation, yoga, simply looking at the sky, whatever worked then will work now.

3.       Choice - Play the long game and plan. 

Things may have become simpler because we have had limited choice.  But suddenly the doors of choice are thrown open -  and the list is endless.  Where to go on the weekend, who to visit, what sport or concert to attend, what to wear to work. Plan which days you will visit people, go out to dinner, and give yourself time to acclimatise to the sudden choices.

4.       Expectations – Manage other people’s expectations by setting your own.

In total we were away from home for 18 months – I was thrilled to be back and over the moon to see my family and friends. But my most overriding feeling was exhaustion and a need for privacy. Today, people will have different expectations about how we respond on the other side – some will be thrilled to be back to a new normal, others will be scared, some ambivalent. Ask people how excited they are about the new normal on a scale of 1 – 10 and notice the difference.

5.       Physical contact – To be back in the world being touched and hugged again may be challenging. That’s perfectly OK.

A year without so much as a hug is difficult, but you do get used to it. I simply shut down the need for physical contact and put it out of my mind. For many people we have faced a similar challenge now. For single people living alone, and not being able to visit family and friends, it may have been months without even a handshake.

6.       Redefine your Rituals – for yourself and your team

This is the ideal time to review and even re-set your team culture. What rituals will you keep from the past? What new rituals will you have in the future? A few tools I used with my Antarctic team that I have kept since returning include:

·       No Triangles - which simply means, I don’t speak to you, about him. You don’t speak to me, about her. Have direct conversations, and don’t get yourself involved.

·       Lead without a title – every person can demonstrate leadership at work and at home; it’s a behaviour not a title. If you see something that needs to be done, do something about it. Take some pressure off yourself by encouraging the people around you to step up.

·       The Bacon Wars – raise any niggling issues in a calm, professional manner. Deal with them and put them to bed.

7.       Mental Health – Have regular conversations with the people you care about, and those that care for you, so we can normalise conversations around mental health.

We don’t know how people will respond over the next few months. But we do know people will react in different ways. In Antarctica, we had a language – “NQR = not quite right”. It was a shorthand code to describe that feeling when you just aren’t feeling your normal self. Overall, you’re doing OK, but just today you are not quite right. Check-in regularly, whether it’s a code, a scale of 1-10, or a word, make it easy for people to let you know if they are doing it tough right now.