As managers and leaders of teams, 2020 has done nothing short of throwing everything but the kitchen sink at us all (maybe the sink too!). As leaders, we need to be mindful of how our employees are dealing with these challenges, so that we can understand how best to support them.

Things like team morale, productivity, and enhancing overall employee satisfaction are more critical now than ever before. It’s our responsibility to support our employees, but sometimes that responsibility gets pushed towards issues that managers may not feel equipped to handle.

Let’s view this time as a great opportunity for managers to be able to put their best foot forward so they can have long lasting effects on their teams.

Joining me on this episode is Anushka Arellano, MBA. Anushka has more than 20 years of HR and Marketing experience across the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. Anushka works with clients to shape the culture, capabilities, operating models and employee experiences as they transition through rapid growth. She serves as a trusted advisor to CEOs and Executives on talent management, workforce development, strategic recruitment, leadership development, and performance management.

Step 1: Empathy

• Show empathy, not from a distance, but up close. This demonstrates you care as a manager and that you're invested
• If you think your employee is struggling, don’t jump to conclusions or make any judgements
• It's ok as a manager to show some vulnerability by sharing some of the challenges you're going through
• Don't pretend to have all the answers. Nobody expects you to have all the answers
• If your employee is struggling to perform, try breaking up their tasks/responsibility into smaller, more manageable pieces

Step 2: Communication 

• In these times, it's better to over-communicate rather than under-communicate
• Try and stay as connected to your team as possible. Rather than asking broad questions such as how are you doing, try to be more specific, i.e., what are one or two things that are working well for you? What are one or two challenges you're facing?

Step 3: Resources

• Understand what resources are available for your employee and also for yourself as a manager
• When in doubt, reach out to your HR business partner to get guidance
• Lean on other managers as they can be your some of your best resources

Step 4: Self-care

• As the manager, what are you doing in order to keep yourself healthy and resilient so that you can show up and be effective in supporting your employees?
• Remember, your employees will mirror your behavior