Recent studies conducted by Gallup have found that 57% of US workers say they are overstressed at work. The excessive levels of stress employees are facing aren’t just hurting their mental health but also are hurting their ability to work productively.

Business closures, shifts to remote work, changes in processes, and unrealistic workplace expectations are all drivers of heightened stress, leaving senior leaders and managers in a tough spot. In today’s business climate, you need to actively take measures to mitigate your employees’ stress and demonstrate to them that you care about their needs; otherwise, your best talent might just leave you.

Below are three reasons why senior leaders and managers should embrace an empathetic approach to leadership.

When you embrace an #empathetic approach to #leadership, @CaliperCorp says that you’ll find more highly #productive and #engaged employees:
Share on X

1. Empathy boosts productivity.

Our world has undergone significant shifts over the last few years. Businesses have been in crisis mode, adjusting to new challenges and disruptions at unprecedented levels. This leaves many employees feeling confused, uninformed, and frustrated.

As a leader, you need to understand your employees’ frustrations and help address and reduce these stressors wherever possible. Prolonged feelings of frustration can lead to burnout, which harms productivity and engagement across all levels of your organization.

When leaders practice empathy, they demonstrate to their employees that they genuinely care and are working to find the answers to their problems. In other words, you need to show your team that their complaints and concerns aren’t just falling on deaf ears but that you’re processing the information and working to find a solution.

What you’ll find in return is that your employees are much more motivated to show up and perform exceptional work. Findings show that 76% of employees are engaged with their job when senior-level leaders demonstrate empathetic leadership. That’s nearly triple the percentage of employees that classify themselves as engaged and productive with less empathetic leadership.

2. Empathy reduces peoples’ intent to leave.

Caring is cool. And showing you care for the employees at your organization matters. Not just for your engagement rates but also your retention rates.

Leading with empathy enables senior leaders to play a pivotal role in reducing turnover that direct managers can’t. Empathy helps you relate to your team on a personal level, showing you care about each other beyond just a professional transaction. And, as senior leaders, your thoughts, actions, and words matter, because people from all levels of your organization look to you for guidance.

When you believe that your organization truly cares about you and your success, you are much more likely to be satisfied in your role. Employees that are satisfied with their job and employer are unlikely to look elsewhere for employment. Recent studies back up this claim, with 79% of US workers saying that empathic managers and leaders would reduce their likelihood of leaving the organization.

The findings make complete sense: the more that you actively invest in the well-being of your employees, and the more visibly you show that you support them and care about their aspirations, the more likely they are to stick around and produce quality work.

@CaliperCorp says that you need to embrace #EmpatheticLeadership to help #retain your best talent. See why in their latest blog:
Share on X

3. Empathy fosters inclusivity.

At its core, empathy is all about understanding one’s point of view and relating it to others with a level of respect and compassion. Empathy means listening and helping without judgment and supporting each other in your goals.

Now, amid disruption and change, empathy means showing that you understand the hardships people face and doing what you can to reduce additional uncertainty or stressors in their lives.

Within the workplace, embracing empathy means you can put yourself in your colleagues’ shoes. This often means listening to your internal teams’ feedback and asking for deeper insights to better understand their perspective. This allows you to effectively plan any changes with consideration to your team’s needs, expectations, and wishes.

Naturally, empathy and inclusivity run along the same vein. When you take measures to understand someones’ perspective and consider their needs carefully, you are fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect. As we all know, company culture is built from the top down. As a senior leader, if you practice and encourage your team to embrace an empathetic approach to work, you can create a welcoming team, respect one another, and support each other where you need it.

No one could have predicted the kind of changes we’ve experienced over the past few years. The impact of the global pandemic has been hard on employees, leaving many people feeling unsupported and overwhelmed. Leaders need to recognize these hardships and embrace an empathetic approach in their management styles to reduce these stressors and create a committed, productive team, ready to tackle any potential challenges.

At Caliper, we believe that the key to solid leadership lies in continuous development. Our science-backed solutions are built to help you create an approach to personal development tailored to your needs. With a focus on self-awareness and recognizing your individual strengths, our Development Series helps you identify and capitalize on unrecognized opportunities. To learn more about our solutions, reach out to our team today!

While the traditional skills we expect in leaders like trustworthiness, the ability to motivate others, creativity, and responsibility are still crucial today, there are specific strengths that we need from modern leaders in times of uncertainty. Here are four crucial things leaders need to do during a crisis:

1. Practice Clear Communication

A leader’s ability to communicate is often seen as the most important skill to have, and for good reason. In times of uncertainty, your team needs to be fully informed about the strategy and intent of your processes.

@CaliperCorp breaks down the 4 skills you need for #CrisisLeadership. See how you can develop your skills and keep your team engaged.
Share on X

Leaders need to be honest and transparent in their communications with their team. When leaders withhold information, it can lead to feelings of mistrust or doubt. And nothing will eat away at your team’s culture more than feeling as though you cannot rely on or trust one another.

In order to promote clear, honest communication, you need to start by asking yourself what questions your team is asking. Then, work to find experts, other resources, or data that can help you to educate your team and answer their questions as accurately as possible. Your job as a leader during a crisis is not to completely alleviate the uncertainty – the situation in and of itself breeds uncertainty –  but rather to alleviate any anxiety or stress your team feels.

By approaching your communications with an informed, honest, and direct approach, you can help to acknowledge the uncertainty being faced and move forward as a cohesive team.

2. Make Decisions Quickly

In the midst of a crisis, you need to be able to rely on a leader that can make speedy decisions. Often, there isn’t time to evaluate all your options, consolidate the advice and opinions of others, and make an informed decision. Instead, leaders need to be able to infer from the information they are presented and make a quick choice on how to tweak their processes to better fit the current landscape.

When facing a crisis, things can change hour-by-hour. As a leader, you need to be able to fight the natural tendency to aim for a consensus when it comes to decision-making. You must break through your tendency towards inertia and focus on the aspects of your organization that matter most. A simple, scalable framework for rapid decision-making is critical.

Bonus Material: Check out what lessons other leaders have learned throughout the course of the pandemic.

3. Promote Agility

As a leader, you are not expected to know everything. Especially in times of crisis, it is okay to admit that you don’t have the answer.

But, strong leaders need to be able to survey their surroundings, interpret them and adjust their approach to better fit their situation. The best leaders are ones that are willing and able to pivot and lead through changes while keeping their teams engaged and committed to their overall goals.

In times of crisis, you need a leader that can step up to the plate, embrace change, and not shy away from failure. There’s a strong chance that you’re currently experiencing something entirely new, meaning you have no previous experience to base your decisions on. Find yourself a leader that isn’t afraid to stumble and fall, but picks themselves up and tries again until they find the right approach.

In times of crisis, #leaders need to be able to step up and guide their team towards #stability. See what 4 skills @CaliperCorp says leaders need now more than ever:
Share on X

4. Demonstrate Empathy

It is important for leaders to remain empathetic during a time of crisis.

It is expected that your team will have many questions, concerns, fears, and anxieties over this uncertain situation. As a leader, it is your job to deepen your connections with your team and remember that they are likely out of their element or comfort zones, too.

As more organizations move towards a remote or hybrid working situation, we’ve been granted an inside look at the personal lives of our colleagues. Where we had previously had a barrier between home and working life, both now bleed into one another. Leaders must deal with the emotional lives of their teams by demonstrating empathy and keeping them connected to one another and to the organization.

In a time of crisis, your company and team become an important source of community. Together you provide support for one another. Leaders need to be able to leverage the strengths of their teams to adapt and grow.

When it comes to times of uncertainty, you need to be able to rely on the support, insight, and guidance from strong leaders. Luckily, Caliper’s science-backed assessments and development solutions help you place growth at the forefront of your employee development plans. Caliper’s Individual Development Guide helps to promote self-growth and self-awareness by customizing and aligning your development with training sessions. To learn more or see how you can work to develop yourself and your team into better leaders, reach out to us and see what you can do with Caliper.

Did you know only 31% of employees believe their leaders are inclusive? @CaliperCorp discusses ways #BlendedLearning and #inclusive #leadership can benefit your organization. Read more:
Share on X

Inclusive Leadership Matters

Strong leadership is the pillar of successful businesses. Employees need someone to help them rally behind a shared mission and keep them focused on the tasks at hand. In today’s workplace, your leadership needs to prioritize inclusivity and diversity to help you build out a future-ready and skilled team.

When it comes to identifying inclusive leaders, there are a few characteristics that stand out. These include:

• They focus on relationship building — For your team to be successful, you need to know what support they need to successfully perform their jobs. An inclusive leader builds rapport with everyone and understands their teams’ needs, making all members feel respected and included. 
• They prioritize recognition — Strong leaders know the importance of recognizing good work. When you celebrate your team’s wins, you can foster an inclusive environment by letting them know they are seen and valued. This is also a way to positively reinforce the same behaviors. 
• They are empathetic — Inclusive leaders try to see the situation from every perspective. They put themselves in their teams’ shoes, working to understand the reasoning behind their actions and decisions. This helps you to build deeper connections with your team and show that you are there to support them.
• They encourage people to get engaged — Inclusive leaders try to engage with others not only in the workplace but outside of the office setting. This helps your team become more comfortable and confident working alongside one another, leading to higher engagement rates and better communication overall.

Leaders should appreciate the factors that inclusion brings to the table, such as a collaborative environment and strategic alignment, which help build an inclusive environment where employees feel they truly belong.

Being an inclusive leader means learning about yourself and your team to suit your company better. As a leader, it is crucial to recognize the role you play in building an inclusive environment. You can do this by taking the time to listen and understand those you work with.

Did you know: only 31% of employees believe their leaders act inclusively.

What is Blended Learning?

Often, organizations work to create an inclusive culture by hiring employees from all walks of life. But, there is another level of inclusivity that many organizations overlook. Your team of diverse individuals is sure to have differences in the way they learn and tackle projects. So, it is important for your company to offer personalized approaches to learning and development. One way to do this is through embracing a blended learning strategy. 

Blended learning focuses on combining the two environments of face-to-face classroom education and e-learning. This offers employers a chance to customize their learning approach based on each individual employee.  Due to the global pandemic, many face-to-face learning opportunities are now over platforms such as zoom, allowing for more freedom and flexibility in when and how employees develop their skills. 

Blended learning is an inclusive approach to teaching. It highlights the importance of catering your development strategies to the work style and pace of your team members. This allows people to learn at their pace and contribute to their teams with their unique strengths.

@CaliperCorp says #Inclusive #leadership and #BlendedLearning opportunities go hand in hand. Read more to see why you should embrace inclusivity in your workplace:
Share on X

Leveraging Inclusive Leadership and Blended Learning In Your Organization

At its core, blended learning is focused on creating equal access to support and opportunities for professional growth. This means that all employees have the same chances to develop new skills and further their careers. When you invest in blended learning strategies, you’ll find an increase in retention rates, enhanced productivity, and higher levels of employee engagement. 

What’s more, your company can take its inclusivity efforts one step farther by identifying and supporting inclusive leadership. Your workplace leaders can leverage their skills to build deeper workplace connections, encourage their teams to respect and support one another, and create a workplace focused on developing strong, self-sufficient employees. 

A company that has inclusive leadership and a blended learning approach will help promote a more inclusive workplace. Your employees will feel valued and involved with your processes, leading to better business outcomes and a more skilled and loyal workforce.

Did you know? 73% of people embracing blended learning strategies say their efforts have helped increase engagement levels.

Blended learning offers organizations a chance to take an inclusive approach towards professional development. By working to customize the training initiatives to the needs of each employee, you can better support your teams’ needs while helping your employees to learn at a pace that works for them. The results? You’ll find a more highly skilled team and more inclusive workplace culture.

Are you trying to identify and develop inclusive leadership at your company? Learn how leaders play a role in fostering an inclusive culture and the competencies that contribute to an inclusive environment with our white paper. To see how our team of experts can help you build a strong, skilled team, reach out to us today. 

Related Articles

• Building a diverse workforce through upskilling 
• Key competencies to kick off your future-ready workforce
• Professional development goals transform managers into great leaders

1. Get Face to Face

The first rule of effective remote management: when in doubt, jump on a call.

More than half of human communication is nonverbal. And, we’ve all been guilty of misconstruing someone’s tone or intentions in an email or work chat. When you’re not physically in the office, maintaining visual clues, especially for uncharted projects and new processes, is essential. At the management level, this could mean delineating tasks effectively. But arguably, more importantly, this means your ability to gauge morale, levels of burnout, and your team’s reaction to instruction or company news.

At the first sign of confusion, encourage your team to jump on a call and set the precedent of cameras turned on. Identifying and addressing any concerning nonverbal cues is your opportunity to fix disengagement before it gets worse.

Are you ready for long-term #remotemanagement? Check out @CaliperCorp’s 7 cardinal rules of managing #remoteworkers:
Share on X

2. Make Room For Small Talk

Out of respect for everyone’s time and unique workload, it can be easy to make video calls short and sweet. Sometimes it’s best to focus on the task at hand. However, if that’s all every video call is, you’re avoiding a critical part of management. 70% of employees say friends at work are the most crucial element to happy working life. But not only is it beneficial to give your team room to bond —it’s in your best interest to build rapport with each member of your team. Rapport between team members and management will help you work through problems together, learn to identify those nonverbal cues, and build trust.

3. Maintain An Open Door Policy For Check-Ins

The shift from in-office to remote work removed something that can’t be replaced — the ability to notice when a coworker or leader has the downtime and presence to ‘pop in’ and casually bring up thoughts, concerns, and general questions. The virtual workplace is ripe for potential feedback or even innovation to go unnoticed.

Tip: Block out a weekly one-hour window on your calendar for casual check-ins with your team. No need to make it a requirement —encourage your team to schedule a check-in, even if just to say ‘Hi.’

4. Increase Recognition

Gartner expert, Brian Kropp, says that employees’ desire for being recognized for their contributions increases by 30% during periods of disruption. Employees need recognition for their efforts in the remote landscape to maintain engagement and alignment with overarching company goals. Maintain consistent recognition for individual efforts both publicly, and during one on one check-ins so they know their work doesn’t go unnoticed.

#RemoteEmployees not only want a flexible schedule, they want flexibility in their learning and development. @CaliperCorp shares their rules for effectively managing remote workers on the blog:
Share on X

5. Focus Outputs, Not Processes

76% of workers would be more willing to stay with their current employer if they could work flexible hours. Employees are happy to stay at a company that works around their personal life. That means the ability to pick the kids up from school, make it to appointments, and tweak their schedules to reflect their most productive hours.

Flexible, remote work allows employees to work at their ideal workspace and speed. Some people work slow and steady on their deliverables, and others work in sprints. With remote management, focus on deliverables rather than employees’ journey to get there, as it likely looks different for everyone.

6. Reinforce Culture and Values

Your team should feel the company’s values through their in-home workspace. Your culture should be conveyed through each email, video call, and announcement. Company culture can often be a top priority for job seekers. And when a candidate can choose to work nearly anywhere from the comfort of their home, offering a fun culture is in your best interest if you want to stay competitive in the talent market.

Further, this alignment results in more positive business outcomes. By clearly defining and reinforcing your culture and values through management, remote employees are likely to feel more engaged, motivated, and aligned with organizational stretch goals.

7. Offer Competency-Based Training

When managing remote workers, maintaining employee engagement is key. And, 80% of employees say learning and development opportunities would help them feel more engaged at work. Remote employees not only want a flexible schedule, but they also want flexibility in their learning and development.

With competency-based training, companies can provide a self-paced model where learners aren’t restricted to deadlines or one-size-fits-all content to digest. Instead, they get snackable microlearning that targets specific skills with a self-paced model so that remote teams can improve their unique skills at their own pace.

The Caliper Precision Series is designed to fuel your organization’s skill development with a self-paced and coaching-enabled eLearning experience. It’s dynamically configurable, enabling managers to customize the curriculum to an employee’s needs. To see how Caliper can supercharge your employee development strategies in a remote landscape, schedule a demo today, or reach out to one of our experts to learn more.

How can you ensure your #leaders are ready for the future? @CaliperCorp shares 4 key #competencies to future-proof your leadership.
Share on X

So how do we take what we’ve learned and build future-ready leadership that is ready for anything and up to any challenge? We’re already coaching our leaders of the future — how do we coach them to be future-ready?

It starts by identifying 4 key competencies:

1. Learning Agility

The only constant is change — and that’s especially true for technology. The tools we use in our daily work are adapting and innovating at lightning speed, and workplaces are being disrupted at an exponentially faster pace than ever before. The best way to be future-ready? Keep up with the times. When the world came to a screeching halt, organizations who were already using video conferencing and had teleworking capabilities had a distinct advantage when it came to making the necessary pivot to social distancing.

Learning agility doesn’t mean every future-proof leader has to be on the cutting edge. However, understanding all available resources makes it possible for a quicker turnaround from “the old way” to the new. Learning agility means knowing what to do — and how to do it — when what you’ve always done no longer works. Future-ready leaders are ones who can facilitate the transition when something new makes something old obsolete.

2. Creativity and Innovation

Even the most agile learners can’t anticipate everything. Trends are important to watch, but 2020 has been the year to teach us that sometimes disruptions are entirely unpredictable. And when that happens, future-ready leaders need to be able to come up with creative solutions to unforeseen challenges.

COVID-19 has forced some businesses to completely change the way they operate. Distilleries started making hand sanitizer, textile manufacturers began making face masks — even if your organization didn’t have to change its business model, most businesses had to re-configure some aspect of the way they did things, whether it was conducting the entire hiring process virtually or managing teams remotely for the first time. Future-ready leaders are ones who can take a moment of uncertainty and re-organize and re-prioritize standard processes to create something new that is better suited for the time.

What does creativity and innovation have to do with #FutureReady leaders? @CaliperCorp shares how these 4 #competencies help your leaders prepare for an uncertain future.
Share on X

3. Composure and Resiliency

Change is stressful. A future-ready leader is not immune to moments of stress, but they have the composure to lead their teams through challenges in the face of uncertainty, and the resiliency to not succumb to the pressure. With a key trait of mental toughness, resilient leaders have the ability to handle setbacks and high pressure situations, with the energy and persistence to push through to the right solution.

Bonus Content: View our Comprehensive Guide to Mental Toughness

In times of stress, people look towards their leaders to know how to respond. A future-ready leader demonstrates composure and signals to their team that a solution is possible and feasible through creative problem solving, avoiding panic mode — these teams are better equipped to handle change as it comes, even when it seemingly comes out of nowhere.

4. Collaboration and Teamwork

An important part of being future-ready is ensuring that the team is ready to follow. Teams that feel as though they have contributed to the future are more likely to work together, develop creative solutions, innovate, and adapt more quickly. Leaders who can effectively facilitate collaboration between teammates will be that much more prepared for an unknown future.

When teammates can bring their individual perspectives together, thinking goes outside the box, and two key results occur — new ways of tackling old problems and a more tightly-knit team. As the future brings new challenges and new ways of thinking, collaborative teams can work together to develop solutions to new problems in a way that best suits the way they work.

While we can’t predict the future, future-ready leaders make it possible for teams and organizations to tackle new challenges head-on, and adapt effectively to new normals in real-time. To learn more about identifying key traits of future-ready leaders, reach out to our experts to explore the Caliper Profile, and to discover how coaching can guarantee your leaders are ready for whatever challenges may come their way, get started with Caliper today.

So how are managers handling this dramatic shift, and what strengths and skills can they lean on to make that happen? Using a personality assessment like The Caliper Profile can provide organizational leaders with the necessary insight to manage through a crisis, especially when used with our new Crisis Leadership and Recovery job model.

How can a #PersonalityAssessment help your leaders increase their crisis competency? @CaliperCorp shows you how with their new #CrisisLeadership job model:
Share on X

What Do Employees Need Most Right Now?

At this moment, employees are turning to their leaders to show them how to respond. They’re looking for guidance, communication, and clarity in a time of uncertainty, but there are 4 basic universal needs that must be met right now:

• Decisiveness — Defined priorities are key when there is a lot of uncertainty in the air. Employees need to know what to prioritize, how to organize them, what needs to be traded for more important matters, and how to act on immediate needs properly.
• Adaptiveness — This is not the time to stick to the traditional way of doing things. We keep hearing about these being “unprecedented times,” and that may require unprecedented action. There’s no roadmap for a global pandemic, so it’s important that leaders can develop new plans of attack to approach unusual circumstances.
• Reliability — With much anxiety and uncertainty surrounding our lives through this moment, being able to rely on our leaders gives us a sense of comfort and ease. Employees need to know that their managers are paying attention, thinking ahead, and supporting their teams as they need, in the ways that they’re needed.
• Engagement — On a similar note, it helps employees to know that someone is looking out for their well-being. This is a stressful time, and we can sometimes forget to take stock of how we’re carrying it all. Leaders should communicate clearly and often, do welfare checks with individuals, and encourage breaks, socialization, and time. Focus on ways to motivate employees, provide positive feedback and encouragement, and connect teammates to one another to build a community.

How the Caliper Profile Helps Leaders Pivot in a Crisis

The Caliper Profile helps managers better understand their own strengths, inclinations, and competencies. Using the assessment reports, managers can align their goals, develop their strengths, and seek out coaching to help them adjust and adapt to their new circumstances.

Our new Crisis and Recovery Leadership Job model uses the Caliper Essentials Competency Reports to help managers gain insight into the key traits that help lead through stressful times.

Instead of approaching a crisis from a reactive perspective, the Caliper Profile allows managers to anticipate the fallout and develop a proactive plan to structure, guide, and lead through the crisis as it unfolds in real-time.

Understanding Crisis and Recovery Leadership

The Caliper Crisis and Recovery Leadership Job Model helps frame the key personality traits necessary to connect with and engage employees during times of stress. More so than normal, leaders must be present, communicative, and strong. What’s more, they need to be able to deliver on the promises they make.

Before managers can effectively lead their teams, they need to take a moment to understand what’s ahead of them and the best way to address it. The Selection Report for the Crisis and Recovery Leadership job model details how an individual aligns with the core competencies required to successfully lead while maintaining morale and productivity. Competencies like:

• Composure
• Resiliency
• Comfort with ambiguity
• Team Building
• Delegation
• Decisiveness
• Planning
• Priority Setting

Pivoting at the First Sign of a Crisis

Crises rarely come with fair warning. But, the Highlights Report gives managers a quick snapshot of which skills can make a major impact on their teams, immediately. They can quickly investigate how their own strengths align with the needs of the moment and better anticipate the unique challenges they might face as the crisis confronts the skills that require more focus. By understanding where their own weak points are, they can craft plans that account for and accommodate the entire spectrum of their skill set.

What can managers do to lead their teams through hard times? @CaliperCorp has new crisis competency #JobModels to help you power up your #CrisisLeadership during unforeseen challenges.
Share on X

When managers need to move quickly, the highlights report is a critical tool that provides an overview of what awaits them, and helps them anticipate challenges and adapt new solutions faster and more easily.

Recovering from Crisis

No crisis will last forever, but the lessons learned from them can be instilled on a permanent basis. If there is a silver lining to any crisis, it’s the innovation we are forced to learn along the way. The benefit of being adaptive and decisive is that crisis leadership can uncover new ways of doing things, upending old standards in favor of new ideas. We may learn new answers to questions we didn’t know we needed to ask. This may come in the form of new ways to manage assets, different ways of looking at performance management, or the realization that everyone doesn’t need to be in the office all day every day. Good crisis leaders can use clear hindsight to identify the fatal flaws in the old ways of doing things, crowdsource the best new ways of accomplishing the same task, and enlist the help of their teams to implement it long term. When leaders build strong, trusting relationships with their employees throughout the crisis, their team is more likely to help them iron things out and build new processes as things return to normal.

Recovery requires leaders to see what was working before that needs to remain, what no longer works and needs to be replaced, and what organically occurred that can help them in the future. It requires perceptiveness, problem solving, and action in order to make it happen. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, but try not to leave the important things in the dark as the train begins to emerge.

For more information about the Caliper Report and how it can help shape your crisis & recovery leadership strategy, reach out to our experts today to get started.

But what does a healthy work environment look like during quarantine?

How can you build a better #WorkFromHome program during #quarantine? @CaliperCorp shows you with their new crisis competency job models:
Share on X

What Makes An Ideal Remote Work Environment

A well-balanced team goes a long way in creating a healthy environment while working remotely. When workload is divided in such a way that leans on individual strengths, while supporting each other’s weaknesses together, the stress of feeling overwhelmed and overworked is reduced. The Caliper Four Box is a great way to structure your teams in a way that assigns all the right personalities to a role where they’ll thrive and meld together into a cohesive unit. Key personalities are needed in order to prop up the team from within, and the Caliper Four Box ensures that the right person is placed in the right role for a sound foundation.

Managers also need to ensure that they facilitate communication and transparency. Poor communication costs the average organization more than 62 million dollars per year in productivity. But beyond productivity, it’s just frustrating. It becomes easier to  properly manage team communications and lead with the appropriate level of transparency by exercising emotional intelligence, which can be leveraged amongst individual team members, too. Encouraging teammates to key into each other’s needs, do their part, and reach out for help when needed will create an environment of support, strength, and productivity growth.

How the Caliper Profile Makes it Possible

Well-balanced teams are ones that leverage the innate strengths of individuals and place people in roles that lean on those strengths. The Caliper Profile helps managers better understand the strengths, inclinations, and competencies of their team members. Using the assessment reports, managers can align, develop, and coach to specific skills that will build more robust, well-rounded teams.

Our new Remote Worker job model uses the Caliper Essentials Competency Reports and helps managers understand 4 key aspects behind managing remote workers: Description of their core competencies, how to coach them based on those competencies, how they can best work on their own professional development, and how to hire remote workers.

Understanding Remote Worker Competencies

The Caliper Remote Worker Job Model helps frame the key personality traits necessary to be successful in that setting, while allowing managers to get a well-rounded view of the strengths and weaknesses that exist within the team dynamic. Through clear communication, proper support, and a solid team structure, your remote teams will have a more sound environment that promotes job satisfaction and productivity.

Before managers can effectively lead their teams, they need to understand who they have on their team and how they like to work and communicate. The Selection report for our new Remote Worker job model details how an individual aligns with the core competencies required for success in a remote role. Competencies like:

• Composure
• Learning Agility
• Information Seeking
• Accountability
• Adaptability
• Time Management

Coaching Remote Workers

The coaching report puts the manager’s job into context. They can see what behaviors each team member has that will likely make the biggest impact on their remote work, with regard to both strengths and areas of development. This allows managers to anticipate challenges and where they can expect natural strength. In this context, managers can start building relationships based on the information they learn and understand the foundation for the development plan they’ll need to lay out for individual and team growth.

What can you do during a crisis to help your employees #WorkFromHome better? @CaliperCorp has new crisis competency #JobModels to help you lead and work better in times of uncertainty.
Share on X

The report also provides suggestions for how managers can better guide employees through their development and how to work and communicate with each team member in a way that suits their preferences and natural motivations.

Helping Remote Workers Develop Themselves

Another important aspect of keeping remote workers engaged and happy is by helping them feel in control of their own work and their own development. The Individual Developmental Guide provides employees with an opportunity for self reflection and insights into their own skills so that they can better understand themselves, the way they like to work, and where they might face challenges in their work.

But more than just revealing an individual’s natural strengths and challenges, the Individual Developmental Guide offers suggestions, thought-provoking questions, and conversation starters for developing their skill sets further. It’s not just a report for learning about themselves, it’s a tool for guiding them forward in their career.

Adapting Quickly

You can’t always see a crisis coming. But, the Highlights Report gives managers a quick snapshot so they can see where each teammate has natural strengths, what they might find more challenging, or where they will need additional support in order to build skills in a specific area. It provides a clearer picture of the strengths and opportunities they’re working with, person to person. When you need to move quickly, the highlights report provides an overview of what managers can expect as the transition begins, and helps them anticipate or spot challenges more easily.

This report, instead of waiting to see which problems arise and then reacting accordingly, allows managers to plan ahead, and create an action plan for who’s going to need what kind of support, and when. For a crisis like our current one, that came on suddenly, this kind of preparation can be crucial so as to not lose those critical first days.

For more information about the Caliper Report and how it can transform your teams, reach out to our experts today to get started.

The unexpected onset of Coronavirus left many employers unprepared for a company-wide move to the home office, and many are finding it challenging to stand on solid ground while we all get used to the new normal — at least for the time being — so, what should businesses focus on today for their remote teams, and what should they be thinking about for the coming weeks?

Has your team gone fully #WFH during the #coronavirus outbreak? @CaliperCorp lists 4 things you can do today to help your team adjust, and 4 things to think about for the near future:
Share on X

What Needs to Happen Today

1. Get Them Set Up At Home

First and foremost, do everything you can to make sure your employees can work comfortably at home, safely practicing social distancing with as little need as possible to leave home to complete their work. Make sure they have the equipment, technology, and set up at home to accomplish all their normal work. Make sure they have a way to join video calls and instant message their team as needed to keep the normal lines of communication flowing.

2. Understand Your IT Needs

Is it critical that they have their calls forwarded? Do they need a special network connection? Figure out what your technological limitations are for setting up a remote team, what you can solve, and where you need to get creative. If you can’t get a landline hooked up, can you forward their calls? If they need a VPN to access their workstation remotely, how can you make it faster and easier for that to happen on a large scale?

3. Set Expectations

Make sure managers, teams, and individuals have a clear understanding of the new telework expectations: Will you have daily video check-ins? Will they send their daily agenda each morning? What’s going to be the standard method of communication? Set rules and expectations up front so that nothing falls through the cracks and no one has to play catch up later.

4. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Remain visible, even when no one’s at the office. Employees will be looking to their leaders to signal how things should operate, set the tone, and pick up queues for how nervous, excited, or frustrated they think they need to feel. So keep communication lines open — because there will be lots of questions! — and remain optimistic that this will be a productive time and an opportunity for some unique remote team-building.

Is your team ready to #WorkFromHome? @CaliperCorp has 8 tips to ensure your time during #coronavirus isolation goes smoothly, stays productive, and has contingency plans in place:
Share on X

What Needs to Happen Tomorrow

1. Keep Your Employees Engaged

Loneliness is a big problem for remote workers, and those who aren’t used to staying home every day might find the transition difficult after a few days, and after weeks, they’re at risk for burnout. Isolation is difficult, so check in with employees regularly to make sure their needs are being met, even at a distance. Continue your regular conversations, have employees join meetings via video so they can see their coworkers, and discuss the obstacles and roadblocks they run into as they spend more and more time outside the office.

2. Encourage Virtual Socialization

We’re all in this together, so use this as an opportunity to strengthen remote team bonds. Schedule virtual coffee breaks, virtual happy hours, and get some creative Slack channels going. Encourage employees to share tips and photos of how they’re staying occupied during isolation: What new recipes are they trying out? What books are they reading? How far have they gotten on that puzzle? We’re all going through a shared experience, so encourage teams to relate to connect.

3. Anticipate Sick Leave

No one might be sick today, but it’s important to remember that we’re in the midst of a pandemic, and sickness is inevitable. Have a plan in place should there be sudden sick leave with team members out 1-2 weeks time recovering. How will you prepare teams to be ready on short notice? What tools and resources do they need in order to seamlessly pick up work

4. Be Prepared for the Long Haul

At this moment, no one is sure how long things will last, but some scientists believe we might be confined to our homes for a few months rather than weeks. And it’s likely to have lasting change on the way we work. Make decisions now for your remote teams that are sustainable and scalable instead of looking for a quick fix. By treating this like it’s long-term, you’ll make more sound business decisions today, and see better results tomorrow.

In the meantime, take this opportunity to check in with your employees. Motivation, consistency, and clear communication are key to success during this time, and individuals will be leaning on their managers, coaches, and leaders more than ever.

To help facilitate conversations, gauge motivations, and help each employee find their productivity through their natural abilities and inclinations, the Caliper Essentials for Coaching helps managers and leaders but the right tools into the right hands, and can help make your transition to remote teams smoother and more successful.

Reach out to our experts today to learn more about the ways Caliper can help your business stay strong and productive through uncharted waters.

Here are a few traits that self-aware leaders possess and how they affect management skills:

Empathy

Empathy requires a person to consider others and their experiences. Approximately 20% of employers offer empathy training, which has increased significantly within the last decade. The important question is, why not? The answer is: your staff will perform better when you empathize with them. Building and nurturing a relationship with each of them will increase loyalty and keep your staff engaged, creative, and collaborative.

Did you know that only 10-15% of individuals are self-aware in the #workplace? Discover how self-awareness can be a vital asset for #leaders in @calipercorp latest blog
Share on X

So how can leaders get there? This change is subtle but necessary. Look for ways to notice, compliment, and show appreciation to your staff. Make it a point to stop and ask them how their day is going and learn more about them on an individual level. This could be the last thing on your mind, but it will be worthwhile in the long run.

Your employee’s commitment to your organization is not a guarantee, so making sure they feel appreciated and valued will help you build the future of your company.

Mindfulness

Our minds are going at a million miles an hour, all day, every day, so, how do you, as a leader, get your employees on the right “path” to focus on the task at hand? Major companies like Google and General Mills have implemented large-scale mindfulness programs. Thousands of employees have gone through these programs, and data shows there’s a major increase in:

• Productivity
• Decision Making
• Listening

It’s also important to note that there is a significant reduction in stress levels.

Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence

Researchers are making direct connections between mindfulness and emotional intelligence, stating that emotional intelligence helps build attention and focus, which helps increase self-awareness and empathy. Both of these skills are major factors in determining someone’s emotional awareness.

Why is this important in leadership? Understanding how to bring your mind back to the present moment is an incredible skill that many leaders should know how to use. Every office, work environment, and task can become stressful at different points, and it’s incredibly important to know how to calm yourself in these situations. As a leader, you must set the precedent for your employees, so if you become overwhelmed and react unproductively, it sets a horrible example for your employees.

There are easy ways to shift your body into practicing mindfulness, some including meditation, breathing, yoga, walking, music, and being outside.

Compromise

Researchers have found that social cooperation is a deeply-ingrained aspect of human behavior.

When to compromise at work

Every decision requires flexibility and giving priority to the company’s well-being. Once you’ve decided to compromise, it’s best to meet in person. Research shows that face-to-face conversations are more effective than written messages, and come to a conclusion faster.

When compromising in a leadership role, you will be in situations where you have to be the deciding factor in a hard decision. It’s important to listen intently and understand each person’s needs. By striving to meet these certain needs, rather than pushing them to compromise, your team will be able to achieve better solutions. Unfortunately, you will not be able to cater to each need or idea, but you must remember to do what’s best for the company.

#SelfAwareness is the first step to being able to help others. @Calipercorp breaks down the facets of self-awareness in #leadership in their latest article
Share on X

Clarity

How to communicate like a leader

Communicating with your team to manage, assign a task, or voice expectations and directions are skills that a leader should possess to not only inform them but to also inspire them. How you can improve these skills:

• Active Listening: In order to lead, you must listen. How are you supposed to guide a team when you’re not sure about their concerns? Start with this first step, and take a moment to actually understand what your employees are saying to you.
• Adapting to Different Communication Styles: Did you ever have a coach in school that would raise their voice unnecessarily? Were you the kid that would be encouraged by the screaming coach or did you become motivated by the coach that took you aside and shared words of encouragement? The same can be said about your employees. Knowing how to effectively communicate with them will only help you in the long-run.

The best part of being self-aware? These changes all start with you and don’t have to take a lot of time out of your day. By building relationships, re-focusing your employees, and compromising – you will be able to lead by example and teach your employees how to lead as well.