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During the health crisis we find ourselves in (COVID-19 pandemic), we are experiencing new things daily…many of which can be seen as “negative.” One of the things is disengagement – on our part or on someone else’s. This is impacting work, business, and personal lives. This can be particularly challenging for managers and business owners, as disengagement (if handled incorrectly) can negatively impact the bottom line. Whether it is work or personal life, we wanted to provide you with some tips that have helped our team with adjusting expectations, and successfully dealing with disengagement during a crisis:
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Think with kindness
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Kindness is one of the most impactful practices we can utilize anytime but especially so during a crisis. As we’ve discussed before, it is also one of the best tools a company can use for employee retention. During a crisis, when people are finding it hard to feel engaged, kindness is one of the few things that can motivate. Kindness tells people that you care, that you want to know what is going on for them personally and it creates a sense of trust and appreciation. Both the giver and the receiver of kindness can feel good and pass that kindness on to others. It truly does create a positive ripple effect! For work disengagement specifically, as a manager or business owner, extending kindness and understanding to your employees, and operating from a positive perspective, will allow your employees to want to do the work you need them to do.
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Don’t make assumptions
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It is easy to assume that someone who is disengaged won’t do good work or won’t show up for their own lives. This is not always true! Thomas Chamorrow-Premuzic (Harvard Business Review) wrote a great article addressing this very myth. In it, he outlines that making assumptions cause actually be extremely risky. It can create animosity and misunderstanding. He says “…there is no need to be dramatic or have a catastrophic reaction when you are working with (and even for) people who are disengaged: statistically, they are likely to underperform, but that doesn’t mean that they cannot perform adequately or even highly.” Instead of assuming someone won’t do what they need to because they are disengaged, stop, and see and what happens. If in fact, work or life tasks are not being done, then you can use other tactics to help bring them onboard. But don’t automatically assume that will be the case – people might just surprise you!
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Give clear direction
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All of us likely think we give clear directions all the time – at work, at home, and for ourselves. But the reality is, most of us have room for improvement. Use this time to up your own skills in giving clear directions. For someone who is disengaged, knowing exactly what needs to be done and how to do it, will help ensure everyone involved is satisfied. Clear and concise directions make it easier to understand and dig into the tasks at hand. This is a tool that you can even use for yourself if you are feeling disengaged. Try writing out exactly what you want or need to be doing, and a few steps and details on what that looks like. We’ve found that some pre-thought yields successful results.
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Overall, don’t let disengagement send you into a panic. Instead, try adjusting your perspective and your expectations. Something might not happen exactly how you imagined…but is it still getting done? The three tips we provided will help you not only adjust perspective but help you to successfully navigate disengagement challenges. Life in general during a crisis, can be tricky, and hard on people who struggle to remain fully engaged. A little compassion, understanding, and kindness go a long way to help build people up and accomplish great things.
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Interested in learning more about successfully working with someone who is disengaged? Contact our team at Kim@QuantumMark.com today!
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