As we ramp up efforts to transition operations toward our ‘new normal’, many of us are wondering how to navigate post-pandemic concepts while the pandemic is still very much present. This month’s Tips From the Training Corner focuses on facing this transition head on. Keeping safety, human needs, and communication as our top priorities, we can successfully create a path forward that works for everyone.
Safety First
Perception, reality, and respecting both. Safety is, as it should be, our community’s top priority as we continue to navigate our expansive mission during a pandemic. Anxious to return to the office? You are not alone. Perhaps you’re feeling quite the opposite, having worked on campus through the pandemic by nature of your role’s duties, or feeling ‘over’ the pandemic. You are also not alone. No two Bobcats’ perceptions and experiences of this pandemic, including our current transition period, are the same. This is a reality we must respect.
We must also work together to acknowledge that Bobcats feeling safe is just as important as upholding health and safety guidelines known to keep us safe. How do we help everyone on the team feel safe, knowing this transition won’t accommodate everyone’s perception? Considering how diverse our department’s missions are, here are a few tips to get you started:
- Tip 1: Use the COVID-19 dashboard to your team’s advantage. The university has a COVID-19 Dashboard with updated data on our campus health status. This resource can help you and your team remain informed and discuss business continuity plans in tandem with university wide decisions.
- Tip 2: Set up clear plans, refining them as a team. Additional data, like a clearly communicated and accessible plan, can help every teammate navigate transitions like this more smoothly. If a team member who was recently in office around others is diagnosed with COVID-19, what is the plan for the rest of the operation? Does your team know what to do (and when) if the county your campus is in experiences another wave of infections? You can plan for these scenarios as a team and be ready to adapt without hesitation.
For those who do not have direct reports thinking you should skip this tip, we invite you to reconsider. We are all part of the planning process, and that includes you too!
Reminder: Humans Work Here
After safety, we must address the impact the pandemic (among countless other crises) continues to have on our Bobcat community. Each of us, after all, are human beings. The stresses we individually and collectively carry cannot be ignored for us to forge ahead successfully. We can’t train you up on resolving all human stresses in one article (wouldn’t that be great?), but we can supply a few tips to try out in coming months:
- Tip 3: Keep your team connected at a (professionally) personal level. If deliberate efforts to support connection within your team are not part of your work experience right now, today is the day to change that! Maybe you got this one down as a team in the last year, be it a weekly 15-minute informal meeting to catch up or an entertaining team thread just for gifs and jokes. Fantastic! Be sure you adapt this and continue to include everyone who contributes to the team to feel included, regardless of who is working where.
The LinkedIn Learning course (free resource) Project Management: Managing Projects as Offices Reopen approaches the transition from a project managers’ lens, and explores ideas worth your attention on the human factors of transition:
- Building inclusiveness for remote and in-office teams (2m 8s)
- Balancing speed and well-being in conditions of uncertainty (3m 40s)
- Project you: Taking care of yourself (3m 2s)
Part of your connection as a team can include brainstorming ideas and solutions to challenges your operations face. Every Bobcat in our community could bring an innovative idea to the table. So, connect while you solve the day’s problems. Encourage collaboration within your team to find and propose changes as you navigate what ‘the new normal’ will look like in your department. The LinkedIn Learning course Practical Creativity for Everyone: A process for generating better ideas (37m) explores how to kickstart the thought process. Don’t have 37 minutes? Here are some quick takeaways from Alternatives to Brainstorming (2m, 10s):
- Think independently on the issues, generating ideas.
- As a group, develop and improve ideas brought to the table.
- Think outside of ‘work mode’ when considering solutions.
Communication is Still Key
Working together on challenges keeps us connected as a team and in tune with each other as humans. One last key training aspect keeps your transition moving smoothly…communicating well throughout the process. One great (and free) resource for leaders can be found in the ATD (Association for Talent Development)’s March 2021 blog: 6 Communication Tips to Keep Employees Engaged During Change. This quick read was first introduced in March’s Tips from the Training Corner and deserves a second shout-out: these communication strategies are key for solid change management, including right now!
- Tip 4: Keep communication basics in mind. It sounds obvious, but Communication Foundations (1 h 22m) can guide all of us toward a successful experience transitioning back to campus. As the conversations, concerns, and ideas about upcoming changes arise, be mindful of the four ‘building blocks’ of communication: the people, message, context, and listening.
As we navigate through continually changing times, pausing to consider communication building blocks can make or break how your message is received. Likewise, employing your active listening skills are key to every team’s success within our community. The empathy used in true active listening is exactly what every Bobcat needs right now – don’t be shy to show it!
Forge on with Four Tips
To recap, four key tips will help us forge ahead in our transitions back toward full face-to-face operations at Texas State:
- Use the COVID-19 dashboard to your team’s advantage.
- Establish clear plans, refining them as a team.
- Keep your team connected on a human level.
- Keep communication basics in mind.
Regardless of your role on our team, your contribution is vital to our success as an organization. Let’s make our ‘new normal’ outstanding, Bobcats.