With most workplaces transitioning back to face-to-face, thoughts are turning towards the customary Christmas or end-of-year function. Many people are looking to do things a bit differently and find fresh ways to approach this tradition, to make it meaningful and re-establish the team connection we need right now.

For many workplaces, the usual Christmas/end-of year functions will again look a bit different this December.

Celebrating the year’s achievements and showing staff appreciation in this way has become standard practice for most companies, but this year, it presents a challenge for leaders. First, we have to juggle practical elements like where to hold a function, and how to make it COVID-safe and socially distanced.

Then, there’s the deeper question. The point of the end-of-year party is to show appreciation and it’s important for leaders to get right, as keeping staff engaged and motivated is more crucial than ever. Not to mention that in lockdown-impacted areas, employees have probably been working apart for a long time and would welcome a chance to reconnect.

Balancing all these needs is not easy, but here are a few ideas to kickstart your efforts.

Think beyond the restaurant

All of us have like been to a restaurant Christmas lunch. The type where it’s tricky moves around, and everyone is forced to make awkward small talk with whoever they happen to be sat next to.

There’s nothing wrong with these as such, I mean who doesn’t love being shouted to a great meal! However, this year it might be a good time to mix things up. For a start, everyone has their own level of ease with being in close quarters with others now due to COVID’s continued presence in our lives, despite the high take-up of vaccinations. An outdoor event, or at least one that involves a larger space might be more within their comfort zone.

We’ve already had some bookings and enquiries here at Leading Edge Life Skills for people wanting to do something different using our conference facilities. And it’s interesting to note that everyone has different requirements – some people are interested in our under-cover arena as a large and well-ventilated space, just to make it more socially distanced. Others are even keen on entirely outdoor events on our rural property here in Terrey Hills, Sydney.

Looking to outdoor or different types of venues might be a good call for your team.

Make the event meaningful

As we mentioned earlier, a team end-of-year catch up is really about connection and appreciation. People are realising this year could be time to hold an event that goes deeper than consuming food and drink – much as we like those things.

For example, we have already had people contacting us about putting together packages that include team-building activities with our horses, which include exercises to improve teamwork and communication.

From there, our events can move onto more informal bonding and include catered food and drinks. We can even build packages that include an overnight stay at our nearby partner hotel so you can capture the feeling of ‘going away’ to a team offsite while not actually leaving Sydney! And of course, we have a lot of fun along the way.

As Mikey Taylor, CEO of Lionize, said following a team event with us, “Much more fun (than other team building programs)…the team left the day buzzing and filled  with energy.”

Think carefully about what your team really needs right now and see if you can make the most of the end-of-year function – a fun activity that also functions as a genuine team-building event.

Celebrate in smaller groups or online

Traditionally, we tend to think of Christmas parties as huge company events. And while these have a place, a reasonable alternative is a series of smaller, more team-focused events for this year. There’s upsides to both – on one hand, you don’t get that mixing of departments and roles which can be beneficial, but on the other hand, micro events can allow for deeper bonding with immediate teammates.

Finally, the safest option is to keep the events online, depending on the risk tolerance of your company and staff. The issue with this is many teams are feeling fatigued with online drinks or catch-ups. Even online pub quizzes are starting to become stale for some of us.

Again, it’s time to think outside the box (or outside the stable as we like to say).

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve managed to successfully switch some of our courses online, which has been well-received by our clients. So, feel free to contact us for ideas or inspiration of how to freshen up your online events.

Let’s put some extra effort into organisation this year and show staff how much we appreciate their work throughout this difficult year.

If you’re interested in learning more about our venue hire and off-site facilities, email info@leadingedgelifeskills.com.au.

Practicing Gratitude for the people in your life

We can often get so wrapped up in our own busy-ness that we forget to appreciate others in our lives. As social beings, we need others to survive and thrive and need to be careful not to take people in our lives for granted. Luckily, an accident made me re-realise the importance of the people – and horses – in my life and the importance of connection.

If you’ve been following me for the past couple of weeks, you’ll know that I’ve been writing a series looking at the lessons I’ve learnt since breaking my back in an accident a couple of months ago.

This week, in the third instalment, I’m going to talk about how something like this reminds you to be grateful for the people in your life.

I received so much support during my time in hospital and rehab. My husband, Stefan, and our kids not only helped me recover but made sure all our horses were cared for in my absence. My business partner, Alice, and the rest of the team took over running the business, seamlessly adjusting schedules so our leadership and team development courses could still be run in my absence.

Of course, I already know how lucky I am to have such wonderful family, friends and colleagues. However, the accident was a welcome reminder, which really cemented for me how important these networks really are.

What it means when someone reaches out

I’ll admit that at times when I was recovering, I was tempted to fall victim to my own pity party. But in those moments, I’d remember all the wonderful messages I received from friends – old and new, near and far – from clients and business peers, all wishing me well.

When I shared my story in a video, I was humbled at the response I had. As the old expression goes, a problem shared is a problem halved. People I don’t even know that well, contacted me offering support or to share with me their own story. I was overwhelmed.

It made me realise that we should be conscious of looking for people who may need support, as people may be suffering in a way that’s not as obvious as someone who’s just had an accident. According to this report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, most Australians suffer from loneliness at one point or another. About 1 in 4 people reported they are currently experiencing loneliness, and one in two report they feel lonely for at least one day a week. Also, one in 10 say they lack social support. We should all be aware of these numbers and consider how we can help others.

This is particularly true as cities around Australia settle into yet more lockdowns. As I’ve written before, horses survive in herds, and humans also have that same social instinct. We need connection, even if we’re not physically together.

Reconnecting with our network

We get through our lives with the help of our network. It’s not only an important asset in your career, but in many life events. For example, groups which helps us with parenting. Or support groups for illness, which research has shown help provide numerous benefits.

However, we often get so busy that we neglect to look after these networks. A call, a text, a card is really not that hard to do but sometimes we unintentionally fall out of touch with great people.

So, let’s appreciate the people in our lives, keep up our connections and reach out to each other. It’s the only way to get through life, really.

Want to feel a deeper connection with others? Why not try our unique leadership training with horses. Find out more at info@leadingedgelifeskills.com.au

Connecting with others as our bubble expands

Like many, I was delighted to hear the announcement of a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand. And we plan to travel “across the ditch” soon to complete the hands-on component of our training course!  It had me reflecting on how we ease the transition into face-to-face interaction and embrace working directly while retaining the benefits technology has provided. 

When the announcement was made of a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand opening later this month, I was excited. This finally means we can head across the Tasman to complete training we started online for our Kiwi clients.  Hooray! The theory portion is done, but we’ve been waiting to be able to finish in-person training with horses.

Before this all happened, who would’ve thought that international travel would become so restricted that we’d be excited about being able to visit one of our closest neighbours. I can only imagine what it feels like for those with family they haven’t been able to see.

It also reminds me of the specific conundrum we now face – how much do we work together with people, in-person, versus online. It’s great we have so many tools for remote connection and working, but will in-person connection really be replaced, especially as it becomes more available?

A period of adjustment

Unsurprisingly, there’s been a lot of commentary about how much we go back to our previous largely office-based roles.

Some employees are dreading going back, worried about losing the work/life balance benefits such as not commuting.  At the same time, employers are starting to come down on either side of the fence about whether they will return to a primarily office based environment – some are in favour, others are not.  Lots are grappling with how to implement a hybrid model.

On top of this, we have to consider how much we’ve changed as a result of not working in the office. We’ve become used to working from home and that changes a lot about our behaviour; I don’t just mean wearing pyjamas, but fundamental shifts in communication, team structure and social lives.

In-person connection will never be 100% replaced, but…

My own experience shows that Zoom and other online tools are great, wonderful even. They have kept our business going these last few months and even allowed people to train with us who previously didn’t have the time or means to travel.

But especially one element of our business, Leading Edge Professional Development, will never be able to fully replace that in-person element. For us, it’s for a very simple and practical reason – we need time with horses to complete training and horses can’t use Zoom!

For others, though, it’s a more complicated proposition and one that’s already attracting a lot of time and energy. There’s many questions to consider, such as:

• How much time do we really need with each other as colleagues?
• Can we retain a sense of being a team if we’re never in the same place?
• How can we effectively lead people we aren’t physically near?
• Do we need to visit clients in person to really connect?
• How much talking through a screen can we really take?
• Will working at a non-ergonomically approved desk have long-term impacts on our health?
• Aren’t we all sick of fake Zoom backgrounds? (haha).

And, then add to that the potential for isolation – something we’re all familiar with after the past year. For the majority of us, having some human contact throughout our working day is necessary. Humans have a natural instinct to live in herds – just like horses.  As someone who runs their own business (albeit alongside my business partners), I know in those weeks when I’m working on my business rather than training, I can start to feel isolated. It definitely worsens the feelings of anxiety I described last week.

It’s certainly a leadership challenge of our time!

Perhaps the answer will be something completely. Maybe we’ll see a resurgence of local communities, where instead of travelling to our workplace all the time to be part of a tribe, we will work alongside those who are nearby? Power to the humble local coffee shop…

And, of course fundamental leadership skills are going to be more important than ever – self-awareness, trust and compassion to name a few – as we negotiate our new workplaces.

Any kiwi friends out there keen to hear more about our unique leadership training? Email us at info@lepd.com.au for information.

One year on: positive lessons from a pandemic

It’s been a tough year and times continue to be hard for many. However, there’s lots of lessons we can take out of this age.

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe it’s been over a year since the first COVID case was reported in Australia at the end of January 2020 (although it feels like forever at the same time). This time last year, we were in an in-between period – before the world health organisation declared a pandemic and lockdowns began in Australia – and feeling uncertainty, low-level panic, and disbelief.

Granted, things aren’t much better now in many parts of the world (I’m grateful for relative normality where I live), but at the very least we now have knowledge. We are used to wearing masks, checking into venues, keeping our distance, finding ways to communicate.

When I look back at the past year, it’s easy to think of the bad. So, I thought I’d reflect on the positives that have emerged for me and will be valuable leadership lessons going forward.

1. Slowing down and connecting

Last Easter, I wrote about how the pandemic had forced us to slow down and spend time as a family. Most recently, we learnt this lesson again when we on the Northern Beaches of Sydney were locked down, rather suddenly, over Christmas. It was sad for many who couldn’t be travel to be with their families, but we did appreciate the people who were around us. Some locals got together (we were allowed 12!) and had ‘orphans’ Christmases to keep each other company.

It’s also forced us to think about connection as we adjust our lives to the pandemic. Once the normal activities of our lives such as meeting a friend for coffee become disrupted, we appreciate them more. And, everyone has had to make a conscious effort to engage with others in different ways.

2. Community is important

In the same way that horses have an instinctive need to live in herds, we humans need others too!

It’s been lovely to see communities pulling together to help each other through the pandemic. Again, this happened here over the Christmas lockdown. People braved long queues to get tested in large numbers and checked in on neighbours who were lonely and cut off from family.

You’ll often see notes on our local community board, offering to pick up groceries and run other errands for the vulnerable!

3. Learning should be continual

The pandemic age has had an impact on the way we learn. Consumption of online content doubled in 2020, and online courses were offered to help people acquire new skills and keep up with the job market.

We saw this in our own business. As we pivoted courses online, we had people enrolling who’d been meaning to do the course for years, but never had the time to travel here in person.  

Learning is always valuable, even when it’s a skill that’s not directly related to the job you do, like photography or cooking.

And of course, negotiating technology like video conferencing has been a valuable (if painful) learning experience!

5. It’s essential to know how to adapt

We’ve all become familiar with the term ‘pivot’ and many, including us, have had to change the way we work and run our businesses. However, learning to survive in a changing world is a skill that will stay with us forever.

My horses are very good at keeping me grounded during times of change, as are family and friends. I hope you find the same.

6. Be grateful

The pandemic has been a reminder that I’m very lucky to live where I do. Not everything is back to normal, but we’re doing very well by comparison. I’m well, as are my loved ones, so I’m grateful.

What have you learnt in the past year? Let me know in the comments.

Want to learn some new skills? Our courses are available in-person and online. Shoot us an email info@lepd.com.au