We only know one thing for sure about post-pandemic workplaces: They will be different. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Laura Empson, professor at London’s Case Business School and Jennifer Howard- Grenville, professor at the Cambridge Judge Business School, define this pandemic as a liminal experience, an “in between” occurrence that disrupts normal life for a prolonged time and from which those who have survived return transformed. Such experiences are disturbing, but “also represent potent opportunities for reflection, discovery, and even reinvention.”

​In the post-Covid world, leaders should not try to recreate their pre-Covid cultures, say the authors. Since people will return with unanswered questions and potentially incompatible expectations, leaders need to recognize this and consider how to respond. They suggest steps leaders can take now to prepare their organizations to emerge stronger in the post-pandemic world.

• Emerge gradually: Some employees may be “gung ho” to return to normal; others may be exhausted or confused. All will need time to adjust and to process what they have experienced.
• Identify what to retain and what to discard: Identify which long-established pre-pandemic practices should be reinstated, which pandemic-driven practices should be retained, and which pandemic-era practices should be discarded.
• Don't lose the liminal altogether: The pandemic has taken a toll socially and economically, yet many people and organizations discovered new strengths and identified new opportunities. Show that you value the spirit of experimentation and adaptability that the last year engendered.

How do you think your workplace might alter after the pandemic, and how do you
plan to sustain the best changes? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

Employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, more energetic, collaborate better, suffer less stress and stay with their employers longer. So affirms research conducted by Paul J. Zak, founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies, Professor of Economics, Psychology, and Management at Claremont Graduate University, and CEO of Immersion Neuroscience. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Zak identifies eight measurable behaviors that foster trust:

1. Recognize excellence: Neuroscience shows this has most impact on trust when it occurs right after a goal has been met, when it comes from peers, and when it’s tangible, unexpected, personal, and public.
2. Induce “challenge stress”: When a team tackles a difficult but achievable task, the moderate stress releases neurochemicals that intensify focus and strengthen social connections.
3. Give people discretion: Once trained, allow employees the opportunity to manage people and execute projects on their own.
4. Enable job crafting: Trust employees to choose which projects they’ll work on—focusing energies on what they care about most.
5. Share information broadly: Organizations that share their plans with employees reduce uncertainty about where they are headed and why.
6. Intentionally build relationships: When people intentionally build social ties at work, their performance improves.
7. Facilitate whole-person growth: Acquiring new work skills is a plus, but investing in the whole person has a powerful effect on engagement and retention.
8. Show vulnerability: Ask for help from colleagues instead of continually being the one with the answers.

 
“Ultimately,” Zak says, “you cultivate trust by setting a clear direction, giving people what they need…and getting out of their way.”
 
Does your organization inspire trust, and how does that affect performance? To join the conversation, click "comments" above. 

Anxiety about public speaking may be so universal because it is “baked in.” Harkening back to prehistoric times, the brain’s amygdala, a kind of panic button, activates when we perceive we are being watched. The solution, says Sarah Gershman, president of Green Room Speakers and a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, is to turn our attention away from ourselves and toward helping the audience.
 
Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Gershman offers advice on shifting from a self-conscious mode to a generous one:

• When preparing, think of the audience. Identify their needs, spoken and unspoken, and craft a message that speaks directly to that.

 

• Before you speak, refocus. Tell yourself, “Brain, this presentation is not about me. It’s about helping my audience.” Over time (usually between four and six presentations), your brain will begin to get it, and you will become less nervous.

 

• While speaking, make eye contact. Instead of scanning the room, make eye contact with one individual per thought. It is far easier (and more effective) to have a series of one-on-one conversations than it is to speak to everyone at once.

 
“We know the power of generosity to give us a sense of fulfillment, purpose, and meaning,” writes Gersham. “Generosity is just as powerful in speaking. It turns a nerve-wracking and even painful experience into one of giving and helping others. A generous speaker is calmer, more relaxed, and — most important — more effective at reaching the audience and making the desired impact.”
 
What is your greatest concern when you speak in public, and why? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.