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There are lots of day-to-day ways to present yourself as a professional.  Such details are key in presenting yourself and your business in ways that exude confidence, warmth, and the highest quality standards.  In this article, I would like to focus on some very specific areas.  Namely, your email address, your email signature, and your mobile phone and voicemail message.  It is something of crucial importance, and it helps maintain personal and professional boundaries that can be blurred if care is not taken.

So much of our communication these days is by email.  Obviously the content of your emails is important, but so is your email address.  What is yours?  It should be professional not personal.  Personal email addresses should be kept for friends and family only.  I have seen some really shocking email addresses, too rude to even mention in this blog, okay then, things like hotsuzy69@hotmail.com  Not what one might look for in a childminder.  So, does yours hint at your sense of humour?  Your other passions in life?  Your nickname?  Or your personality?  If you have answered yes to any one of these questions, I say it is probably time to change it.

And each email is also a terrific opportunity to provide the basic information people need from you, and some marketing messages too.  I am staggered by how few people put even their phone number(s) and address on their email signature.  So many people nowadays look at emails (on their phone) for that very information, so make it easy for them.  Also include your business name, a logo, website address, and a message about what you are up to (the latest thing or celebration, or special offer or event).  Change it every few weeks for maximum effect, and point of difference.

If you have a mobile ‘phone for work and personal use, be careful.  With greater demands for flexible working and the 24-hour work culture, it could be very advantageous for you to take calls in the evenings and weekends.  However, there may be pitfalls and disadvantages.  First impressions count when it comes to how you answer your ‘phone.  There shouldn’t be a problem if you always answer your ‘phone in a professional manner.  If you don’t, then that is a cause for concern.  And background noise is a key consideration too – what sort of impression will you give by taking a call in the toilet or a bar?

So, for those occasions you can’t take a call, let your voicemail do the work.  Your message should include your business name, a little hint of your culture and aims, and a link to your website.  Here is an example: “Thank you for calling (name), we are not available now, so please leave a message with your name, number. We will get back to you as soon as we can, or visit our website at (insert web address).  Many thanks.”

These little details go a long way to not only give people the information they need, and offer you valuable opportunities to promote what is best about your business.  Do them and you can promote your professional approach and how people can work with you in the future, because first impressions definitely count.

If one thing is for certain, it is change.  In the last 20 years, the work environment has transformed almost from all recognition.  Take a breath and celebrate this change, and our success in making it work’, before you read on.  And take from that, whatever change happens in the future, we have the skills to survive it!

As leaders and managers we all need to reach a position where we embrace change, and have a ‘can do’ approach to making it work. Sometimes we can see change coming, or it can take us by surprise.  In a leadership role we must support all of those around us to travel positively and safely through change before, during and after it happens.  Without effective leadership, change can be damaging, unsettling and stressful.  It needs a considered and inter-personal approach that is built upon some tried and tested structures and models.  This is because we all have emotional and organic responses to changes, and this varies according to a whole raft of individual reasons that are affected by our role, experience, qualifications, health, personal life, and personal goals and ambitions.  Natural responses to change include feelings of: anger, depression, fear and pessimism; as well as excitement, happiness and optimism.  The potential for work-related stress is real and therefore ups the importance of sound management.

A key message is that we all operate on different timescales.  Some of us will adopt change more quickly.  Others will need time to think things through before they accept it.  And there is nothing more annoying than being with someone who is really keen about change very early if you are still on the journey!  Whatever way, try to avoid wasting time fighting things that will not change and you have no control over.  You won’t enjoy it, you will drain your energy and it will be very frustrating.

The response will depend on a number of factors which include:

• Is the change fairly minor and being suggested by staff or
• Is it a major strategic change which is being externally imposed, for example the introduction of new legislation or policy?
• The speed at which the change is introduced

To support the introduction of change consider the six C’s of change as suggested by Schrag et al., 1985:

• Challenge – turn perceived threats into a positive challenge
• Communication – consult widely and regularly with all staff keeping them informed
• Commitment/collaboration – encourage shared ownership avoiding any suggestion it is being imposed
• Control – allow all staff to feel they are sharing in control and shape and pace of any change
• Confidence – encourage resilience and self-confidence in staff
• Connection – promote networks of support, both within a setting and from outside agencies where appropriate

Change will be a hot topic for 2020-2021 as we get used to living and working with the effects of COVID-19. So, with a little forethought and care, you can support you and your team to make a success of it.

Lots of managers I meet in training or at events tell me how they now lead team of staff and volunteers.  And what has happened over the years, is these teams have got bigger and bigger, as settings have continued to grow or extend their services.  The single most common things said to me is: ‘I never imagined I would lead a team’ and ‘how do I do it?’

One thing for sure, is working in teams is essential and is the preferred way of working for most organisations.  But it needs some thought.

Our starting point is clear roles and responsibilities.  But we also need to know how group dynamics affect teams – this is something I have written about before.  As is the importance of leaders being able to apply and adapt their leadership styles to each and every changing situation that naturally occur in teams.

Teams do need to have: a definable membership; an identity, interdependence, interaction, feel sustainable, and an ability to act as one together.  And successful teams: communicate, know individual roles, commit to excellence, follow the leader, know their strengths and weaknesses, have common goals and vision, and appreciate individual input and team effort.

The challenge is that all teams are a living, constantly changing, dynamic force in which people come together to work.  And as Adair (1986) identified they are tasked with balancing the needs of: the individual, the team, and the task.  And in attempting to achieve these three aims, each team must openly discuss their objectives, assess ideas, make decisions, and work towards their targets together.  Tasks need to be defined, planned, allocated and resourced, and quality needs to be checked against the plan, which should be adjusted if needed.  For individuals, all need to have their personal needs met, receive praise and encouragement, be given status in their role, supported to grow and develop at their pace, and recognised for their individual abilities and qualities.

It is the team that holds all (including the leader) to account by setting standards, maintaining discipline, building team spirit, encouraging and motivating (so all have a sense of purpose), sharing skills and learning/training together, and ensuring effective communication throughout.

It is those teams that do all this and achieve outstanding practice or service, that impress me most.  They are not mutually exclusive.  You can’t have one without the other.  But it needs constant attention, as teams change whenever anything changes in the team.  In teams that can easily include: new members joining or established members leaving, the job changing, different roles and routines emerging, new users or customers requiring changes in practice and structure, and new policy changes as well.  Which is why thinking about working in teams and leading them is a constant occupation of the leader.

It not easy being a boss. And so many of us are in charge because no one else would do it, or we found ourselves here by accident.  That said, we all aim to be the best manager we can be, for as often as we can.

Despite our best efforts of trying to do the best and fairest things, sometimes the decisions we make aren’t popular.  Every leader needs to be prepared for that, and to be able to cope with the pressure of the team’s response – whatever that is, and however unpredictable it is.  Teams will always let you know what they think, indirectly or directly.  They can react by withdrawing or being silent and uncooperative, or they can share little complaints or niggles – all the way to something much more dramatic, and difficult to manage.

When you are a leader, you have a team, and most people in that team are constantly watching your every move.  They are often thinking: “I wouldn’t have done it like that”, or “that was the wrong decision”, or “if I was the boss I would do it this way”. Other team members simply look on in awe and wonder as leadership would be the last thing they would want to do themselves.

The ability to listen when being a leader is well documented.  I’ve said before, that talking gets you into leadership, and listening keeps you there.  It is listening that helps you to make decisions, the right decisions, something that is important to remember on those occasions when not everyone likes the decision you inevitability have to make.

Sometimes explaining and demonstrating your decision making process is enough to appease even the most disgruntled team member.  Saying things like, I have listened, it wasn’t an easy decision, and I had to balance lots of different issues, but in the end I have decided x, and this may be disappointing for some, but I think it is the right decision to make.

Teams needs leadership and direction, certainly when they are forming or storming (Tuckman 1965).  The type or style of decision making you need depends wholly upon the stage of development your team is in.  When a team is new or has changed and depends on its leader, you need to be directive, decisive and swift, any dithering now will be disconcerting for the emerging new team.  Make the wrong decision at storming stage, when the team is struggling to settle into new routines, and sub teams will be talking about you in the corridors or car parks for weeks.  So consulting and listening is key.  At the point that roles and routines are emerging, you can consult more and move to a collaborative decision asking process, edging towards democracy.  That’s a different matter altogether.

“Often any decision, even the wrong decision, is better than no decision” Ben Horowitz

If you manage or lead a team you will be all too aware how it can change from month-to-month, day-to-day, hour-to-hour, and even minute-to-minute.  A fully functioning and happy team can become one that is non-productive and unhappy very quickly.  Often, but not always, caused by unforeseen changes or events.  And every time a team member leaves or joins, or different configurations of team members come together, the team can go through these development stages.

As leaders it is vital we understand the dynamics of team development.  I have found Bruce Tuckman’s 1965 model by far the most useful one to support my leadership and team development.  It’s a popular one in our leadership training too.  The four main stages are: forming, storming, norming, and performing.  A few years later he added a fifth: adjourning.  But it’s storming I want to focus on here.

The storming phase is one every team will go through, and it will experience it regularly.  This may be a brief phase, but unmanaged, could last for considerable amounts of time.  Unchecked and it will damage your team and your business in little or big ways.  It’s often caused by change and uncertainty.

The characteristics are many. The easiest one to spot is that small sub-groups and cliques are formed, the team seems split and not as a whole.  There is also unhappiness with or even challenge to the leadership, the former being more difficult to spot from the leader’s perspective than the latter.  Look out to see if there are there grumblings in the car park, the corridors, or quiet corners? What is body language telling you?  It’s quite normal and healthy for people to have conversations in smaller groups, but what’s not good here is if they are complaining and negative and don’t work to positive solutions. Indeed when you are working with the team, you’ll find that decisions don’t come easily either, as members struggle to confidently share their views and opinions, and there’s a sense people vie for position, role, and status.  Silence is another indication as people don’t feel confident enough to speak up, agree or disagree.

Your job at this stage is to ensure the team focuses on its shared and unified goals.  This prevents them focusing all of their attention on their relationships and emotional issues.  You need to be prepared to change course, or slow down or even speed up plans to support the ironing-out of these creases.  Overall, think about how you are coaching individual members to work through their concerns, and with the team as a whole.  Using motivational selling style techniques is vital too – at this stage you’ll be needing to put more effort into selling ideas and agreements than in other stages.  Do that, and you’ll be moving towards forming, before you know it. But that’s a different matter altogether.