BETTER INTERACTIONS AT WORK
Challenge
Managers and their multi-cultural teams of a world leading technology company are exposed to high levels of stress due to high workload, performance pressure, and constantly changing environments. These circumstances negatively affected leadership effectiveness as well as team motivation, productivity and work relationships.
The company wanted their managers and teams to be able to respond to stress and change more effectively, and design ways to improve the quality of their daily interactions at work, for improved employee performance and sense of well-being.
Our collaboration
- 25 workshops
- 120 participants
- Management and their teams
- Language: English
- Format: Face-to-face
A series of 3 different workshops spread out over one year, based on recent insights from Neuroscience, leadership research and coaching methodologies.
Workshop 1: Neuro-Leadership
Focused on developing more effective ways of thinking, acting and relating through a deeper understanding of the functioning of the brain and human behavior.
Workshop 2: Cultural Intelligence
Focused on increasing the ability to respond effectively in a variety of contexts and cultural relationships to avoid costly misunderstandings and create strong relationships at work.
Workshop 3: New strategies for Stress
Focused on using stress instead of managing it, to stay calm, think clearly and stay focused on business goals in any situation, even when confronted with change.
Results
- Participants gained an understanding of how the human brain works and how to use this insight to change everyday behaviors for better professional interactions.
- The model introduced gave them a common language, increasing their ability to speak about complex concepts in simple ways.
- Participants learned strategies of how to move out of default thinking habits and judgements, into more constructive ways of thinking.
- They enhanced their cultural sensitivity though insight about cultural values and realized that their default way of thinking is not always the reality.
- Change of mindsets happened from “stress is bad for me” to “I can use stress as my ally to achieve my goals” creating a healthier physical response to stress.
- They learned 4 simple and highly effective cognitive strategies about how to use stress to their advantage, for better decision making and problem solving.
- Participants came up with practical action steps and left highly motivated to put them into practice.
Participants' feedback
What will be different as a result from having taken this program?
- Better interactions with my colleagues and clients
- More open mind to understand different opinions
- Be more aware of the different cultures that we all have
- I will practice self-management and not forget that people are individuals vs. employees
- I have new strategies now to cope with stress
- Be more open to other points of view
- Do not jump to conclusions, do not judge
- Remember that there may be other explanations
- My opinion about stress has changed
- I think I'll be more empathetic
- More positive feedback
- I will remember the part of not jumping to conclusions before having considered other interpretations / options
- Many things... I will definetely delegate more, and trust my people more
- Judge less, have more information before making a decision
- Be less impulsive
- Better communication with people of other cultures
- I will take more into account the different origins of my collaborators
- I will try to acknowledge my direct reports more
- Better understand the needs of others
- I will change my way of seeing my colleagues
- I will be better in dealing with stressful situations
- I will be more flexible and not think that my opinion is the only one
- I will put more interest in knowing the people with whom I work and not judge before having all the necessary information
- More tolerance towards colleagues from other cultures
- Pay more attention to the behaviors of others and my own
- Listen more, without believing the first thing that comes to mind
- More autonomy for my team members
- Do not judge my collaborators before knowing them better
- I will understand my collaborators in India better
- I'm going to try to listen more, not draw conclusions, notice who the person is I'm talking to
- I will delegate more
