When was the last time you openly shared your values and preferences with your team members and colleagues?

Sharing is caring, as this panda will one day learn. 😊

During a recent keynote on how to ‘Create a Speak Up Culture’, I outlined the concept of the personal user manual. This is a document for every team member to complete which gathers their workplace and communication preferences. Leaders and team members can use this information to facilitate smoother, more effective teamwork and greater understanding.

Example questions each team member could answer are:

• What’s your working style?
• How do you like to communicate?
• What inspires you to do your best?

According to this article from Futureforum.com, the benefits of this approach include helping teams to:

• Build psychological safety.
• Improve communication.
• Provide insight into individual motivations.
• Avoid misunderstandings.
• Foster empathy.
• Improve collaboration.

And if your team is remote, hybrid, or gets together rarely, this tool is even more valuable for making it easier to get to know each other.

Here’s a link to a simple, editable version.

To create your own version:

1. Open it in Google Docs.
2. Click on File: Make a copy, and
3. Edit it as you wish.

During the Speak Up Culture keynote session, one leader on the call clearly felt that implementing the personal user manual with his team was just too much to handle.

In the chat box, he wrote:

‘Do you mean that on top of my current workload managing 30 people I also have to circulate this user manual and memorise all my team’s preferences?!’

I could feel the pent-up frustration in his words. 😣

Remember that we don’t have to do everything ourselves.

In many teams, there’ll be at least one high-energy, people-loving person who’s only too happy to take responsibility for circulating the user manual document. And then, all you have to do is, at the beginning of each team meeting, allot a few minutes for one or two members to take the stage and briefly share the content of their manual.

It’s a great way to learn about each other, to bond and to feel seen and heard.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

One leader who isn’t afraid of listening to his team, and providing access to himself, is the new Adidas CEO, who apparently gave out his personal phone number to the entire company.

Read about his bold move here: Adidas’s New CEO Did Something ‘Crazy’ When He Joined the Company. It’s a Brilliant Lesson in Emotional Intelligence.

I’ve just finished reading Adam Grant’s book Hidden Potential, which I really enjoyed, and picked up a few gems from it.

He talks about the importance of every employee having easy access to managers and leaders other than their own direct boss. That way, suggestions for improvement and creative ideas don’t get trapped moving up the food chain and one’s own manager is less able to block/stifle progress and innovation.

INSPIRE INCLUSION

One thing that’s incredibly challenging for DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) professionals and advocates is the amount of pushback, naysaying and resistance that comes not only from colleagues but also from the press and society in general.

I’ve been partnering with a global think tank to share content and case studies on ways to overcome resistance from co-workers using a combination of empathy and communication strategies. The examples were well-received, and I’ve since had several requests to deliver additional talks on the topic. That’s why I’m also going to create a resource page to help our friends in DEI counter resistance to their important efforts.

We’re compiling a list of articles and other resources on how to overcome resistance. We’re tentatively calling it the DEI Powerpack. Yes, ultra-cheesy name, I know. If you’re an ace at naming and care to share some suggestions, please drop me a line!

As soon as we have the page, we’ll share it. If you have any strategies of your own, or resources to suggest that will help others overcome resistance to change, I’d love to hear them. In the meantime, this article explores simple, backlash-free definitions of diversity, equity and inclusion. You might find them useful.

COMMUNICATION CORNER

My friend, communication coach Gosia Syta posted on LinkedIn recently about the power of non-verbal communication, and the ability to ‘read the air’ and pick up on subtle cues.

Did you ever go to a country and, in addition to not understanding the language, you found that even reading the body language was a struggle?

People from ‘high context’ regions, for example, parts of Asia and The Middle East, rely not only on words and body language but also on what’s NOT said, to get the point across.

That’s why it can seem incredibly perplexing for some of us when we’re in high-context environments; there’s a whole layer of communication that we might be missing out on.

In today’s workplaces, with so many global teams, we can’t take clear communication for granted. That’s why it’s on us to do our homework to build bridges of understanding.

I enjoyed reading this HBR article When Diversity Meets Feedback about the way feedback is shared in different cultures.

Do you have any stories, advice or examples of your own about cross-cultural communication?

Sending you wishes for well-being and progress!

Warmly

Shola

P.S. Here are a few things you might want to do after reading this newsletter:

1. Book a call at https://calendly.com/sholakaye/15 to discuss keynotes and training for your organisation
2. Request our brochure – email heather@sholakaye.net
3. Check out our website for a partial list of Shola’s keynotes at https://sholakaye.com/speaking
4. If you’re looking for a practical, positive, inclusion-themed keynote to celebrate International Women’s Day at your company, check out our brochure https://sholakaye.com/iwd24

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Hi, I’m Shola and I help you create a people-first culture. My work sits at the intersection of Inclusion, Communication & Emotional Intelligence.

My keynote talks and workshops help your leaders and employees create high-performing work environments where people feel a sense of belonging and psychological safety. Sessions are high energy, interactive, and every participant walks away with at least one practical framework for connecting and collaborating more effectively.

Sound good to you? Please reach out and let’s discuss your next event! 🙂🎤✨