Self-Management and Personal Effectiveness

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Write a 2000 word essay on the following topic...

Introduction

Government has been working through Digital transformation for many years and as part of that transitioning towards a user centred approach to service design and delivery (Parker & Heapy, 2006). A shift of this scale can introduce organisational trauma “transformation can be highly disruptive, causing chaos and turmoil within the organisation” (Kimberling, 2023, para .1). Situations like this can bring about emotional and cognitive overwhelm; trauma has the potential to disrupt our self-protective mechanisms, leaving us with a sense of vulnerability and helplessness (Vivian & Hormann, 2013). This greatly increases the importance of effective communication which is essential to reduce fear and build a sense of optimism (DuFrene & Lehman, 2014).

There is particular tension between research and design professions and their role in the public sector (Allen, 2020). This paper will firstly discuss my approach to communication within the context of built up trauma in the design and research teams I lead. There is also conflict and built up organisational trauma in long standing civil service professions as incompatibility with new ways of working emerge “Ten years on, we do see evidence of tensions between design and its public sector contexts…The most prominent limitation had to do with policy” (Bason & Austin, 2022, p.1749).

The second part of this paper will discuss my approach to communication in wider teams with professions and practices who might not share my beliefs. In each case I will discuss how my choices relate to theories and frameworks and how I have tried to overcome my own issues with confidence. The final part of this paper will reflect on the communication choices I have made and discuss specific learning points and recommendations for future practice.

Research and design team

I led a team of designers and researchers whose expertise was disregarded on a politically sensitive project. Despite their insights, senior leaders prioritised timely delivery over their contributions. My role involved communicating this decision to the team and motivating them to persist despite feeling undervalued. Effective communication was crucial for sustaining performance, well-being, and team morale.

In response to potential feelings of powerlessness and withdrawal (Bunker, 2008), I established a safe space for the team to collectively make sense of the decision, understand its impacts, and express their feelings. This aligns with the importance of understanding attitudes and behaviours in successful communication (Li et al., 2021). In hindsight I recognise the value of one-to-one sessions as in a group setting, the negative mind-set of some team members may have become infectious and influenced others (Bunker, 2008). However, Burtis and Turman (2009) counter this by concluding that much of the meaning-making is accomplished as people interact with others and share ideas and information.

After the news, the team felt disconnected and disillusioned with the department's wider aims for change, potentially hindering project success (Li & Sun et al., 2021). Addressing this, I supported the team's views, expressed my frustration, and highlighted opportunities, reassuring them of their continued role. Providing social support like this increases receptiveness and cooperation during change (Men et al., 2020). Validating fears through honest disclosure, as suggested by DuFrene and Lehman (2014), fosters inclusion and reduces fear of the unknown. Men and Yue (2019) emphasise acknowledging both positive and negative news for a clearer understanding of threats and opportunities, noting the importance of organisation-wide acknowledgment. However, to ensure the team's understanding, my communication should align with the wider organisation's direction (Yukl & Lepsinger, 2006). I opted for remote sessions due to the team's dispersed location, ensuring they heard the decision promptly. While face-to-face is powerful (Purvanova & Bono, 2009), the fast-paced, political context led me to prioritise openness and speed, aligning with Barrett (2006) who emphasised choosing the right medium for effective communication.

The challenge was using these sessions to motivate people to continue on a project that did not value their input with a vue to longer term success. Achieving this would enable people to be willing participants instead of saboteurs (Sillince, 1999). To accomplish this I communicated my vision and reinforced my views and belief in a user centred approach to service delivery. Men, Yue, and Liu (2020) note that charismatic communication is about signalling and the first signal is a compelling vision. I was able to use my own optimism and commitment to convey a sense of confidence about our team's future (Yukl & Lepsinger, 2006).

I discussed longer-term plans to influence decision-making and highlighted the pivotal role the team could play in achieving those goals. This aligns with my natural communication style of advocating for and championing the teams I manage and aligning with their values (VoicePrint 2019). This is supported by Yukl and Lepsinger (2006) who note that it is essential to communicate personal confidence that the vision can be achieved and that the benefits will be worth the short-term sacrifices. I conveyed this to emphasise that the setback wasn't insurmountable, and I had a well-defined plan to guide us towards research and insight-driven decisions. This aligns with the assertion of Carroll (2015) that during a crisis, team members seek management's guidance to interpret the situation and determine the next steps.

This approach enabled me to offer appropriate incentives and foster a sense of purpose (Kosiarek, 2016). It didn't tackle the broader issue of the team feeling undervalued by senior leaders and other teams. Upon reflection, improving team motivation and commitment could have been further enhanced by conducting regular team sessions. Kosiarek (2016) emphasises that engaging in meaningful conversations that drive change, garner support, and inspire high performance is crucial for success and should be a daily practice.

Over the subsequent months, the team successfully redirected their efforts, crafting the best possible product within predetermined constraints. This initiative garnered increased support for a user-centred approach, ultimately advancing design thinking further upstream to impact decision-making. However, some team members left the project, due to their disenchantment. On reflection this could be because they felt excluded from the change process and were not able to input their thoughts (Johansson & Heide, 2008). Li and Sun et al. (2021) also highlight that coping depends on one's belief in changing a situation. To combat this I could have reinforced the long-term vision through diverse communication channels such as blog posts or internal newsletters (Remund, 2014). Aligning the research and design teams' vision with the wider organisation, as suggested by Yukl and Lepsinger (2006), could also have improved outcomes.

To improve my future communication, I should rely less on personal attachment to a vision. Leading successfully requires confidence when communicating with teams with diverse motivations. Kosiarek (2016) emphasises achieving this through constant communication and understanding your audience deeply. Additionally, I need to avoid appearing preachy by balancing advocacy for the teams I manage, as cautioned by VoicePrint (2019).

Multidisciplinary team

Transitioning to a more senior role necessitated adjusting my communication style to suit a more diverse audience (Barrett, 2006), recognising the critical influence of timing and delivery (DuFrene & Lehman, 2014). My focus primarily centred on improving confidence in leading multidisciplinary teams, aligning with the assertion of Barrett (2006) that leaders must embody qualities such as knowledge, authority, confidence, honesty, and trustworthiness to be perceived as credible. Establishing effective upfront communication was paramount when introducing a new team to pilot a user-centred policy implementation approach. The objective was to minimise resistance, fostering readiness for change amid past challenges and tensions within teams and professions (Johansson & Heide, 2008).

I adopted a direct communication style, outlining the new teams' roles, expected outcomes, and collaboration methods. This ensured transparency, aligning with DuFrene and Lehman's (2014) support for a direct approach that clarifies actions without softening decisions. Validating fears promptly, as they suggest, fosters inclusivity and understanding (DuFrene & Lehman, 2014). This is disputed by Kosiarek (2016) who instead writes that authority and competency are not enough, they propose instead that it is the ability to earn and then keep the loyalty and trust of the teams you lead that determines success. Heide and Simonsson (2021) also conclude that listening to team members is more fruitful than conveying instructions. Another potential downfall is the ease at which a direct style can turn into dictating VoicePrint (2019). Dictatorship removes the possibilities for teams to input their own ideas which prevents them from taking ownership of their work and hinders commitment (DuFrene & Lehman, 2014). Heide and Simonsson (2021) discuss the importance of an active role for team members especially when it comes to communicating in times of trauma or crisis.

The second reason I opted for a direct style was to appear more credible to people outside of my usual sphere of influence. This theory is well supported (Barrett, 2006; DuFrene & Lehman, 2014), Yukl and Lepsinger (2006) also note that when communicating across teams putting opportunities and threats into context and clarifying how the organisation as a whole needs to respond is critical. However Huffaker (2010) warns that credibility alone is not enough; leaders need to be adaptive and responsive with their communication. Kosiarek (2016) also warns followers first need to know how much you care. In hindsight I could have stayed more true to my natural style of communication in order to first convey why I believed so much in the changes, especially when communicating with people for the first time. This would also have helped me to build more personal connections with new team members as DuFrene and Lehman (2014) point out team members can demonise or blame leaders when they have no personal connection to them.

The pilot project was started successfully and received support from senior leaders however it was often disrupted by challenges from team members or from leaders in other parts of the organisation. On multiple occasions I had to repeat messages or step into team meetings to calm situations and remind people of the purpose of the work. I believe this happened because of the built up fear, anxiety and frustration from previous attempts to embed a user centred approach to policy delivery. This is supported by Bunker (2008) who concluded that direction setting is much more difficult in times of trauma when people may feel resentment, anger, sadness, and distrust. It is also possible messages were lost or confused as different people had different interpretations of what the change meant for them (Barrett, 2006). Ford et al. (2002) build on this theory stating that background conversations amongst sub-groups create different contexts and different realities.

Remund (2014) discusses the importance of relationships to effective communication when working across team boundaries; where there is a lack of relationships and therefore trust people are less willing to take direction. To prevent this in future I will need to proactively reinforce messages by communicating more regularly with both the immediate team and the wider organisation. Kosiarek (2016) points out that conversations need to happen multiple times every day before they are turley understood and accepted. I will also need to find ways to communicate direction whilst also remaining responsive and able to change my communications style to suit the responses I receive (Remund, 2014).

Conclusion and recommendations

Effective communication is about more than being a confident speaker; it involves creating relationships with people, and allowing them the space to process information and to feel a sense of ownership over how they respond. To successfully convey messages you need to understand your audience, their motivations and their context. You then need to invest the time to continually support those relationships with regular communication (Kosiarek, 2016).

To successfully communicate within the context of trauma-informed events you need to carefully consider both individual and group dynamics, ensure the communication is both constant and consistent, and align with wider communication from the organisation. It is also essential to adapt styles and techniques based on the needs of the audience. Through my own style of advocacy and motivation I was able to successfully communicate a difficult message to my team, supporting them to make sense of the decision and to formulate a plan for how we would continue to work towards our goals. By taking on a more direct style I was able to successfully set direction for a multidisciplinary team whilst instilling confidence in my own abilities.

To enhance my communication in future I will need to improve my ability to build relationships with and motivate people with different goals to my own. As Kosiarek (2016) states, the best leaders find a way to provide purpose and meaning to diverse groups. To do this I will align with the organisation's goals, and focus on why we do things, not how we do them (Sinek, 2010). Although my style may need to change to suit different contexts (Barrett, 2006) the key will be learning how and when to adapt whilst remaining true to my natural style of advocating for what I believe in. The biggest lesson I will take forward is that communication is never complete, conversations must continue as relationships and trust are built. “The interactions that follow will likely be at least as important in determining the final effects” (Burtis & Turman, 2009, p.138).

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