Positioning to S.C.O.R.E in Unpredictable Moments — Community Care –James Rosseau
Part 2 of a 5 part series
Leaders often use knowledge, skills, and experiences at a level of unconscious competence to deliver results. During times of uncertainty, high risk, and diminished control, leaders are forced to kick into action. In such moments, combining developed instincts with an intentional approach is crucial to improve the probability of positive outcomes.
James Rosseau, a solutions-oriented, purpose-driven steward, recently authored a playbook for leaders titled Positioning to S.C.O.R.E. in Unpredictable Moments. This guide for leaders consists of five sequential essentials to help managers prepare for certain situations. James is innately a change agent for human potential, and his natural communication skills allow him to empower others to be and do their best. Through this playbook, James has used his own personal and professional experiences to formulate replicable techniques and mechanisms that can be used by other leaders.
In an interview, James explained why he chose to write this playbook, who the target audience is, and what it means to him. After interviewing James about his guidebook for leaders, we were interested in each one of the five underlying steps that he spoke of. To dive deeper into each one, we decided to publish a series of five stories. Here is a sneak peek into the second step in his guidebook.
The ‘C’ in S.C.O.R.E
Community Care
“Community care is about caring for the people on your team that you have been privileged with the role of stewardship to lead.” In this step of James’ guidebook to help managers prepare for certain situations, he breaks community care into three pieces: compassion, connection, and creating space and being flexible.
Continuing with the self-care theme from the first step of the guidebook, “compassion is about providing people permission for self-care.” While this is a simple act, the impact of compassion can significantly improve the company’s culture. To help create a safe and inclusive environment, leaders should make it a regular habit to begin meetings by asking everyone how they are doing. To help get this conversation started, a leader should demonstrate their compassion through ‘exampleship.’ For example, share what you are personally doing to practice self-care or be transparent about something new you learned about yourself.
Second in this section of community care is connection. Staying connected with your team is crucial and leaders should never make assumptions about what the team needs. James recommends two courses of action to ensure strong connection within the workplace:
1. Ask people what they need from you … constantly
2. Management by Walking Around (MBWA)
In the beginning, it may be difficult to get people to share their feelings and some may feel you are asking these questions only out of the obligation to ‘do the right thing.’ Be persistent with asking questions about how you could help because in the end, it will benefit both the worker and the company as a whole.
Management by walking around (MBWA) allows leaders to “actively lead, engage and build relationships with his/her team through random interactions.” This leadership style could include random drive-bys, coffee room chats, quick catch-ups in the hallway, and any type of informal, unscheduled conversation.
Last is creating space and being flexible. By providing permission for self-care and holding open conversations about the team’s concerns, it creates a safe space in the workplace. As a leader, you also want to be flexible with your leadership style to create unconventional solutions for positive results.
Read the interview with James below, and stay tuned for part 3 of the series.
