“Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.”

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

Marie Curie, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and then Chemistry in 1911, (see here for information on this incredible Scientist) is said to have once remarked: “Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood…”, and we have to admit that try as we might, we cannot understand the reasons for, let alone fathom the pain and suffering that 2023 brought to many millions across the globe. If Diplomacy really is the art of restraining power, as Henry Kissinger, the 56th U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. National Security Advisor and winner of the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize said, then we have to suggest that in 2023, ‘diplomacy’ failed.

Perhaps such diplomacy in the current day and age is impossible, as Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB said (here): “The spread of “fake news” is leading to greater cynicism among the public about whom to trust and whether common sacrifices are really needed…[and]we are also seeing a fracturing of the geopolitical landscape, which makes it harder to solve global challenges through multilateral coordination.”, and indeed, one of the tragic results from the past few decades has been the slow march, followed by a recent gallop towards polarisation fuelled by the rise in ‘false news’ as MIT’s Vosoughi, Roy, and Aral in their study (here) showed: “On Twitter, false news travels faster than true stories.” They found that it was in fact humans not ‘bots’ who were doing the bulk of the damage, gobbling up false news, taking it all in as shocking ‘facts’ and then passing it on. So false news spreads and grows, sucking so many in with it further.

This all exponentially magnifies the polarised ‘either you are with us, or against’ world within which we now find ourselves - there is less middle ground, less balance, and yet, if Mother Nature has taught us anything over the past few decades, it is that without balance, we shall perish.

As with Nature, so too we and our employees, all need balance, but how to find it in this world where social media is omnipresent and fear becomes magnified and uncontrollable is the difficult question. How do we assist, protect and support our employees who while the world becomes yet more volatile, still have daily issues and fears at home to contend with? How can we lower that fear they may be feeling and make their workplace a place of safety, engaged and welcoming especially in a year where we have at least 64 countries holding national elections (49% of the world), many in Africa (here) which if recent form is to go by will increase not lessen fear and polarisation.

For our employees, this is the year our superpower, empathy, has to be at its most alert. However, it is not just empathy, an understanding of what life is possibly like in others’ shoes, but what you as a leader do at work to drive a clear sense of purpose in your employees' lives, an ‘engagement’, that creates that warm glow that impacts and improves their lives. That is what is important.

As Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall wrote for the Harvard Business Review (here): “…attitudes seem to cluster around consistent themes, such as a clear sense of purpose, a commonly held notion of what’s valuable or important, feelings of psychological safety, and confidence about the future. We know that when we find these clusters expressed in one person, one team, or one company, [this is] “engagement.” Finally, we know that engagement…leads to productivity, innovation, retention, and much more.”

This creates the difference between as they state, an employee ‘thriving’ and one that is ‘muddling through’. These are areas you do control. Times outside the company might be uncertain, but it is within your power to make your employees’ lives as ‘engaged’ as possible within the walls of your company. That starts with you. It is the ‘much more’ that they talk about that will be important for all as we hit the election-fuelled and uncertain year ahead.

Shockingly, the large study by Buckingham and Goodwill showed that only 16% of employees were ‘engaged’, the rest (84%) are just ‘coming to work’! What does that say about the state of global leadership? What a waste of talent! Move that dial more into the positive and think not only of the increased ROI for the company but also most importantly, the positive impact on mental health of all.

So what is the answer? How do you create this engagement that leads to so ‘much more’? The answer lies not in creating a funkier office, better coffee, free breakfasts, pool tables or sleep pods in the coffee room, not even free child care (something we are absolutely passionate about and will ever remain so) but actually something far more simple, “…the most powerful factor was simply whether or not respondents reported doing most of their work on a team.”

Eh?

Yes - The humble Team!

The Lionesses mantra that of “If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go further, go together”, will never be more important than in 2024. If we really are living in the age of “permacrisis” (here), where one emergency layers onto the next (as if we haven’t enough to globally worry about, supply chain issues are back, FT here), what does that mean for business planning, but most importantly, what does that mean for our employees and their hopes, fears and mental state? What must they be thinking as they head home after a day at work…? How can we lower that fear they may be feeling? Is the ‘Team’ really an answer?

“…Those who did [work in a Team] were more than twice as likely to be fully engaged as those who said they did most of their work alone…The team is the reality of your experience at work. You have responsibilities that seem to be connected to other people’s responsibilities; you have strengths that seem to be complemented by those of others; you have people over your left shoulder and your right, looking out for you, keeping your confidences, offering their reactions to your work, sharing your idea of what “good” is, chipping in when you seem overwhelmed, and giving their input when you get stuck.”

What they also found was that a Team did not have to be a formal one as listed on HR’s notice board, but simply working together on projects creates that Team effect, even if you have been drawn from two or three independent and official Teams, this working together gives the same result. Engagement.

However 2024 is no ordinary year so you will need your employees fully engaged, so what makes a great Team? The major ones were:

1. Complete trust in the Team Leader. From Buckingham and Goodwill’s study they found “At work, I clearly understand what is expected of me” and “I have the chance to use my strengths every day at work,” increased the complete trust in the team leader.

2. “…the anchor ritual of team leadership”, no matter what size of Team you have, the weekly check in (and frequency matters) by the Team Leader - “What are your priorities this week, and How can I help?”

Although we cannot wave a magic wand and make the ills of the world disappear, and maybe we can’t completely know and understand the fears and worries of our employees, importantly we can ensure that the areas we have control over, do become a place of trust, comfort and stability.

Understanding, no, truly understanding the strength that this brings and how creating teams (however small) makes the world a little bit better, safer, more secure and less fearful for our employees - this possibly could be the most important thing you do in 2024.

“Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” - Marie Curie.

Stay safe.