Leading is About the Environment You Create Julie Kovalaske Learning and Talent Development Office of Human Resources 11/08/2016 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN Case Studies Read the case studies Find a person near you to discuss Discuss: What stands out to you about these environments? 7 minutes to do activity as a pair 8 minutes to discuss as a whole Follow-up questions: How do you think the employees in these environments feel? How might that impact the overall work environment? 11/08/2016 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN What words would you use to describe your work environment? What words would you use to describe your ideal work environment? Follow-up questions: What is the impact of this on how you feel at work and how your employees feel at work? How might that impact the work that is getting done? Transition: The ideal work environment has all positive traits. We are going to watch a TedTalk that describes why these are so important, how it can look in different environments, and the role of the leader. 11/08/2016 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe Simon Sinek http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe What are your initial reactions? Leader sets the tone Leadership is a choice not a rank Why do you do it? They would do it for me Transition: Some of the examples are how the highest levels in the organization set the tone. What about you? Although some things may be forced on you from top-down, you still have a lot of ability to create a positive environment for those who directly report to you. He said when we feel safe the natural reaction is trust and cooperation. Let’s look at some ways about how you can create that environment. 11/08/2016 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Creating Trust and Cooperation Personal Connection Transparency and Honesty Encouragement Avoid favoritism Competence Integrity Follow-through Accessibility Feedback Admit mistakes Acknowledge and address concerns Personal Connection Get to know your employees Share about yourself Chatting, lunches, helping out with work once in a while (take customer service calls) Transparency and Honesty Share as much as you can Be honest, even if the news isn’t good Employees will fill in any void of information, usually with worst case scenario Encouragement Empower employees Grant autonomy Delegate tasks Clear expectations and how performance will be measured Trust them and they’ll trust you Avoid favoritism Treat all employees equitably Share information and assignments equitably Avoid badmouthing Competence Update own skills Avoid being an expert in all areas Ask questions Show eagerness to learn Integrity Create and follow fair process Treat employees equitably Be consistent Follow-Through Be accountable for your actions Do what you say you will do Make sure you get back to employees if you don’t know the answer to their question right away Follow-through on little things will build credibility Accessibility Be available for your employees Feedback Regular meetings/conversations Catch issues early Provide feedback to employees Ask for feedback from employees Admit mistakes Open and honest about mistakes Learn from them Let others make mistakes and not be fearful that they need to hide Apologize Acknowledge and address concerns Listen to concerns Create opportunities for dialogue Let others influence process to rectify concerns 11/08/2016 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN Reflection What does your work environment look like with regard to trust? What should you continue to do? What should you start doing? What should you stop doing? Reflect on your relationship with your direct reports – you can control that Reflect on your own – 5 minutes Share with partner – 5 minutes Whole group share out – 10 minutes If time remaining Consulting about current issue of trust and how to work through it Discussion – what do you do when it is the people above you who are not creating a trusting environment? 2/17/2019 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN Questions? 2/17/2019 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN