Leading A Team Through Difficult Election Times

Summary

The Candy Valentino Show: Episode Summary Title: Leading A Team Through Difficult Election Times
Host: Candy Valentino
Release Date: November 1, 2024

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Leading A Team Through Difficult Election Times," Candy Valentino delves into the challenges business leaders face during politically and socially turbulent periods. With the backdrop of an election year coupled with the holiday season, Candy provides actionable strategies to maintain team cohesion, enhance leadership, and achieve business goals despite external pressures.

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Understanding the Current Business Landscape

Candy begins by highlighting the heightened stress levels within workplaces due to overlapping factors of the holiday season and a contentious election cycle.

• Employee Turnover Concerns:
  “Did you know that in 2022 a report found that 44% of employees actually think about quitting their jobs while on holiday vacation? What's even more surprising is 1 out of 5 follow through within the first month of getting back.” ([01:11])

• Political Tensions Affecting Workplaces:
  “A recent survey from Owl Labs found that 45% of full-time employees said that political opinions of their coworkers and their employer have made them not want to be in the office and not want to stay with that job.” ([02:30])

These statistics underscore the precarious situation business owners face in retaining talent and sustaining productivity during such volatile times.

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Four-Step Strategy for Effective Leadership

Candy outlines a four-step approach to help leaders navigate these challenging periods effectively:

1. Recognize and Address Emotional Triggers

Understanding the multifaceted emotional landscape is crucial. Candy emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the diverse personal experiences employees may have during the holidays and election periods.

• Mental Load Awareness:
  “Recognize the mental load that these types of seasons can bring.” ([02:15])

• Supportive Actions:
  Implementing additional breaks, offering flexible meeting times, and creating spaces for employees to voice their feelings can alleviate stress.

• Listening Over Solving:
  “Sometimes people just want to be heard. They want to be understood. They want to be recognized.” ([03:55])

2. Create Community Within the Workplace

Building a sense of community can mitigate external stresses by fostering internal solidarity.

• Establishing Workplace Traditions:
  Engaging in team-building activities such as holiday parties, Secret Santa, or volunteering can strengthen team bonds.

• Celebrating Together:
  Recognizing birthdays, small wins, and creating "just because" moments contribute to a unified and motivated team.

• Quote on Community Building:
  “Having regular work traditions outside of their family holiday traditions can really boost morale of your overall team and ultimately unify them.” ([04:30])

3. Encourage Constructive Dialogue

Open and respectful communication is vital, especially when political discussions are inevitable.

• Setting Boundaries:
  Establish guidelines to ensure that political conversations do not hinder workplace productivity or create divisions.

• Fostering Understanding:
  Encourage employees to listen and learn from differing viewpoints rather than engage in debates.

• Supporting Civic Engagement:
  “Encouraging people to get out and vote, to get involved, giving them time or flexibility or an hour so that they can go vote, so they can show their role as a citizen and how you value that.” ([06:00])

• Managing Political Neutrality:
  By supporting the democratic process without endorsing specific political stances, leaders can maintain a neutral and inclusive environment.

4. Lead with Empathy and Proactive Care

Empathy should be at the forefront of leadership during tumultuous times.

• Valuing Employees as Individuals:
  “Employees are people first. Can you lead with more empathy?” ([06:45])

• Strengthening Loyalty and Productivity:
  Proactive care not only enhances employee well-being but also translates into higher loyalty and productivity, setting the stage for future success.

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Key Insights and Conclusions

Candy wraps up the episode by reiterating the importance of empathetic leadership and proactive measures in fostering a resilient and cohesive team. By addressing emotional triggers, building a sense of community, encouraging respectful dialogue, and leading with empathy, business leaders can navigate through election-induced tensions and holiday stresses effectively.

• Long-Term Benefits:
  “The support that you offer now can really make all the difference in not just having a great last two months of this year, but set you up for success in the new one.” ([07:00])

• Final Takeaway:
  Leaders who prioritize their employees' well-being and foster an inclusive environment are better positioned to overcome challenges and achieve their business objectives.

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Notable Quotes

• “Sometimes people just want to be heard. They want to be understood. They want to be recognized.” — Candy Valentino ([03:55])

• “Having regular work traditions outside of their family holiday traditions can really boost morale of your overall team and ultimately unify them.” — Candy Valentino ([04:30])

• “Encouraging people to get out and vote, to get involved, giving them time or flexibility or an hour so that they can go vote, so they can show their role as a citizen and how you value that.” — Candy Valentino ([06:00])

• “Employees are people first. Can you lead with more empathy?” — Candy Valentino ([06:45])

• “The support that you offer now can really make all the difference in not just having a great last two months of this year, but set you up for success in the new one.” — Candy Valentino ([07:00])

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Conclusion

Candy Valentino's episode on "Leading A Team Through Difficult Election Times" offers valuable strategies for business leaders to maintain team cohesion and achieve business goals amidst external distractions and stresses. By fostering empathy, building community, encouraging respectful dialogue, and supporting civic engagement, leaders can create a thriving workplace even in challenging times.

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For more insights and episodes, follow Candy Valentino @candyvalentino on all social media platforms and subscribe to her YouTube channel.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Candy Valentino show, the podcast for founders, investors and entrepreneurs where we have honest conversations about what it takes to grow your business, build more wealth, and create financial freedom.

[B]

Our five Minute Morning Episode today is brought to you by traineel. If you ever feel like you are constantly repeating yourself, answering the same questions or solving low level problems in your business, that is because you have lack of processes. By centralizing business documentation and training materials, you can streamline operations and buy back some of your time. Having one place to document your company's policies and procedures and get new and existing employees all on the same page is going to save you endless headaches. I use Traineel for my businesses and you should too. Go to traineel.com candy for your free trial.

[C]

Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the show. Thanks for tuning in with me for today's five Minute morning. In prepping for today's episode, I stumbled across a few numbers that caught my attention. Did you know that in 2022 a report found that 44% of employees actually think think about quitting their jobs while on holiday vacation? What's even More surprising is 1 out of 5 follow through within the first month of getting back. And as business owners, especially who have first quarter goals right in their sights after the holiday and they're looking to double down, that is a daunting task and this year feels a little more intense. I don't know about you, but as we are just close to this election and going into the holidays, I feel like there's just another layer of tension not just in the workplace but in the world, in our relations, relationships, this uneasiness of what exactly is going to happen. And a recent survey from Owl Labs found that 45% of full time employees said that political opinions of their co workers and their employer have made them not want to be in the office and not want to stay with that job. This is another challenge for business owners and leaders that are trying to maintain a cohesive and positive company. If you are an entrepreneur, I want you to be asking yourself like how can you maintain a productive workplace and strengthen your leadership during the season so that you don't have some of the employees, the 44% of them that are thinking about quitting their job and wrecking your first quarter goals. So number one, I'm going to give you four steps that you can think about. But number one is to really recognize and address that there are a lot of emotional triggers right now, not just the holiday season. With all of the extra spending and stress of Families, because, look, not everybody's family is great. So not everybody is looking forward to the holiday and the times that you spend with each other. Not everybody has great traditions. So it's not always this sunshine and rainbows type of season for everyone. And then when you add that into an election year, my gosh, it can stir so many emotions, from bittersweet ones with not the best memories to anxieties about the country's future. So in order to help your team manage this stress, I think the first thing is to just recognize the mental load that these types of seasons can bring. And are there ways that you can either schedule additional breaks or have additional meetings, or just small actions that show that you're tuned in to what's going on, you understand that this is a challenging time for a lot of people and that you're there to support their wellbeing? Are there ways that you can encourage your team to check in with their direct reports? Or can you schedule office hours where employees have a very small period of.

[B]

The day that they.

[C]

They can come in and ask questions or talk about what's going on? And maybe it's not to you, maybe it's to one of your managers, but I think doing something like that, just recognizing it. You know what's funny? I found in life as I've gotten older that people don't always need to have all of the answers. They really don't even sometimes need apologies. They don't even need to have solutions. Sometimes people just want to be heard. They want to be understood. They want to be recognized. Even if you don't agree with them, that's really it. And so I think by having this extra space to have some reflections, to maybe have some breaks, to have a regular check in, can really help your employees in a critical time feel heard and understood. And the second point I would say is create community. And I don't mean necessarily in your community, I mean in your actual workplace. Can you create your own traditions? You know, there's a lot of people that don't have them, like I said, or they don't have the best ones, or they have a lot of anxiety because they didn't have the best holidays. Are there ones that you could adopt and create and develop in your work family so that you reinforce the family like culture that brings. Brings people together, whether it's a holiday party or a Secret Santa, or volunteering together as a team at a charity, or doing something together that builds a ritual for your team, whether it's celebrating small wins throughout the next eight weeks or birthdays or having these just because moments. Having regular work traditions outside of their family holiday traditions can really boost morale of your overall team and ultimately unify them. Number three is encouraged dialogue. Like when we look at the election and the political scene specifically, obviously political discussions are inevitable. Over 60% of US workers say that they have discussed politics with colleagues in just the last year, according to Glassdoor. And while these conversations can be decisive, they can also be an opportunity to really learn if managed constructively. I'm not saying to talk about politics in the office, but they're already having the conversation. So is there a way that you can set boundaries to maintain productivity while also respecting the employee's needs for possible expression? Is there a way to encourage employees to learn from different viewpoints and listen instead of debate? Obviously this is a tool that they can take into other areas of their life, but is there a way that you can encourage constructive dialogue? It will also help people solve their own problems, realizing that we're only focusing on solutions. And oftentimes, like I said, we just want to feel heard and understood. And last but not least, if you're trying to keep specific political views out of the workplace so that people are not feeling that they are divided or triggered, you can just be neutral by supporting engagement, encouraging people to get out and vote, to get involved, giving them time or flexibility or an hour so that they can go vote, so they can show their role as a citizen and how you value that that gives you the ability to stay neutral, to avoid endorsing specific political stances as a business. And instead you just show your support for the process, allowing your team to feel valued regardless of their views, encouraging them to take advantage of something that so many Americans have fought for throughout our lifetime. Navigating this specific season as a leader is not easy. But remember, employees are people first. Can you lead with more empathy? Can you be proactive about the care that will strengthen their loyalty and their productivity, which ultimately allows you to create the environment where your employees thrive? The support that you offer now can really make all the difference in not just having a great last two months of this year, but set you up for success in the new one.

[B]

Thanks so much for tuning in with me today guys.

[C]

We'll see you next time.

[B]

Hey guys, thanks for tuning in to this episode and if there was something that you loved or you had a specific takeaway, share it and tag me at candivalentino. And if you haven't already, grab a copy of my latest book, the 9% Edge Life Changing Secrets to create more revenue for your business and more freedom for yourself. You can pick it up anywhere books are sold, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or.

[C]

Your local independent store.

[B]

And once you do, head over to 9% edge.com and claim $1,500 in pre order bonuses, including a chance to join me on this very show. Thanks so much for tuning in and spending this time with me today, guys.

[C]

We'll see you next time.