Social connection is a critical element in maintaining positive mental health and wellness. Research has shown that people who spend prolonged periods alone such as in deep space or Antarctica face mental health stressors such as loneliness and depression.
When we use the term social, it doesn’t mean that the conversation can’t be work-related, it is more about the positive psychological impact or shared understanding and demonstration of care that occurs in healthy conversations.
The Conversation Cycles provide a guide to the different types of conversations that you can have with your colleagues and direct reports over the course of a year. It is worth using this as a checklist to see whether you are spending enough time invested in the resources that will ultimately deliver the outcomes that will lead your organisation to success.
Select Download to view the Conversation Cycles.
Coaching is one of the most important responsibilities for leaders in today’s organisations. This is evidenced in Transformational Leadership as one of the key leadership styles to develop to ensure employees thrive at work and was an integral part of the Integrated Approach.
Having these conversations engages your people and has numerous benefits, including helping them solve problems, make better decisions, move past anything holding them back, learn new skills and develop in their roles – all of which leads to increased wellness.
Despite these benefits, leaders often don’t feel comfortable and equipped to have these conversations. The GROW Model is a simple and powerful framework that can make these conversations feel much less daunting.
With this proven approach and practice, any leader can build confidence to structure and facilitate coaching with their team members. Review this example of GROW in action and the additional resources to familiarise yourself with this important process.
Download the example of a buddy program that was developed to help build support and connection during COVID. One of the things that we learnt from COVID is that we can benefit from initiatives like these any time.