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Nudges and the work-from-home world – How to inspire your team from a distance

Just a few short weeks ago, the work world underwent a rapid, unplanned, sea change. Those of us in the assessment industry, along with most of the world, were suddenly required to stay home. Work from Home (WFH) went from being an interesting option or an occasional break in the work week, to a mandated experience.

By this point, you have probably addressed most of the urgent needs and technological logistics this requirement imposed on you and your team. Work is probably moving forward, at least to some degree. You are probably in contact with all your team members, and everyone is getting more familiar with leaning on video calls to get things done.

And yet, remote communication may still feel like a poor second best to in-person contact. You may be struggling with the process of leading your team from your living room, instead of a company board room. You may feel particularly challenged if you are used to getting your messages across through your enthusiasm for a vision or even with the force of your personality. Unfortunately, these don’t translate well to the small screen of a laptop monitor. You may need to find new approaches to effective communication.

In this new WFH world, you might find it helpful to think about a few “nudge” approaches to communication, from the field of behavioral design (link to Parshall & Cox, 2018). “Nudges” are small changes to an environment that can have a powerful effect. With a few changes to how you communicate, the effectiveness of your messages may increase substantially.

A few nudges that help when communicating your vision

First, remember that the way we frame any message has enormous power to increase, or decrease, its effectiveness. So, one useful tactic as you prepare a message is to ask yourself, “Why should they care?” Then, frame your message from that perspective, with a focus that will be meaningful to your team. I like to call this the “meaningful why” principle (Sinek, 2009). Give them a meaningful reason to care about your message and they will respond.

Next, it’s worth thinking about what engages your team members. One of the key motivators in the workplace is the feeling that they are part of something larger than themselves (Pink, 2011). People are highly motivated at work when they have the sense that they are contributing to something that matters.

An example of a message that includes this kind of nudge is –

• “We provide high-quality credentialing exams that increase public safety. This is important work and it’s how we make the world a safer and better place every day.”

Another highly important aspect of a motivating work environment is the sense of making progress (Amabile & Kramer, 2011). Any time you can point out to your team that they have made progress, you increase engagement and motivation. The great thing about this behavioral design tool is that you don’t have to wait till the end of a big project. Give them frequent “small wins” by pointing out all the small milestones along the way.

An example of this kind of message is –

• “I want to say congratulations and thanks to the staff who put together our first video conferencing meeting with Subject Matter Experts. I’m sure that it was a lot of work to get all the new tools in place. But you took action and made it happen!”

Finally, your staff will be more responsive to your messages when you frame them in terms of aligned interests (Jachimowicz, Matz, & Polonski, 2017). When you are able to convey a message to your team in terms of values or goals that you authentically share with them, they will respond more positively. As another positive benefit, this is also likely to increase their trust in you.

An example of this kind of nudge is –

• “The pandemic won’t last forever, and we need to be ready for that time. We need to develop some new approaches now, so we can thrive together after the crisis is over.”

Conclusion

This is a formative time for your company; it’s likely to mean some permanent changes in how you do business. This is also a formative time for you and your team. How you relate to your staff, the procedures you put in place, and the direction you aim your team will endure long after the shelter in place regulations have been removed. You can decide now on the positive changes you’d like to take with you, when this is over. And you can use a few nudges, to help you inspire your team as you communicate this vision remotely.

Additional posts

For more information on similar topics go to Behavioral Design.

References

Go to Additional Resources for Action Design for references.

Categorized in: Industry News