Moving beyond performative employee development

If you're looking to create a connected culture for your teams, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni embodies three habits you should develop, writes Michael Lee Stallard, including leading with consistent positivity, expressing appreciation and communicating a vision for the future. "This level of trust and respect makes the Eagles' team dynamic stronger and more cohesive, as players are more receptive to coaching and more willing to push themselves for the collective good of the team," Stallard writes.

Put it into practice: Support for Sirianni's culture-building methods starts at the top with team owner Jeffrey Lurie, who also expresses his concern for players, Stallard writes. This support means that players feel that "they are valued as people, supported in their personal lives and encouraged to grow in all aspects of their lives."

Employee development can often feel performative, but Julie Winkle Giulioni suggests strategies to make it more authentic, including moving beyond scripted plans, getting more feedback and insight from colleagues and viewing development as an evolving process. "Once employees begin getting reactions from their audiences, it becomes natural for them to start sharing their growth plans with others, elevating the quantity and quality of support they'll receive," Winkle Giulioni writes.

Put it into practice: Don't try to create a year's worth of development content into an hourlong session, but think of it as "an iterative process," Winkle Giulioni suggests. "Maybe you can only settle upon one goal at this point."

When a team member's disruptive behavior, negative attitude or lack of accountability hampers team morale and productivity, identify their specific problem and have a clear goal in mind to help them improve performance and measure success before having a conversation, says human resources consultant Wendy Sellers. "Even if a conversation addresses a behavioral issue, continuous support and check-ins are vital for sustainable improvement, and to let that difficult person know that you -- as their manager -- are not going to let their behavior slide," Sellers says.

Put it into practice: If your team member is having noticeable mood changes or is performing poorly, they may be experiencing some personal issues, Sellers says. "Managers should be aware of company benefits, including therapy, so they can provide that information to the employee and allow time off to get help while also holding the employee accountable for their behavior and performance."

Life coach and author Martha Beck says she's always been anxious, but since she began to treat her anxiety "like a frightened animal" that required compassion and kindness, she's found a sense of peace and is sharing her method in a new book, "Beyond Anxiety." Beck acknowledges that fear and anxiety can be overwhelming and outlines ways to rewire the brain to be curious, which creates a new habit of going "to creativity instead of anxiety," Beck says.

Ants have been found to hold grudges against rival colonies, according to a study in Current Biology that involved exposing ants to aggressive encounters and observing their subsequent behavior. The findings indicate that ants remember previous hostile interactions and react more aggressively towards those colonies in future encounters, demonstrating a form of associative learning.

It's no secret that we live in a time of high anxiety. Thanks to social media, we know immediately when anything bad or scary happens, either halfway around the world or near our backyard.

I'm keen to read Martha Beck's new book on how to handle anxiety. I like her idea of treating anxiety like a scared animal that needs our compassion. Her recommendation to seek to rewire our brains to go to creativity instead of anxiety is also something I'd like to try.

Just as the airline staff reminds us before the plane takes off, we must put our oxygen masks on first so we can help others. We're no good to anyone if we pass out. It's the same with anxiety. It makes us unconscious just when we need to be alert.

Beck makes the point that anxiety is partly the cause of the separation we feel from those around us. Our anxiety causes us to fear others. Instead, as Beck says, if we go to curiosity instead of anxiety, we're more open to creative solutions that ease not just our fear but the fear of others, too.

Beck says the problem most of us encounter is that we're simply too exhausted to feel curiosity and creativity.

As Beck notes: "You're not going to feel passionate if what you need is sleep. I used to try so hard to get people to resurrect their passions. They were just tired! Do whatever it takes to rest until you get up above minimum."

I hope you can find some time this weekend to rest and relax so you have the time and energy for creative, non-anxious pursuits.
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