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bombarded with requests for help and collaboration at a time when most face additional stresses at home. Unchecked, that leads straight to burnout or even a decision to step back from the workforce entirely. If managers are aware of this issue and carefully monitor the workload of their top people, they can reap the productivity benefits of more flexible ways of working without the danger of driving their best talent to quit. “You have to be more vigilant in seeking input from your employees in terms of what their workload is. If you had pulse checks before and you did them quarterly, you better start doing them monthly. You may even need to do them weekly,” Mankins urges. His advice is typical of that being doled out to managers struggling to keep their heads above water after 12 months of lockdowns and uncertainty. It’s neither new-fangled nor complicated. In fact, it mostly boils down to doing more of what worked before. Great management hasn’t changed dramatically. It’s just more important now than ever. 30 — SPRING 202 1
20 QU EST IONS TO ASK YOU RSELF I F YOU WA N T TO I NSPI R E H IGH PER FOR M A NCE
This short self-assessment is designed to help you reflect on your key leadership competencies in relation to the past year.
Score each statement on a scale of one to five (one = strongly disagree; five = strongly agree). Bring this perspective to your answers: have I become more aware of how my behaviours affect other people’s performance since the pandemic started? Reflect on your answers and, if you feel you’re lagging in one area, visit CMI’s Career Development Centre, where you’ll find a huge range of resources, checklists and articles covering each of the self-assessment categories.
