The Key to Empowering Employee Ambassadors is Good Management
There is a lot written about internal communications and how it is key to public relations. Many believe that employees are the best ambassadors for a brand. They live and breathe it day in and day out. They know it better than anyone and have the authority to spread the message. But for employees to be good ambassadors, they have to feel invested, not just in the mission and vision of the organization, but also in the people. And they have to feel invested in by the organization and the people as well.
Part of making sure employees feel invested in is making sure they have good management. Individuals who can direct them and make them feel valued and that they are, and the work they are doing is, important. Managers must also must know how to navigate nuanced situations and cultures, otherwise the entire dynamic falls apart. A talent for management isn’t something we are born with. It’s something we have to learn. That’s why I felt it was important to take a year-long course to learn how to be a better manager.
The course was hosted at my place of work, Barnard College, where I am the Senior Associate Director of Development and Alumnae Communications, overseeing one direct report, soon to be two. While I don’t manage a lot of people, I often work across teams and offices to manage people who don’t report directly to me.
The course was facilitated by SkillPath and consisted of eight full-day sessions focused on core competencies for managers and supervisors that culminated in a Management Development Certificate. The content was a combination of lecture, group discussion, and role-playing. It was not necessarily specific to branding, marketing, or communications, instead based on realities gleaned for non-profit and higher education, though they certainly can relate to all industries.
For instance, in the Communication Skills workshop we talked a lot about safe spaces and trigger warnings, which are a big topic on college campuses, and in the diversity workshop, we focused on all types of inclusion but spent considerable time on both age discrimination and gender issues, being a women's college.
Of the courses, I found three of them to be specifically beneficial to helping my direct report feel valued and supported so that she can, and wants to, perform to her greatest potential and be empowered to be a positive ambassador for the organization.
The class taught me a lot about how to do this more effectively, including what to do when change hits, how to test a new initiative, and the manager’s role in navigating the change. The most enlightening exercise, however, was the exercise on generating change within the organization, when you know it’s needed. To key to this, is the Change Triad:
The top of the triad is, of course, the vision of the brand or organization, very similar to the BIC virtuous circle. When discussing change with employees, managers often convey the how (methodology, logistics, etc.), but not the why (reason for the change) or the what (vision and end goal). Helping employees see this big picture lowers resistance and increases support, leading to them having confidence in the direction that the business is going in, and making them more effective internal and external ambassadors for the initiative.
Emotions can be a liability. They can impair your rational thinking, take energy away from your performance, increase misunderstanding and conflict, and more. But they can also be assets. They can motivate, give purpose, and lead to greater insight. Handling an emotional situation requires a lot of self-awareness. That’s why I found this chart very effective. So much so that I would hang it next to my desk if it wouldn’t broadcast my dire need to refer to it every day.
Stressful managers lead to stressful employees. By managing emotions, and in fact using them to our benefit, we can make employees feel more supported in their work and their life. In a heated meeting or a busy day, it’s important to reduce reactionary behavior, understand different perspectives, and interact carefully with different communication styles. All of these assets will build not only your confidence, but also the confidence that employees have in us.
This course covered a wide gamut of DEI topics such as protected classes, the mainstream vs. the margin, racial and gender bias, and more. The most engaging exercise was one that covered perceptions:
In this exercise, one person said the first part of a statement (such as "A person who is mentally disabled is..." or "a person from the middle east is...") out loud three times rapidly, and the other person had to finish the sentence immediately and in succession. The exercise challenged us to examine our preconceived notions about different categories of people. It made us think critically about the biases that we carry with us every day, even if we don’t realize it. This awareness is essential if we are to create a more equitable and inclusive work environment because biases shape how we react to and treat people, and shedding ourselves of them will ensure that everyone feels valued and supported.
The final exercise in this course was a fun and engaging one. The prompt was simple: draw a house. But the catch was that there were two people guiding the pen, and it had to be done in silence.
Here’s our house!
The goal of this exercise was to relieve ourselves of our preconceived notions of what a house should look like, and to collaborate without pushing or pulling the other person in a certain direction. We had to let go of our need to control and trust the other person.
In the end, work is a social activity and business relationships are also personal relationships. Personal relationships are built on trust, and refusal to collaborate erodes trust and damages business.
As a manager, we aren’t just charged with getting work done. We are charged with building relationships with employees that help them have productive and fulfilling work lives. This exercise incorporated all of the core traits gleaned from many of the other courses. Traits that managers must possess to be successful:
Trust, confidence, understanding, a collaborative mentality, empathy, an inclusive nature, and, above all, vision. These traits are the difference between a manager who manages, and a manager who leads.
And a manager who leads empowers employees to become the ambassadors that every brand and organization needs to flourish.
Part of making sure employees feel invested in is making sure they have good management. Individuals who can direct them and make them feel valued and that they are, and the work they are doing is, important. Managers must also must know how to navigate nuanced situations and cultures, otherwise the entire dynamic falls apart. A talent for management isn’t something we are born with. It’s something we have to learn. That’s why I felt it was important to take a year-long course to learn how to be a better manager.
The course was hosted at my place of work, Barnard College, where I am the Senior Associate Director of Development and Alumnae Communications, overseeing one direct report, soon to be two. While I don’t manage a lot of people, I often work across teams and offices to manage people who don’t report directly to me.
The course was facilitated by SkillPath and consisted of eight full-day sessions focused on core competencies for managers and supervisors that culminated in a Management Development Certificate. The content was a combination of lecture, group discussion, and role-playing. It was not necessarily specific to branding, marketing, or communications, instead based on realities gleaned for non-profit and higher education, though they certainly can relate to all industries.
For instance, in the Communication Skills workshop we talked a lot about safe spaces and trigger warnings, which are a big topic on college campuses, and in the diversity workshop, we focused on all types of inclusion but spent considerable time on both age discrimination and gender issues, being a women's college.
Of the courses, I found three of them to be specifically beneficial to helping my direct report feel valued and supported so that she can, and wants to, perform to her greatest potential and be empowered to be a positive ambassador for the organization.
Change Management
Every organization experiences change, but it’s how we deal with that change that either leads to, or reduces, stress. Expanding responsibilities, life and professional transition, staff turnover. It can all be a lot to handle. Successfully navigating change, and helping employees navigate it as well, can make people feel much more supported.The class taught me a lot about how to do this more effectively, including what to do when change hits, how to test a new initiative, and the manager’s role in navigating the change. The most enlightening exercise, however, was the exercise on generating change within the organization, when you know it’s needed. To key to this, is the Change Triad:
The top of the triad is, of course, the vision of the brand or organization, very similar to the BIC virtuous circle. When discussing change with employees, managers often convey the how (methodology, logistics, etc.), but not the why (reason for the change) or the what (vision and end goal). Helping employees see this big picture lowers resistance and increases support, leading to them having confidence in the direction that the business is going in, and making them more effective internal and external ambassadors for the initiative.
Developing Emotional Intelligence (EI)
There’s no denying that emotions can have a very prominent role in the workplace. Anyone who knows me, knows this was the course I was most nervous about! As an incredibly cerebral, reactive, and not always self-aware person, I’ve always struggled with EI. But successful people know how to sense, understand, and use emotions to improve decision making, performance, and overall quality of life. So it’s something I was, and still am, dedicated to honing.Emotions can be a liability. They can impair your rational thinking, take energy away from your performance, increase misunderstanding and conflict, and more. But they can also be assets. They can motivate, give purpose, and lead to greater insight. Handling an emotional situation requires a lot of self-awareness. That’s why I found this chart very effective. So much so that I would hang it next to my desk if it wouldn’t broadcast my dire need to refer to it every day.
Stressful managers lead to stressful employees. By managing emotions, and in fact using them to our benefit, we can make employees feel more supported in their work and their life. In a heated meeting or a busy day, it’s important to reduce reactionary behavior, understand different perspectives, and interact carefully with different communication styles. All of these assets will build not only your confidence, but also the confidence that employees have in us.
Diversity in the Workplace
As a manager with hiring power, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is one of, if not the, most important aspect of creating a supportive work environment. Understanding the nuances of cultural values, labor laws, and recognizing similarities and differences can lead to a workplace that is not only more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, but one that is ultimately more fulfilling, fun to work in, and effective.This course covered a wide gamut of DEI topics such as protected classes, the mainstream vs. the margin, racial and gender bias, and more. The most engaging exercise was one that covered perceptions:
In this exercise, one person said the first part of a statement (such as "A person who is mentally disabled is..." or "a person from the middle east is...") out loud three times rapidly, and the other person had to finish the sentence immediately and in succession. The exercise challenged us to examine our preconceived notions about different categories of people. It made us think critically about the biases that we carry with us every day, even if we don’t realize it. This awareness is essential if we are to create a more equitable and inclusive work environment because biases shape how we react to and treat people, and shedding ourselves of them will ensure that everyone feels valued and supported.
The final exercise in this course was a fun and engaging one. The prompt was simple: draw a house. But the catch was that there were two people guiding the pen, and it had to be done in silence.
Here’s our house!
The goal of this exercise was to relieve ourselves of our preconceived notions of what a house should look like, and to collaborate without pushing or pulling the other person in a certain direction. We had to let go of our need to control and trust the other person.
In the end, work is a social activity and business relationships are also personal relationships. Personal relationships are built on trust, and refusal to collaborate erodes trust and damages business.
As a manager, we aren’t just charged with getting work done. We are charged with building relationships with employees that help them have productive and fulfilling work lives. This exercise incorporated all of the core traits gleaned from many of the other courses. Traits that managers must possess to be successful:
Trust, confidence, understanding, a collaborative mentality, empathy, an inclusive nature, and, above all, vision. These traits are the difference between a manager who manages, and a manager who leads.
And a manager who leads empowers employees to become the ambassadors that every brand and organization needs to flourish.
