Are your teams experiencing Cognitive Overload?

WHAT IS COGNITIVE OVERLOAD?

If you are familiar with the cognitive overload concept, please, skip to the next paragraph!  Otherwise, below is a visual that will help explain it. From a simplistic perspective, data comes in through our sensory memory where it is discarded or kept and passed on to working memory.  Working memory is where we process and determine how to store data in long-term memory using existing knowledge schemas (our filing systems). Working memory has a limit to the amount of information it can hold at one time. So, if there is too much coming in at once and/or no known schema for storing it, this can crash into the space limit and result in cognitive overload. 

Adapted from Atkinson, R.C. and Shiffrin, R.M. (1968). 'Human memory: A Proposed System and its Control Processes'. In Spence, K.W. and Spence, J.T. The psychology of learning and motivation, (Volume 2). New York: Academic Press. pp. 89–195.

Given the rapid changes in the recent 18 months, few of us had existing schemas to deal with all the new information and demands like; remote working, new technology, at-home schooling, no childcare, global invisible virus, new social rules and digital communication expectations.  And it all came at us at once. Working Memory was maxed out. BOOM! Cognitive Overload!

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN THE WORKPLACE?

When the cognitive overload becomes constant, it can lead to burnout.  This should not be confused with our casual use of the term when we have had a tough week.  Burnout is a condition that comes from chronic overload. This shows up as low energy; increased distance, negativity, or cynicism of one’s job, and inability to perform at work.  Leaders need to become more aware of this condition and take it seriously before it becomes chronic.

In May 2019, well before the pandemic reared its persistent head, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized burnout as an official mental health syndrome. This is real and is on the increase.  The U.S. Census Bureau stated that 42% of Americans reported symptoms of anxiety or depression in December 2020.

IT’S AN ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUE NOT A PERSONAL WEAKNESS

The Gallup poll, discussed in a HBR article, found that the top 5 reasons for burnout are all in control of the organization!  How an organization approaches burnout will be a factor in their business success. A recent survey found that 70% would consider leaving for a company that offered benefits and policies aimed at reducing burnout.  A leader may not realize it is an issue with 37% not comfortable talking about since they feared it would be seen as them incapable of doing their job.  The outdated mindset of “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps” is not an effective response. All humans have cognitive load limits. The leaders that understand this truth and develop approaches to not inadvertently max out their teams will have more positive and successful work environments.   

COURAGEOUS LEADERS ACCEPT AND ADAPT 

Unfortunately, the settling of our world has not happened and the likelihood of cognitive overload continues. The risk of this becoming chronic and resulting in burnout is high.  Individuals and businesses are dealing with yet more unknowns, changing rules and more technology.  Below are a few items filling up our working memory: 

• New Covid variants and their impact

• Increased responsibilities due to staffing gaps

• Changing vaccines mandates – at work, school and in retail spaces

• Worry due to the changing status of students’ learning environment -classroom or virtual or both 

• Concern on whether their job is at risk based on their decision relative to vaccination, masking and returning to the office

• More technology being introduced to fill staffing gaps

 TAKE ACTION - 4 TIPS TO PREVENT BURNOUT

At an enterprise level, mental health benefits, cognitive load training and resources need to be a high priority for attention and investment to deal with this workplace challenge.  Organizations are beginning to add cognitive load to employee experience metrics to better understand its impact and management.

While that is discussed and strategized, there are some immediate steps leaders can take to help manage their team’s cognitive load now.  Having an experimental mindset while you are learning the best ways to manage cognitive load is a positive step.  Consider the following ideas as you focus on this important organization issue of preventing burnout.

Action Considerations:

• Prioritize and cross off!  - reduce the load to what is only mission critical. No sacred projects/initiative/meetings!  Make the tough choices for your team’s health and success.

• Create Digital Boundaries –  The Digital workday never ends if not managed. Set new norms - see recent MBM ELEVATE Perspective on this topic.

• Increase your 1-on-1s – Make it okay to discuss cognitive load limits. Understand each team member’s non-work load too.  Ask each team member what they need to better manage the load.

• Provide Pauses –

  • Clear the working memory at the beginning of each meeting with 15 seconds of deep breathing by all attendees

  • End all meetings at the 25- or 55-minute mark

  • Create agendas that allow ample time for all to process the content, its meaning and how it is connected to their work. Time to digest!

Although leaders cannot control the changing world, leaders can make choices inside the organization that will be healthier for your team and therefore the business.  MBM ELEVATE is ready to come along side and support you as you develop your approach to this important topic.

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Mary Beth Molloy

Certified Executive Coach and Business Consultant, she delivers uncanny focus on the intersection of your business vision and goals and the leaders you’ve entrusted to achieve them.

She knows what it takes to accelerate and elevate business results through leadership development and performance. It’s her powerful blend of these experiences together with her practicality, purpose, and positivity that drive our value.

Mary Beth is interested in hearing from you. | Follow on LinkedIn  | Share comments or ask questions

Is Your Digital Body Language Interfering with Your Message?

WHY SHOULD LEADERS FOCUS ON THEIR DIGITAL BODY LANGUAGE?

As I discussed in a recent Industry Perspective, the connective tissue in our organizations has been stretched thin and is leading to increased turnover.  Surveys are showing that the lack of communication is an oft stated cause by a majority of employee respondents.  Increasing the volume of it is not the solution.  Leaders must be more intentional and clearer in all interactions. This results in effective communication and improved connectedness.  With the pace of business and change, effective interactions have already been strained and stretched.  Add the exponential increase in digital communication this past year and those weak links have cracked, and, in many cases have become fissures.  Leaders need to pay more attention to their digital body language so they do not inadvertently create confusion.

A well-known study by Albert Mehrabian concluded that 7% of our understanding comes from words, 38% from vocal aspects (tone, inflection, etc.) and 55% from nonverbal cues. And, according to Erica Dhawan, author of “Digital Body Language”, 70% of team communication today takes place digitally. No wonder communication is cited as a critical issue in the workplace. The math alone says communication effectiveness is at risk. Add the acceleration to virtual and hybrid work environments and we have a perfect storm resulting in an increased negative impact on employee connectedness.

WHAT DOES DIGITAL BODY LANGUAGE CONFUSION LOOK LIKE?

Below are a few simple and common examples of increased confusion created in digital communication.  

• When a team member requests assistance and the digital response is the word “sure”

  • Sure     – no punctuation may imply half-hearted agreement

  • Sure.    – a period may imply some irritation in their agreement

  • Sure!    – an exclamation point may imply they are excited to help

• Another example has to do with the channel of communication chosen.  If the employee texts a question and the leader immediately calls instead of using text to respond, this can cause concern and worry and be seen as an escalation.

• The Read Receipt flags that the message has been read but no response comes across from the leader.  The sender wonders if it because they are busy, don’t care, are mad, have better things to do, or….?

You may have participated in some of these situations! Likely, these examples triggered other such confusing or stressful digital interactions. The time spent in the resulting confusion and stressing over the meaning of someone’s digital body language is unproductive.  It also creates tension and distance in relationships.  Over time it erodes the connectedness of team members.

DIGITAL COMMUNICATION IS OVERWHELMING TEAMS

When communication is in person, the nonverbal and vocal cues help the parties interpret the message and signal if there is a need to further clarify or ask a question in real-time.  It allows the parties to move closer and leave the interaction feeling heard, understood and better connected.  How are teams managing all of these aspects in the digital world?  Not well!  According to an article in Bloomberg Law  over 50% of workers are overwhelmed and feel pressure to use multiple digital platforms.   Lack of communication is a key reason cited by workers that are considering jumping to a different firm.  As we transition into hybrid and changing work environments, this stress from confusing digital body language will continue and likely increase if leaders do not recognize, accept and manage it proactively.

APPLY THE LESSONS FROM KINDERGARTEN

Organizations can choose to harness digital technology to increase the connectedness of team members and create clarity around productive digital communication.  Otherwise, it can quickly default to being used as a mask, adding layers of confusion or at worse – used as a weapon (think group chats that turn into a gossip pit).

Remember the book, “All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten”?  We were taught when to raise our hand, when to say please or excuse me, when to look a person in the eye and to always say thank you.  This took the guessing out of everyday interactions and grounded us in a common set of ‘rules.’  That grounding increased psychological safety and that is critical to retention and team performance. Also, many leaders took courses in Body Language to ensure theirs aligned with their intended message.  It is time to go back to kindergarten!

It is time to pause and take the time to reset and update our communication etiquette and ground rules in the digital environment. There is no reason team members should be guessing what is required or desired.  The following areas should be considered as you work through updated guidelines with your team members.

• Channels - what channels (email, phone, text, chat, video-on calls…) are used for what type of communication purpose, audience size, urgency need

• Response Times – what is the expected turn around time in each channel

• Add back nonverbal cues – accepted use of emojis, punctuation, video-call reactions

• Ensure inclusion - what is needed to respect the needs of different work styles, genders, cultures, in-room vs. virtual attendees

HARNESS YOUR DIGITAL BODY LANGUAGE

The market, competition and customers are complex and not in your control.  How you create a connected and effective work environment is in your control.   A great resource to assist in your understanding of digital body language and tips on how to be more effective with it, is the book referenced above, “Digital Body Language,” by Erica Dhawan.  It is a fun read too!

Leaders that adapt and can redefine effective communication across complex, digital and dynamic environments (in-office, digital, and both) will create more psychological safety, more connectedness and higher performing teams.   Make the time to intentionally revisit how digital communications can be used more effectively in your organization and elevate your outcomes.

Connect with MBM ELEVATE to explore this and other ideas to increase the connectiveness of your team members.

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Mary Beth Molloy

Certified Executive Coach and Business Consultant, she delivers uncanny focus on the intersection of your business vision and goals and the leaders you’ve entrusted to achieve them.

She knows what it takes to accelerate and elevate business results through leadership development and performance. It’s her powerful blend of these experiences together with her practicality, purpose, and positivity that drive our value.

Mary Beth is interested in hearing from you. | Follow on LinkedIn  | Share comments or ask questions

WARNING - 46% LESS CONNECTED…. RETENTION METRICS TURNING RED

HEED THE WARNING SIGNALS

The studies have been consistent that engagement is tightly related to the sense of belonging and feeling connected.  And, leaders know that the more engaged the team is, the better the performance as measured by employee retention, customer experience and revenue growth. Yet, all signs are pointing to the decrease in the sense of feeling connected.  The work adjustments created by the pandemic have added to feelings of isolation for existing employees.  Onboarding of new employees has been further strained and will continue to be as companies evolve their workplace approach.

Organizations should take note of the early warning signs highlighted in the latest Achievers Workforce Institute survey and take action. 

• Nearly half of employees (46%) feel less connected to their company or colleagues since the start of the pandemic

• 52% of employees said they intended to look for a new job

• 42% say company culture has diminished since the onset of the pandemic, with most employees placing the blame on a lack of communication.

LEADERS STRUGGLING

In addition to managing the business, leaders must lean in and be more intentional about cultivating deeper connections and inclusive interactions. As the hybrid work environment continues to evolve, cross-functional projects become more common and VUCA remains, leaders must prioritize their energy spend on utilizing their social and emotional skills. At any moment, leaders must have the agility to listen, take input, take action, challenge, collaborate and cut each other slack when needed.  Leaders must teach their teams to do the same.

In a recent DDI report – only 1 in 5 leaders felt effective in leading virtual teams. Plus, organizations should not overlook that leaders are included in the troubling stats above. Leaders need support to strengthen their communication and inclusion skills to heed the warnings and prevent future turnover.

TAKE ACTION NOW

There are many approaches and actions an organization can take to support their leaders and teams and to increase the overall sense of connection and belonging. One practical, quick-to-implement and high-value approach to deepen connections that MBM ELEVATE has provided is one potential solution for companies that want to take action now.

This MBM ELEVATE approach will provide concepts, development, practice and a mobile accessible tool to:

• Increase connectedness by understanding and respecting each other

• Increase inclusiveness by creating understanding of what each person needs to feel heard and included

• Create interaction and conversation and on-going learning via the Wiley Catalyst platform

• Customize and apply exercises to your specific business needs

• Integrate live work situations for real-time application

• And is delivered face-to-face or virtually

As part of the engagement, your team will get ongoing access for no extra cost to the WIley Catalyst platform which will provide continuous development support for all participants.  Click here to view a brief video about the Wiley DiSC Catalyst learning platform. 

DEEPEN THE CONNECTION & INCREASE RETENTION

When you are ready to increase and deepen the connectedness of your team members and invest in developing your leaders’ EI skills, let’s explore how you can quickly get started and build a lasting learning experience for you and your teams. Please contact us at MBM ELEVATE.

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Mary Beth Molloy

Certified Executive Coach and Business Consultant, she delivers uncanny focus on the intersection of your business vision and goals and the leaders you’ve entrusted to achieve them.

She knows what it takes to accelerate and elevate business results through leadership development and performance. It’s her powerful blend of these experiences together with her practicality, purpose, and positivity that drive our value.

Mary Beth is interested in hearing from you. | Follow on LinkedIn  | Share comments or ask questions