1st Janvier 2021
Well-being is quickly becoming a core responsibility of good corporate leadership and a critical performance strategy to drive employee engagement, organizational energy, and productivity.
There are physical items that we can add to a working environment that promote a culture of wellbeing. Among the most frequently desired well-being benefits are a flexible schedule, dedicated office space for well-being, healthy snacks, an employee assistance program, mental health counselling and wellness counselling.
More strategically, increasing numbers of companies are turning to corporate wellness programs to encourage and support a dynamic approach in creating a culture of overall health within the organisation. This is already a well developed concept in the U.S and not enough in Europe. However, I am sure, European companies will see the necessity of adopting this approach. It will become more and more integrated in European organisations.
The future for large organisations is to integrate among their staff a performance coach in order to allow staff to have access to them anytime as required. In a smaller organisation, external coaches can assist senior management as well as each member of the organisation who could benefit from this initiative. As someone being coached myself by Veronique Sitbon, I strongly believe in the state of mind that coaching brings and the managerial philosophy it creates.
Within my teams, I dedicate myself to a “caring leadership”, by offering and actively encouraging regular access to a coach. Our staff at the two DENTANICE clinics based in Nice on the French Riviera have access to Edith Elmoznino who is dedicated to coaching them in anything they require. I have seen my other initiatives such as yoga lessons, team diners, prove to be effective in achieving team building and strengthened the cohesion of our teams.
The Showtime series ‘#Billions’ particularly showcases the effect performance coaching can have in enhancing bottom line performance. One of the show’s leading characters, Wendy Rhoades, has the role of an in-house performance coach with the responsibility of keeping the fiercely ambitious and talented young men of the firm functioning at peak power. The boss of the company holds her success as one of the most valuable assets of his firm. This is a drama series, however the physical and mental techniques the character uses are real and genuine examples of effective coaching. Truly, I personally believe that everyone needs his own Wendy Rhoades…
Performance coaching is a set of proven tactics that help good performers become great performers and formerly great performers regain their peak skills. Reframing, confrontation, cheerleading, breathing techniques, changing posture — all of these can rapidly accelerate performance when used by a professional. A large part of performance coaching is about managing energy — teaching leaders to utilize their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy for maximum stamina and effectiveness.
Among this set of proven tactics, “Agile” philosophy and autonomy represent another strategy companies are following to help employees alleviate stress and become more productive with their time is creating smaller, more agile teams. The agile methodology emphasizes individuals, collaboration, and self-organizing teams giving each team member a voice, as well as clearly defined responsibilities and a closeness between colleagues in working with each other to avoid any conflict.
In my experience as a senior management member, I found that initiating conversations when disagreements are barely emerging is far more efficient than waiting for potential arguments between team members and risking that impacting on the overall work environment.
By investing strategically in the well-being of its people, a company will not only be able to attract and retain the most talented and suitable candidates to drive them forward, it will increase morale and job satisfaction but also, it will bring the group closer together – leading to increased positivity, productivity and profitability.
For further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.