The COVID pandemic is triggering angst and fear, which sometimes translates into bullying individual behaviors or team breakdowns. Here's how to conduct individual and group interventions to help refocus and realign your staff by resetting performance and conduct expectations.

1. Heading Off
Individual and
Team
Disruption
• Presented by Paul Falcone
• CHRO, Bestselling Author, and SHRM
Columnist
• (310) 795-4581
• PaulFalconeHR@gmail.com
• www.PaulFalconeHR.com
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2. Author Of . . .
• 96 Great Interview Questions to Ask Before You Hire
• 75 Ways for Managers to Hire, Develop, and Keep Great Employees
• 101 Tough Conversations to Have with Employees
• 101 Sample Write-Ups for Documenting Employee Performance Problems
• 2600 Phrases for Effective Performance Reviews
• 2600 Phrases for Setting Effective Performance Goals
• The Performance Appraisal Tool Kit
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3. Outline
Navigating through Controversy,
Angst, Confusion, and Fear
Individual Disruption: Addressing
Alpha/Rogue Workers
Group Disruption: Resetting Team
Expectations and Healing Divisions
Work-Life Balance, Return-to-Work
Concerns, and Corporate Flexibility
Some Wisdom for our Times & Our
Way Forward
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4. Part 1:
Navigating
through
Controversy,
Angst,
Confusion, and
Fear
The State of the State:
• COVID-19 Pandemic, Masking, Social Distancing
• Remote Work
• Return to Work
• The Most Controversial Presidential Election in
our Lifetimes
• Social Unrest (Black Lives Matter, Me Too
Movements)
• Caring for the Caregivers (That’s Us!)
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5. Perspective is Key
• Never let a crisis go to waste. We’ve survived SARS, MERS, Ebola, and even AIDS. We’re still here.
• Ask your employees, “What will you want people to say about you when this is all over? What will the three adjectives be that
people use to describe your performance, your behavior, and your overall contribution to the challenges faced in 2020?
• Equally as important, How can you pay it forward? How can you help others become and remain their personal best at a time like
this? In other words, If the whole world followed your lead, would you be happy with where you took it?
• Crises bring opportunities, but only you can determine what that opportunity is going to look like: Is it an opportunity to excel, to
welcome, to include, to empathize, and motivate? Or will it be an opportunity to resist, to detract, to oppose, to complain, and to
exclude?
• Who are you and who do you choose to be relative to this concept of a pandemic, of social unrest, and of political upheaval?
More specifically, how will you influence those around you at work?
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6. Part 2:
Individual
Disruption:
Addressing
Alpha / Rogue
Workers
“With heightened anxiety caused by the
coronavirus crisis, bullying is poised to rise
in the workplace. Insecure adults may
taunt and tease others in an exercise of
power through humiliation, and it's not a
far stretch of the imagination to see how
this could lead to a hostile work
environment claim.”
Stopping Bullying During the COVID-19
Emergency, SHRM.org, June 4th
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7. Guidelines
• Praise in Public, Censure in Private
“Butch, I called this meeting with you this afternoon because I'm concerned about
your conduct during this morning's staff meeting. I saw you engage in something I
would call a public humiliation session with Eddie, and from what I could see, your
attacks were intended to strip him of his dignity in front of the rest of the group. Can
you picture the meeting and specifically what I'm talking about?”
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8. Addressing the Alpha
• “Let me be clear: Bullying your peers for any reason and under any circumstances
violates company policy. More significantly, it makes me lose faith in your ability to
contribute to this organization positively and in your ultimate suitability for the
position you're in.
“Here's how I see it and how I feel you should view this from now on: Stripping
people of their dignity or humiliating them publicly is no longer an option for you.
Simply take that tool out of your toolbox and throw it away. It's not useful here or at
any other organization where you work for the rest of your career.
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9. Addressing the Alpha (cont.)
• “Further, I’m holding you accountable for your own perception management.
Perception is reality until proven otherwise, and you're responsible for creating a
friendly and inclusive work environment, just like I am and every other member of
this organization is.
• “Your role is not to judge others, make them feel like less of a person, humiliate
them or publicly strip them of their dignity. In fact, that's the opposite of what your
role is, which potentially makes you net negative and a liability to the organization.
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10. Addressing the Alpha (cont.)
• “Butch, I want you to consider this a coaching and mentoring moment to help raise
your awareness, because something like this, if left unaddressed, could hold you
back for the rest of your career. You've got too much potential to let this tragic flaw
get in your way. I hope you'll always think back on this meeting and appreciate the
time we’re spending right now to help you readjust your approach to building strong
teams, selfless leadership, and having others' backs.
• “Just know that if I ever again have to address this with you, it will be in the form of
formal progressive discipline. Do I have your commitment that we'll never have to
have a conversation like this again? (Yes) Excellent. Thank you very much. We’re
good then. . .”
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11. Part 3: Group
Disruption—
Resetting Team
Expectations
“When tempers are short, staff members
become impatient with one another, and
workers may become less restrained
about airing their political beliefs or—
worse—bullies may start to pick on and
badger other workers. It's time to step in.
How you do so, though, can make all the
difference.”
Source: “Team Angst and Brokering Peace in
the COVID Era,” SHRM.org, July 7, 2020
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12. Tackling Team Disruption
“Addressing political and social matters may feel like something outside your
wheelhouse, either because you don't like doing so personally or because you feel
like you may be treading on your employees' privacy rights. You're not. You have
every right to establish rules and guidelines regarding professionalism and respectful
conduct in the workplace. You are likewise totally within your rights to reset
expectations in light of new challenges that have the potential to damage your team's
morale and communications.”
Source: “Heading Off Employee Disruption in Light of COVID-19 and Social Unrest,”
SHRM.org, July 6th, 2020
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13. Tackling Team Disruption (cont.)
The Large Group Opener:
“This group coaching session right now goes beyond the workplace because so much
that's bothering us as a team exists outside of these walls. But our goal in this
meeting is to create a secure place for our team, a place where we can let our guard
down and know it’s safe to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to have each other's
backs, and to acknowledge these challenges rather than pretend they don't exist.
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14. Tackling Team Disruption (cont.)
• “We've all got to assume responsibility for making the situation better here at work,
and we can't let external influences or resentments bleed into the office.
• “We're required to respect one another, and when times are complex and confusing
like this, we have to address what we should all expect from our employer: to work
free of anxiety or stress, to feel respected, and to feel comfortable and confident
doing our best work every day.
• “We can do that, but we’ve got to be fair about acknowledging the challenges we’re
facing and come to agreement on how we choose to move forward as a team.
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15. Tackling Team Disruption (cont.)
The Group Exercise
“The purpose of this meeting is for us to have a safe place to discuss some of our
fears and concerns openly, but all comments must remain positive, constructive and
shared in the other party's best interests. There will be no mention of politics or
religion. We will not discuss CDC policies, federal government interpretations, or the
like. This meeting is intended to give us a chance to truly hear and learn from one
another. Disrespectful or challenging comments will not be acceptable in a meeting
intended for healing and rebuilding.”
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16. Tackling Team Disruption (cont.)
Setting the Ground Rules for Team Meeting
• Assume that your colleagues have good intentions and demonstrate mutual respect
• Create a friendly and welcoming working environment, treating everyone as you
would like to be treated yourself
• Assume partial responsibility for things gone wrong and praise others openly for
things gone right
• Put others' needs ahead of your own and expect others to respond in kind
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17. START—STOP—CONTINUE
START
• Being kinder to one another
• Giving each other the benefit of the doubt
• Assuming good intentions and being less sensitive or taking things less personally
• Listening and not interrupting
• Being more patient and not assuming that others are against you
• Smiling more and saying good morning and thank you
• Letting each other know when they did a good job
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18. START—STOP—CONTINUE (cont.)
STOP
• Creating wedges between teams and inciting others to take sides
• Making others feel uncomfortable by sharing your thoughts about how the nation is run, how the virus is "ruining everything,"
or how company communication or resources may be lacking
• Gossiping, finger-pointing, talking negatively about others or speaking behind others' backs
• Engaging in confrontational behavior, including raised voices, slammed doors, thrown equipment, turning your back on a co-
worker or other aggressive non-verbal behavior
• Using foul language or threatening statements like "You're going to be written up" (which peers, of course, cannot do to one
another)
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19. START—STOP—CONTINUE (cont.)
CONTINUE
• Providing outstanding service to clients in terms of timeliness, product knowledge, and creative problem-solving
• Volunteering at community events that help local causes, whether donating blood or plasma, planting trees, helping the homeless, or
engaging in other extracurricular activities that team members currently contribute to
• Focusing on doing our best work every day, knowing that we’re fortunate to still be employed when many of our peers, colleagues
and relatives have lost jobs because of the pandemic
• Helping each other sense that we’re in this together, that we have each others’ backs, and that we’re committed to helping to bring
out the best in one another
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20. The Signed
Letter of
Clarification
• Today's date, [DATE], is important because it's the
day we welcome you all back to the organization with
a fresh start. Our goals are the same: to ensure that
you all feel welcome and included, to eliminate
drama or unnecessary tension, and to strengthen our
culture in terms of respect and teamwork.
• As the management team, we're here to help you in
any way we can, and we all want you to feel
comfortable helping one another. We're all in this
together—staff, management, and HR. Going
forward, we should all be able to look forward to
coming to work every day, and we're all part of the
solution.
• Following is what we have all agreed to in terms of
what we will Start, Stop, and Continue from this point
forward . . .
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21. Part 4: Work-
Life Balance,
Return-to-Work
Concerns, and
Corporate
Flexibility
• Isolation and lack of personal connection cause stress
• Remote worker wage & hour challenges: meal and rest
period compliance for nonexempt workers, burnout and
unlimited access to email for exempt employees
• Flexibility in our approach to remote work, knowing that
70% of Millennials and Gen Z-ers value PTO and flexible
& remote schedules above base pay
• A “family first” holistic approach to employee wellbeing
in light of school closures and online learning this fall
• “Psychological safety” for those returning to work—
communicate what will look and feel different when
employees return and what we’re doing to keep you
safe
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22. Part 5: Some
Wisdom for our
Times & Our
Way Forward
• KISS—Set expectations with concrete deliverables
• Open Door policy (flexibility, availability, personal
commitment)
• Short huddles rather than longer meetings (“Zoom
fatigue”)
• Structure: SharePoint “Achievement Calendar” for
tracking and celebrating successes
• Focus on career and professional development – “How
to Be a Favorite Boss,” SHRM.org, May 22nd
• Peer collaboration
• Weekly 1-on-1 check-ins with direct reports, quarterly
performance / achievement / goal review meetings
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23. Wisdom (cont.)
• What You Want for Yourself, Give to Another
• Teach What You Choose to Learn
• When in Doubt, Err on the Side of Compassion
• Change Your Perspective and You’ll Change Your Perception
• Practice Selfless (or “Servant”) Leadership
• Beingness Trumps Doingness
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24. Q&A
• Paul’s Website
https://www.PaulFalconeHR.com
• Paul’s SHRM Author Page
https://www.shrm.org/authors/pages/paul-falcone.aspx
• Paul’s HarperCollins Author Page
https://hcleadershipessentials.com/collections/paul-falcone
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