Lean Principles Can Help You Lead Emotionally Traumatized Employees

Everyone in your organization will be stricken by grief at some point

Studies estimate that emotionally traumatized/grieving employees cost companies upwards of $75 billion a year in lost productivity.  Considering just a few emotionally traumatizing events a person can experience, events like a significant illness diagnosis, divorce, opioid addiction, or the loss of a loved one, the numbers quickly add up.  For every 100 people you employ, there are likely five to ten of them who are silently suffering through grief as you read this article.

In our book, The Dying Art of Leadership, we discuss the concept of Adaptive Human Resource Leadership

Adaptive human resource leadership skills are critical to effectively leading emotionally traumatized employees and minimizing the effects of the associated lost productivity on an organization.  Embedded in this leadership skill are two principles of Lean  “Go See, Ask Why, Show Respect” and “Plan, Do, Check, Act.”

Lean principles apply beyond the shop floor

Unfortunately, most organizations that practice continuous improvement, or Lean, isolate its principles to the shop floor processes and fail to recognize the impact those principles can have on the people side of the business or the organization’s overall culture.

Leaders should be aware of these signs of emotional trauma and grief

• Is the employee distracted and unable to concentrate?
• Is the employee more, or less, emotional than previously?
• Is the employee demonstrating feelings of anger?
• Is the employee showing signs of depression?

The link between GriefLeaders leadership training and these two Lean principles to avoid the lost productivity associated with emotionally traumatized employees

Go See – Engage the employee by making time to meet with the employee in person or via a video chat.

Ask Why – With compassion and empathy, seek to understand what is going on in the person’s life.

Show Respect – By not trying to solve their problem or threatening their employment.

Plan – Together with the employee, put together a plan to help reduce any work-related stressors.

Do – Make the agreed-upon adjustments to workload, timelines, or responsibilities.  Involve the rest of the team if appropriate.

Check – Follow-up frequently to see how the person is doing, not only with work but also emotionally.

Act – Make any necessary adjustments as indicated by the employee’s performance or emotional state.

By implementing these principles as well as those discussed in our book, “The Dying Art of Leadership,” leaders will be able to help emotionally traumatized/grieving employees excel at work.

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To learn more about how leaders can help grieving employees excel at work, order your copy of our new book, The Dying Art of Leadership, available at the Bookbaby bookstore website and on Amazon. Click About Our Book

Be sure to follow us on our GriefLeaders Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/griefleaders-llc/

Anthony Casablanca

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