Former SAS Team Commander and registered Psychologist, Harry Moffitt, recently retired after almost 30 years with the Australian Defence Force, most of which was spent with Australia’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment as a Team Commander and specialist.
Harry has completed 11 active service deployments, including being wounded in action in 2008. Harry completed his time with the SAS as its Director of High- Performance.
He is also the Asia-Pacific Director for the Mission Critical Teams Institute (dedicated to improving the success, survivability, and sustainability of mission critical teams) and founder and architect of the multimillion-dollar Wanderers Education Program (dedicated to providing in-service education opportunities for ADF members).
Winding down in his retirement, Harry is the co-founder of Stotan Group — a human performance consultancy that specialises in individual, team and organisational development. The company works with partners to provide solutions to their complex human problems. Stotan also help create the conditions in which humans and teams can thrive and flourish, by working synchronously across three levels — people, process and place.
We spoke to Harry Moffitt this week about work-from-home (WFH) practices, and how businesses should be capitalising on the physical, social and emotional evolvements of companies and offices during the COVID-19 outbreak.
What are some of the things you have seen in teams during the COVID period? The good, the bad, and the ugly?
Almost ubiquitously, recent WFH research indicates most people adapted easily (humans are adaptable!) and everyone appreciated saved commute times. Indeed, in many cases, productivity remained the same or improved after weighting for social and economic stressors. Those who can, employees would like to work from home at least a couple of days a week henceforth. But it’s not all positive. Lack of social interaction is the rather BIG downside. It goes to our psychology being a tribal species.
What is something businesses and leaders can do?
‘The Good’ businesses and leaders are conducting after-action-reviews, inculcating new behaviours developed during this period, i.e., more disciplined communication cadence and increased prioritisation of social connection.
The smarter teams have adapted to remote working techniques and are conducting deliberate reflective activities and crystallising resilience building factors to learn and grow. Indeed, team reflexivity is a leading indicator of high-performing teams.
Similar to a post incident debrief, reflexivity refers to the process of teams reflecting on and discussing group processes, procedures and actions to improve future performance.
Stotan recently facilitated a ‘Reflection Pool’ activity with an IT Executive team, from which a few significant changes came. For example, during the initial phase of the COVID period they instituted a ‘Duty Executive’ roster so they could share the leadership load. Further, the executive commenced a weekly virtual townhall meeting to keep the company up to date. Both of those behaviours have been inculcated into the new operating procedures, to great effect.
‘The Bad’ and ‘The Ugly’? These ‘Hero’ leaders have reacted during this period in an autocratic and punitive manner which has heightened employees’ anxiety and isolation, harming performance and productivity. Leaders who are stressed, anxious, and fearful have been shown to spread this to their employees with negative impacts on myriad domains of performance including integrity, openness, and even discrimination.
What has Stotan being doing to help?
Stotan’s message: do not squander this opportunity to cash in on the potential to build more resilient people and processes. We have spent many hours facilitating deliberate reflection practises with some amazing results, one CEO stating, “it was the best thing I had ever done with my team, I wished we did it 10 years ago”. This, now regular, practice helps make those fluffy values-based concepts, such as integrity, honesty, trust, empathy, and accountability, a reality.
How about a closing message for leaders?
Sure, and this is important. Some things all leaders can do, starting next Monday.
Appoint and deputise a 2IC – it is in giving trust that one receives it.
Delegate hard – list 20 things to do and allocate 10 to the team.
Open-door policy – not for people to come in but for you to get out.
Walk the floor – ask everyone “are you happy?” and if not ask “what can I do to help?”.
Power down – take 15min a day to do nothing (e.g., nap) and book a longer break ASAP – leading a team starts with looking after yourself, who knows how long this will last.
