Managing human relations is as important as managing human processes
Interview with Marina Anchevska
– An Executive/Corporate Coach and NLP Master Trainer
Dear Marina,
Having into consideration your successful finish of the previous year and even amazing start of this 2022, we are delighted to have an interview with a world class expert as you are – an Executive/Corporate Coach and NLP Master Trainer for almost 20 years now. Just to clarify for our readers, a month ago you started the first Professional Coaching education with Systemic approach, dedicated to HR Professionals, in collaboration with ones of the best HR professionals in Macedonia (in big corporations). You are also internationally present with different online programs for individuals and organizations. Therefore, we are here to ask you few direct questions in order to jointly bring benefits for our readers. Let’s jump to answering them passionately.
1. Which are business departments that have been the most affected with COVID-19 pandemic (in different industries)?
– Teams are united by the process. Having in mind that all departments are connected and that they all work together we cannot simply single out one that is most effected by the pandemic. An organization is a living system which constantly changes. As long as there are changes in one team, there will be changes in the whole organization.
2. How will the business structure change in the future or what businesses are (somehow) pushed to change, having in mind the pandemic?
– We are all forced to change the way we live and behave. Changes require people to come first. System approach and human relations will be essential in the process of managing people and other processes.
3. Besides remotely working (work from home), have you noticed any new work trend(s) that have arose recently and affected the HR departments and the whole Management team? Can you tell us which?
– Due to the changes how we work, many employees have lost a personal contact with coworkers. This can lead to distancing from the organizational values and losing the sense of belonging. That is why organizations that consciously live change and are focused on development, find ways to maintain cohesion and teamwork by encouraging individual development and recognizing individual achievements, respect the authenticity, apply the individual approach to managing employees and their motivation.
We already know that people have long been motivated with other values, not only money. They want experience, emotions, development. They want to be seen and valued. In the past years, people were more loyal to the organization, and nowadays, they are loyal to themselves first. Besides managing work processes, leaders of the 21st century are managing human processes and human relations. And for this they need skill for leading people.
4. Based on your experience, what gets you better work opportunities, investing in personal development and soft skills or learning new practical (tech or other hard) skill? Which are the skills they want to learn / improve the most?
– Organization needs to strive to maintain balance between personal and professional development of its employees. The process of performing work can be learned by anyone. But, conscious and conscientious behavior, communication, ability of self-management and self-leading, emotional intelligence, taking the responsibility and sense of belonging to a bigger system are characteristics that everybody is carrying within themselves as a result of the dynamics in the family system. Because of this, investing in personal development encourages knowledge of personal strategies for dealing with change, challenges and conflicts. These strategies are in fact unconscious patterns of behavior that we often use in an inappropriate context. If they are used improperly, they can cause various situations that will bring undesirable results.
That’s why soft skills have never been as badly needed as they are now. Soft skills are the core skills that allow you to be able to adapt to any change, to connect and collaborate, to help and give support, to lead yourself and to be inspiration for others.
5. In your opinion, what are the skills that will be highly appreciated in the future? And furthermore, how important is to track record the upskilling and re-skilling path for each employee?
– One of the most important skill is being able to keep the balance between the Ego and the Soul. Why? The Ego needs achievement. The Ego sets the boundaries and keeps us safe. The Soul is always in process and needs experience and growth. And to be able to transform and grow each of us have to understand that the ego serves the soul. Unfortunately we see much more Ego Leaders and less Soul Leaders. We exist because of the relations. Relations with ourselves, with others and with the content. Being in a relation means being in a process. The distinction between being a Leader of the process and being a Leader of the people is important. Besides coaching skills, it is important to develop systemic perception which means ability to perceive the situation from a wider perspective in order to see the connections and relations. We need people with relational and systemic awareness that allows a different perception of the connections between events and people among themselves. In that way, the focus will be shifted from the individual to the whole dynamic in the system caused by relations. It is not about your individual skills, values, actions or your job position within the hierarchy. But, it is all about the fact that you are part of a system and what do you unconsciously try to do in that system.
6. Anything else that is worth sharing with our dear readers/leaders?
Change keeps coming. Challenges are going to keep coming. It is an individual responsibility to each of us to understand that life is a process and growth is an option!
interview with:
WIDNET Solutions is an international SaaS company based in Skopje, Macedonia, established in 2019. It is a startup, but its three founders have 50+ years of professional experience at the international level.
Ul. Hristo Smirnenski 22/3 lok.1 1000 Skopje, Macedonia KielceTechnology Park, Olszewskiego 6, 25-663 Kielce