Your success will be found in your ability to really talk through with your colleagues how you are honestly feeling around returning to work. Part of the success you will uncover moving forward is shifting from a place of fear and anxiety to developing a clear path forward for your business and personal lives.
If we consider a coin, we often think there are only two sides – heads and tails. Heads we win and tails we lose. However, there is a third side to every coin, which is its edge. The edge can represent your perspective on getting ready for work again - that changes everything. Going back to heads and tails, we know in our lives that there will be challenges and wins. There are times when you feel we are on top of everything, and other times when you feel everything is crashing down around you. The edge of the coin is the place which exists in between heads and tails. Living on the edge of the coin is the place of balance between the extremes of your situation. The edge of the coin enables it to roll forward after it has been flipped. You might have felt like your life and business has been flipped recently, however I encourage you to find your ‘edge’ and allow yourself to move forward. The ‘move forward’ will be partly based on the following three factors…
First, effective leadership. Ensure that effective leadership is in place at all levels in your team or organisation. Your business may have excellent pay, benefits, and employee-friendly policies, however if incompetent leaders are in place, your team will not be motivated to adapt and change. As you ‘get ready’ appoint or invite the ‘right’ people to step up and take charge.
Second, your people are personally motivated to change. Change happens when your team are sufficiently dissatisfied with the status quo and are willing to make the effort and accept the risks involved in doing something new. Empower someone who maybe has taken a back seat in the past and watch them rise to the occasion. This could be the very thing that lifts them and the surrounding team.
Third, your company culture is accustomed to collaboration. Business readiness requires collaboration between willing and motivated parties. Ask for participation and let your team know that you need them. People enjoy being part of a rallying cry. Remember Simba’s presentation in The Lion King? Everyone ‘shows up’ when they sense something important is happening.
So in short, discover YOUR edge, appoint the right people in the right place, provide empowerment and collaborate on everything important. These 3 factors will glue you all together with purpose and energy!
Cheers Andrew
