Welcome to
the VUCA world! Just few weeks ago we could not have imagined that volatility,
uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity can invade our private and professional
lives so promptly and deeply.
The worldwide
recommendations on the corona crisis are quite clear-cut: anyone who is not
immediately required to maintain operations and supply for basic needs is to
remain at home. While some continue to work from home office, others are
shifted into short-time work and in the worst case even find themselves unemployed.
Public life is largely at halt. Our economy is heading for one of the most
violent crises we have seen in the modern world at a rapid pace.
It is
inevitable that this will cause fear and a blend of emotions inside all of us.
Employees worry about their income or even their job. Added are numerous private
challenges such as unexpected childcare, quarantines, positive test diagnoses
or in some cases even serious illnesses. In the worst case some of us may have
to deal with death in their own teams and families. In contrast to previous
crises everything just seems to rain down on us simultaneously.
Owners and
supervisors must find a way to overcome this fundamental crisis, together with
their team, and figure out how to deal with the vast amount of changes that continue
to rise. Keeping the team together and addressing the greatest concerns of
colleagues is crucial in this situation. However, the question remains: How may
this goal be achieved, and these challenges tackled, alongside all the other issues
and challenges that one is facing.
New leadership
is now in demand. Anyone who has failed to take care of new leadership
qualities such as empathy, mindfulness and self-reflection must now make up for
it in a very short time if they want to continue to exist with their team in
the future.
The
following recommendations maybe helpful in this situation:
Ensure
transparency and clarity
1.
Communicate swiftly, comprehensively and regularly with your team.
2. Share
all information that is important to your team immediately and directly.
3. Use all
possibilities of digital communication: Set up very regular virtual team
meetings and use new means of communication such as slack and teams.
Emphasize
appreciation and communication at eye level
4. Allow
your team to express their feelings and take their concerns seriously.
5. Consider
yourself part of the team and openly talk about your own concerns as well.
6. Involve
your team in the process of finding solutions, whether it is dealing with
customers, finances or individual personal challenges.
Live a culture
of continuous improvement and learning
The good
news is that there is no one to blame for the crisis that hits our companies in
these times. Everybody has to deal with the same challenges.
7. Avoid
any judgement or even blame. Look for the good in an apparently bad situation and
work hard to find interesting new insights and solutions.
8. Ensure
that everyone involved learns how deal with the crisis.
9. Keep an
eye on changes and challenges for your customers. Motivate your team to develop
more suitable solutions than the previous ones.
Handle
conflicts constructively
10. Listen
to others and consider the benefits of different perspectives instead of
devaluing each other's perspective. The VUCA world is too complex to rely on
single views!
11. Work
with scenarios instead of one-sided, seemingly clear conceptions.
12. Encourage
your team to find a variety of solutions that can be tried out and reviewed,
rather than limiting yourself to the one solution that seems to be the right
one. The latter could very likely only solve part of the complex problem in
this volatile situation.
Take
care of yourself
At the
moment almost all people run on “autopilot” and in crisis mode: directly controlled
from the amygdala in our brains, adrenaline secretion and other reactions by
our nervous system may result in us acting on our basic instincts in a
fight-or-flight manner. Unfortunately, this system is genetically built for
short moments of danger as opposed to longer periods of crisis like these times
of corona, whose fallout will definitely face us for a very long time.
Conscious
of this knowledge of our basic nature, we need to create other solutions and
habits to remain healthy, to keep the ability to act adequately and to stay resilient
on a long term. This includes:
13. Taking
regular breaks for relaxation, meditation and self-reflection.
14.
Maintaining our social environment that supports us, even if it is stressed
itself.
15.
External coaches or moderators can be a valuable help because they are not
directly affected by your personal concerns. After all, it is about keeping a
clear head, making sure that everyone remains on board and adapting to the new
situation as quickly as possible.
We in the
Consensa team set out on these principles. Hopefully, we can all emerge from this
existential crisis eventually, strengthened with new knowledge and skills that
help us to deal with the fundamental changes that will hit us in the next
years.
