We are all connecting from the comforts of our homes since the mandatory lock down. Like me, I think you would like this to end and get back to your individual routines. The last couple of months was good or bad for some of us. Our focus has been on ensuring the safety of our families, our teams, our customers and our friends. We have also been looking after the safety and security of our businesses.
For the last 12 weeks, we have listened to thought leaders, inspirational speakers, CEOs and founders, friends, family, politicians, and the man in the street on their interpretation of COVID-19 and COVID-19 responses. This pandemic has challenged the way we work. It has questioned the need for real estate and for travel among other things. The question to us is, “Should I change my mindset to that of being grateful? Saying thanks to the universe for an opportunity to rest, rewind, readjust, refuel and refocus?
Is this a practice dry-run for what’s to come? Are we being given a chance to correct and build new resilience to thrive in a world of change? What therefore are you doing to bounce back and to rethink our service offering and relevance to our customers or our supply chains?
We each have a duty of care and it starts with care for self, our families, our teams and our customers. Did it ever occur to you, even before the pandemic why we seem to always ask “How are you doing?” It is because we are caring naturally and the pandemic has brought new opportunities for caring. We wonder now about the mental health of our families, our friends, our essential workers, our medical response teams, etc.
This is a time to invest in personal growth and learning new skills such as confidence building, motivation, people skills and communication. In this regard, developing people skills is the way forward as leaders. What does that mean – It means, always look for the best to get the best, aim to motivate others, communicate clearly, collaborate, praise loudly and avoid criticism!
On a personal level, find new ways to learn essential skills and this is important so that we can–
- Have a smoother return to work
- Be open to new opportunities
- Stick to routines
- Learn transferable skills
- Learn active Listening skills
- Learn communication skills – (be clear and concise)
- Learn organizational skills – Meet deadlines, have respect for time, knowing the status of activities, multi-task, creative thinking.
This is the time to be empathetic, clear and concise as we communicate with our teams and our customers.