Organisations are complex, much like living organisms, made up of many interdependent component parts that, when working in harmony, fulfil all functions and deliver optimum results. Like any organism, however, changing conditions outside can exert inordinate strain upon the organisation and there is a requirement to shift, change and adapt in order to merely survive. Case in point: Covid-19
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Read this and then take our 30 second pulse survey to compare against other organisations how equipped your business is to thrive through the Coronavirus crisis.
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Since the emergence of the Covid-19 virus it seems that many organisations globally have become all too aware of their organic nature and have opted to protect employees and revenue with a belt and braces, baton down the hatches, heads down, lock down approach to business, with many opting to have their people work remotely to avoid potential spreading of the virus.
Human nature, when faced with threat to health, wealth or happiness is conventionally to panic and hunker down. That’s what our ancestors did when they were confronted with any kind of threat. Worry, withdraw and wait it out. And it worked – most of them survived.
Remote working is a responsible reaction and sends a clear message that staff are valued and their health and safety is important. Especially given the unpredictable nature of the virus and the consequences we have seen across the world with cases of infection growing by the day; this reaction ensures that business as usual can continue as people self-isolate.
The concern for many businesses is that, although this is undoubtedly a sensible and caring approach to the situation, this may also have the unwanted side effect of creating disconnect from others and a fear that already siloed teams may become a further fragmented with peoples’ main focus being on how to save themselves, rather than how to operate effectively as a team who can still ‘shift the dial’ in the organisation, despite the turn of events.
In times like these, it’s so easy to focus solely on our survival and shut down the possibility of making any real strides in our business. There is an avoidance of becoming involved in anything that is not ‘core’ or ‘essential’ and to get on with our own, individual BAU. Because of such extreme external factors it is easy to focus on what we can not do and overlook the hidden potential that this type of situation has in terms of giving breathing space to businesses to really focus on what they can now achieve if they can curb the panic, develop resilience and think clearly.
It’s a hackneyed phrase but we would assert that right now ‘Keep calm and recalibrate’ is more appropriate advice.
If all around you are panicking it can be just as infectious and dangerous to an organisation and its culture as the virus may be to people themselves.
Just as we are now taking heed of, and talking to medical professionals who provide us with self-care advice on how to avoid the infection of our bodies and become more physically resilient in order to fend off the virus, perhaps we should also focus on the measures we can take to create resilience in our organisation when dealing with a situation like this too.
Panic is a reactive conversation. It is the knee jerk response to circumstance. You hear it when people speak of lack. Think of the hysteria generated by the media around the possibility of a shortage of toilet rolls and the absolute necessity for hand sanitiser that has seemingly swept the globe. The power of words in creating a global reality cannot be underestimated!
We all like to ‘know’ what’s going to happen next in the world. What’s ‘coming over’ the proverbial hill. In situations such as these that is impossible. This causes organisations to react, unintentionally generating internal conversations that are equally unhelpful, and which affect the mood and morale of their employees. Fear is never a helpful mood. Especially when now, more than ever, you want your people to perform despite the circumstances.
Resilience is a proactive leadership conversation. It is a conversation that allows leaders to gauge the ‘temperature’ of the organisation in any circumstance but not become affected by it; to identify mood and morale without being sucked into it, and to know the ‘right conversation’ to have to navigate a shift to a virtual mode and move people back into momentum with care. It takes skill and sometimes structure and support, but it also requires us to make a choice: To commit to handling the internal conversation to bring about a different future.
Right now, many people find themselves with time to spare, not having to travel to clients or take long commutes to the office. This time could be an absolute gift to businesses looking to develop resilience in their people. In today’s uber-connected, virtual world where everyone has access to a device with a camera, there is no reason why this shouldn’t happen. We would like to invite you to take this opportunity to explore with us what it takes to have you thrive, not merely survive!