Ciao pandemic blues! Happy New Year, and cheers to everything to come in 2022!
Uhm, what? Can’t really wrap your head around that kind of optimism? You’re not really keen on coming up with New Year’s resolutions this year to kick off 2022 bursting with energy? Well, we actually get it. The last two years haven’t been easy and 2022 is called twenty-twenty-too in hundreds of memes… for a reason?
While we still smell the fireworks, TV channels are outdoing each other in presenting news about Omicron, rising Covid numbers and other unpleasant things. So, how can we fuel our optimism?
Read on, we promise we won’t tell you to “just stay positive”. We won’t tell you to just keep going until things will get better again. The thing is: We don’t know when things will get better. We don’t even know if things will get better at all, truth be told. But we do know one thing: We at Leaders21 are tired of the pandemic blues. It’s time to take action.
Why wait? Take charge now! Adieu pandemic blues!
After two years characterized by Corona, important decisions can’t be postponed anymore. Outdated processes, team conflicts, and leadership problems can’t be ignored anymore. Rigid, hindering structures and a lack of innovation culture can’t be supported anymore. Communication challenges, collaboration, team spirit, and performance issues, or mindset challenges in a company, must no longer be swept under the rug. Yes, we’re living through a pandemic, and yes, it’s a difficult time. But labeling all these challenges as “to be solved post-pandemic” is not cutting it anymore. We have to stop the pandemic blues. And this knowledge and mindset is precisely what differentiates high-performance teams and successful companies from all others.
When exactly will “post-pandemic” be?
Maybe in a few weeks. Probably in a few months or even years. Do you really want to risk sitting back, doing nothing until then? Do you want to watch your competition seize the chance to grow while you keep feeling like a victim of the pandemic? Most likely not. Pardon our French, but this had to be said. It is the ability to make the most of a crisis in order to deliver exceptional results and leverage optimization potential which determines whether a company will emerge stronger or weaker from this pandemic.
So, the real question here is: Which of the two will it be for your company? Are you already among the high performers or are you still wallowing in the pandemic blues?
This is why we at Leaders21 didn’t make New Year’s resolutions for 2022—instead, we just have one New Year’s wish, for you: Assume the current Covid situation and use this challenge to grow. Because, why wait?
Let’s go digital – we no longer listen pandemic blues
We didn’t write this to raise the moral pointing finger and hand out pearls of wisdom. The current situation isn’t easy for us either and we repeatedly have to face new challenges. We wanted to share a few examples of how we tackle these challenges, following our mantra “Why wait?”: We can’t offer our coaching, training and consulting services on-site at our clients’? Well, let’s tap into our full potential as digital natives and optimize our online offer. We can’t talk to our colleagues at the office? Well, let’s develop remote formats for online meetings and chitchat. WiFi at home just won’t work sometimes? Enough with pandemic blues! Let’s take a break and consciously enjoy it.
Acceptance, the magic word
One of the keywords behind our mindset is “acceptance,” or consciously assuming a situation. We could keep rejecting or just keep putting up with it, but that won’t help us in this pandemic.
Right now, our big picture has to be the conscious acceptance of the Covid challenge, to occasionally give room to our frustration then look forward again, to try to make the most of this situation and see this challenge as an opportunity for growth.
Resilience instead of victimism
Besides acceptance, also the ability to think in solutions, self-regulation, the ability to shape our own future, self-responsibility, relationship management and—now we’re back at it—optimism are vital for growth.
The combination of these seven abilities is what’s called resilience, in other words: the strength to cope with a crisis.
So tell us, when, if not now, is the time to invest in this specific skill?
Now is the perfect time to stop feeling like a victim. By actively facing mistakes or challenges like this pandemic, you’ll be able to make decisions with a clear „Yes“, to communicate your goals and to give up that victim mentality in order to take over responsibility and shape your own faith.
Stop going in circles
Management and leadership expert and author Stephen R. Covey’s model of the “Circle of Concern” and “Circle of Influence” illustrates the difference between the roles of a victim versus a creator.
The outer Circle of Concern encompasses all things and topics you’re concerned with, but can’t influence. Like Corona. The inner, smaller Circle of Influence contains those things and topics you can influence or consciously control. Like, say, innovation culture, team spirit or outdated corporate processes…
If you’re interested in details about the Circle of Concern and the Circle of Influence or resilience in general, we’ve got you covered. Our Leaders21 experts know a myriad of tips and tools to help you strengthen your ability to cope with crises. And, of course, they’d love to share them with you in different awesome digital formats (Remember our motto? Why wait?). Did we spark your interest? Contact us, we’ve got loads of motivation left to share with you.
In this spirit, and this time without being sarcastic, but rather with our heads up high and determined to take action: Why wait? We’re ready, and you are too!
