There’s no doubt that it’s a whole new world. Not that I would suggest to anyone that they go out in said whole new world if they don’t absolutely have to at the moment. (Sorry, Princess Jasmine — no carpet ride today.) But just because the current situation has many folks working remotely, “sheltering in place,” or doing any number of things differently (CX, marketing, employee experience, just to name a few) than we were before; it doesn’t mean that there aren’t opportunities for you to make this a time for you to rethink, recharge, reorient, or radically recreate and/or redirect the trajectory of your work and/or life.
Be sure to read through to end of the post, too, as I’ve got a couple cool, intentional steps we can take — together — to thrive in the new normal on an ongoing basis.
But as I was saying, now is the time to rethink. Recharge. Redirect.
To do that, though, we’ve got to be able to think and do some things differently, don’t we?
I say that because if asked, most of us would probably raise our hands — or nod our heads whilst muted on a Google Meet/Zoom video call — in agreement if asked if we wanted things to be different with our jobs or at work or in our personal lives, right?
We want to change and grow.
To innovate.
Be at least a little more creative.
We all want to lead well, especially in times of change and crisis.
Now listen carefully. This is important, because as so often happens when we want do something big, there can be obstacles. Like…
THE WASTELAND
There’s almost always some sort of space or wilderness or void or wasteland or gap — often it can feel more akin to a chasm — between what we all want to be our reality and what actually is our reality sometimes.
Maybe it’s a missed promotion. Perhaps it’s a…oh, I don’t know…a pandemic.
Whatever it is — it just feels…discouraging.
But take heart. There’s always a way through the wasteland-of-despair that you’re staring down.
THE WAY THROUGH THE WASTELAND
The way through that wasteland — the journey from what we all want to what we all want coming to fruition — is one that requires us to take intentional steps if we hope to attain what awaits on the other side.
The way through the wasteland — and the journey to what we actually want — is one that requires us to take intentional steps. #leadership #futureofwork #personalbranding
Tweet
You picked up the most important part of that, right? I feel like you did, because you all are an intelligent bunch.
Yep. Intentional steps.
Intentional steps to overcome fear and trepidation in the face of uncertainty.
Intentional steps toward a future version of ourselves that is more fully alive, passionate, bold, and actively pursuing things that make us more fully…human.
How do we do that? How can we enter the fray, tangle with the big ideas, and make a ruckus? Glad you asked.
THRIVE IN THE NEW NORMAL BY MASTERING YOUR MINDSET
So much of how we are navigating our lives depends on how we’re mentally framing our lives.
Claude Silver, Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia, recently shared the below, and I thought it was fantastic.
We have to stop thinking about “getting through” this as something that’s going to be happening at some point in the distant future.
No.
It’s happening now, and the reason you can have that mindset is because you’re taking active, intentional steps to make things happen.
Yes, there’s a new normal.
But it’s an opportunity for you to grow, thrive, and launch into a new phase of you.
Yes, there’s a new normal. And it’s a new opportunity for you to grow, thrive, and launch into a new phase of you. #leadership #futureofwork #motivation #personalbranding
Tweet
BE HUMAN
I mean, it can’t surprise you that I said that.
Humanness and vulnerability are the foundation of all big things.
Humanness and vulnerability are the foundation of all big things. They’re what enable us to feel fear and try something anyway.
Tweet
Being more human is what enables us to feel fear and try something anyway. That’s because we’re good with the possibility of failing. The possibility of failure is rolled up into the whole daring-to-try-something-worthwhile package.
Once you accept that, you’re free.
Free to try.
To fail.
Free to dare.
THRIVE IN THE NEW NORMAL BY LEARNING TO CONNECT THE DOTS
Want to be more innovative? More creative? Solve more problems? Be more of a linchpin? (Thanks, Seth Godin)
What I’m referring to is sometimes called associative thinking, but don’t worry about the term.
The idea here is that when we encounter ideas, we want to look for connections, even though they may not be apparent at first. It takes time, patience, and practice; and you’re likely going to feel a little silly at first when you’re working on this.
But stick with it.
Because in times of crisis and chaos, suddenly you’re able to look around the swirling cluster of ideas and begin sorting out systems, structures, causes, effects, innovations, adaptations, and new ways forward — for you and others.
You’ll start picking up patterns, connections, ideas, strategies, plans — solutions — where they weren’t apparent.
It takes practice, it requires work, and it necessitates embracing your humanness enough to be OK with people thinking you’re silly or stupid every once in a while because you engage your mind and work on it with a level of intention others don’t take the time to.
Who cares if they think you’re silly. In times like this, you’re going to have solutions. You’re going to be able to help others think more clearly and navigate the storm. You’re going to be able to lead and serve. And that’s what this is all about.
Sometimes, when you’re working hard to connect big ideas and come up with new, bigger ones, people might think you’re weird. Who cares. Keep creating. #leadership #innovation #futureofwork #companyculture
Tweet
HUH?
Sorry. I was busy needing you to hurry up so I get on with this other thing.
Sorry. What were you saying? Or was it me? Who was talking? My bad.
(I kid. I was being silly to make a point about not listening. Read on…)
THRIVE IN THE NEW NORMAL BY BECOMING AN EXCEPTIONAL LISTENER
In order to connect those dots, you’re going to need to be able to take in lots of information from lots of sources, sort through it in some way that makes sense to you, and so on. You’re going to have to become an increasingly good listener.
It’s tempting — especially when the chips are down — to run headlong into the chaos and just start randomly…doing stuff.
That’s not leadership. That’s mistaking frantic activity for decisiveness, and it can have catastrophic consequences.
Running headlong into chaos and just randomly doing stuff isn’t leadership. It’s mistaking frantic activity for decisiveness, and it can have catastrophic consequences. #leadership #management #companyculture #futureofwork
Tweet
Poor listeners rarely come to full understandings of situations. They’re too busy “being decisive” and “efficient” or whatever. Take an extra “pause for the cause,” as a good friend of mine used to say, so that you can actually listen, understand, and have an entire clue as to what’s really happening.
If you want to grow — if you want to become someone who thrives in this new normal — learn to become an exceptional listener.
Take the time to listen to people, to resources, and to research so that you can give your mind a chance to work.
When you do that, you’re able to move as quickly as possible to connect those necessary dots and come to quicker, wiser, more innovative decisions that actually solve real problems in more sustainable ways.
Over time, people start to rely on people like that.
THRIVE IN THE NEW NORMAL BY BEING MORE OBSERVANT
Why on earth would I suggest this? Because it’s part of how we learn things.
Now, if you observe someone else being observant, resist the urge to chalk it up to them being zoned out or something.
On the contrary, perhaps they’re taking a second to actually listen, think, and absorb what’s happening around them. Maybe, just maybe they’re looking, listening, understanding, and making unexpected connections.
Their observations might just be the catalysts for the future innovations we need.
Maybe yours will be.
THRIVE IN THE NEW NORMAL WITH MENTAL FLEXIBILITY
We need to be able to play cognitive hopscotch. Mental gymnastics. To embrace seeming paradox.
Basically, innovators are often able to consider both the whole and the individual parts simultaneously. This allows you to do what’s absolutely necessary when trying innovate — you need to be able to live in both the concrete and abstract worlds at the same time.
You’re always going to be faced with seemingly conflicting information or ideas at points; innovative thinkers learn how to not only be OK with the apparent contradictions, but to work them through and even glean insights from them.
THRIVE IN THE NEW NORMAL BY EMBRACING THE POSSIBILITY OF FAILURE
Oh. I mentioned this already? Well, it must be important then, eh?
To thrive right now, you’ve got to be ok with trying new things. That’s what innovative folks do. They try things. It’s not enough to simply think about things; at some point, those ideas have to pushed from the abstract into reality.
(And yes, they need the psychological safety afforded them by the appropriate cultural context to do it.)
That’s why innovators will often test ideas, use pilot groups, float ideas by people, and so on. They learn from success and failures, both of which are helpful as they continue in their ongoing process of connecting and innovating.
THRIVE IN THE NEW NORMAL BY BEING OTHERS-ORIENTED
People who make others better are always going to be valuable.
Organizations can’t afford to remain stagnant, and human beings both desire and deserve to grow and be developed, as my friend David Wilhelm rightly points out.
If we spend our time in the new normal fixated only on ourselves, and everyone else does the same, the world will spin out into a narcissistic, self-serving cyclone of cynicism and selfishness.
Teams and organizations will continue to fray at the seams, and people will find themselves questioning who they are and why they do what they do.
(By the way, if you’re an executive, you don’t think that will affect folks’ performance at organizations, you’re kidding yourself.)
On the other hand, you could be different.
You could think about others.
Serving them.
Lifting them up.
Finding ways to help them navigate this time.
Propping up your teammates when they’re struggling.
You could rally your teammates together, lock arms, and help them realize that now is the time when teams do their greatest work.
TAKE AN INTENTIONAL STEP RIGHT NOW
It’s up to you.
I mean it. How you traverse the terrain of the new normal is entirely up to you.
I don’t think you’ll fold. (You’ve read this entire post, after all.)
So go another step further now.
Another, intentional step.
If you want to take steps, together, to thrive in the new normal even though we’re all “apart,” join me here. I’m stoked to do this.
And if you’re one of those executives or managers or leaders I alluded to above, and your hope is to take this time to engage your teams in new and different and better ways, join me here.
See you soon.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks