Eight steps to lead your team out of lockdown
A bit more than a bite sized chunk of Leadership Wizdom
Change is in the air (again), and it is time to prepare for the next phase.
If you do not shape your future, someone else will shape it for you!
Our teams have proved that they are adaptable, they are part of the flexibility that provides us with our competitive advantage. They are your special sauce. As their leader, it is your obligation to harness and lead that specialness.
Here are eight things that will help you shape your future and make the difference to you and your team.
1. Know where you are going
2. Be positive
3. Prioritise
4. Mind the gap
5. Communicate clearly
6. Build confidence
7. Create new rituals
8. Energise
Know where you are going
The most important step. Take a moment to reflect, what have you learned?
1. How has your external environment and/or customers shifted? What do you know now?
2. What do you want to keep?
3. What do you want to change?
4. How do you need to show up as a leader? What will be different?
Prioritise
You and your team can’t do everything. Focus! Ruthlessly prioritise what is most important to your customers, your business or team’s health. Be clear on what is on the list and what is not. A deliberate choice, not a default. It is hard to stop things, but now is the time to be brave.
Be positive
Dig deep and find the reasons why you believe the future will be bright for you and your team. Inspiring leaders are those with positive, can do, attitudes. Smile! Think positively; problems are opportunities. If you aren’t feeling it, your team won’t either. Get your internal compass sorted.
Mind the Gap
Humans like predictability. Gaps create uncertainty. Uncertainty paralyses. Communicate what the change is AND what it is not. Do not leave a vacuum.
Not everything will be certain; communicate what you do know and the basis (trigger) that will change the instruction. Create predictability.
Lay out a road map of good expectations. Expectations delivered builds trust.
Communicate clearly
Keep it simple! Short impactful sentences. Three-word phrases. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Communicate more than you feel comfortable with. Measure your effectiveness, are your team repeating back your language, are they focusing on the right things?
Build Confidence
Fear is a strong emotion. It causes us to be defensive ready to fight or flight. Use small, manageable steps to build confidence. Success breeds success. Overtime the small steps will lead to a longer, more sustainable journey.
Create new rituals
We like routines and rituals. What rituals will serve you and the team well in the future.
Build flexibility into the new routines. Restrictive routines give comfort but compromise the adaptability you may need. No stability paralyses. Find the balance.
Energise!
Making (even more) change feels tiring. Take time for you and the team to build your resilience. Plan renewal into your activities.
Put your safety mask on before helping others. Leading change is tough. Look after your own energy and manage the energy of your team, it is a precious resource.
As a leader you have two choices; craft your outcome or let it find its own place.
Shape your change, be a change-maker.
These eight things will leave you and your team stronger in the new environment.
If you are feeling that this is all a bit too much and would like some help then The Change Wizard is here for you.
Build your leadership resilience and effectiveness through our Change Leadership Coaching, or let us help you determine and achieve your post-lockdown world.
