Leadership that supports Connection & Productivity:

This last year has been a whirlwind of change and disruption with COVID-19 placing an urgent demand statement on everyone to respond in a rapid and decisive manner amid significant uncertainty.

In particular, it has highlighted the significant role that effective leadership plays in enabling organisations, and society, to rally the full force of the collective talent, innovation, resilience, and energy available through its people.  It has also confirmed once again the resilience, courage, empathy, and adaptability that leaders need to embody to create the conditions under which others can adapt to their new realities and thrive.

Thrust into this new world where remote working, constant uncertainty and continuous change is the new reality, organisations will need to fully embrace a mindset of distributed leadership, fluid decision making and heightened collaboration.

So how can organisations go about doing this? 

I believe that to support this new future agility must be built into the very fabric of an organisation’s operational design:

• How we enable and distribute leadership
• How we organise ourselves around work
• How we collaborate within and across teams
• How good decisions get made and communicated

New approaches and roles will need to emerge to enable rapid learning and responsiveness to the environment, while continuously improving stable service and operational teams that ensure excellent client service is delivered every day.

To achieve this leadership teams need to pause now and reflect on their experience and learnings through the COVID-19 crisis so far. They need to explore what leadership will look like in the future.  They need to intentionally start to build the skills they believe they need to deliver on their envisioned leadership.

Team Coaching as a Vehicle for Exploration:

Leadership team coaching offers a profound means of exploring all of the above.  When we  depart from a place of non-judgement with the common ambition of expanding perspective and tapping into our collective wisdom, we are often surprised at the depth of insight we obtain and the lasting value of the solutions we discover.

During this year we have been doing just this with some leadership teams who wanted to get out ahead.  The infographic below shares some of the common insights that emerged.

Download the pdf here

There is no time like the present to take a moment to pause.  As COVID seems to settle into the background and hard lock-down fades into memory, organisations run the risk of assuming that everyone has mastered the art of virtual connection and collaboration; that everyone is thriving.  It is quite possible however, that many are still just surviving and require compassionate leadership capable of continuously building the support scaffolds for true success.

If you would like to stop and pause as a team for some reflection, please Say Hello!  We would love to journey with you.

Talking to friends and family I hear 2 groups of experience as COVID-19 continues its relentless march of uncertainty and isolation.  Those stuck at home without work and those slaving over too much work.  The former are struggling with motivation, purpose and identity.  Their wells of creativity and inspiration are rapidly drying up without tangible, connected stimulation from the outside world or being strangled by fear.  The latter are experiencing “always on” overwhelm, stress from continuous decision making and even some resentment. Their wells are being bled dry by constant activity.

So my question is: how might we all regain our energy, creativity and individual purpose amidst the current crisis but also beyond and outside of it?

My answer to myself: it’s time to set some boundaries that create mental, physical and emotional order and allow me to act with agency.

The 1^st boundary I am setting is dedicated time to be fully present; to fill my internal well with things that I find beautiful; to routinely reflect on what is going on for me right now and so learn and grow.  I made this clip to help me to this.  It is a montage of exquisite imagery & reflections from a recent trip to Chile.  I offer it to you hoping that it may help you to connect with yourself again.