In today's edition of Wundamail Voices, we catch up with the best-selling author of Breaking Through: The Conscious Leader's and Entrepreneur's Guide to Amplify Intuition, Clarity, Vision, Motivation and Productivity, Transformation Psychologist and Breakthrough Coach, Dr. Sage Breslin, who gives us her take on the future of work.
What can businesses be doing right now to maintain momentum?
For businesses that recoiled or had to shut down as the pandemic arrived, it’s important to really check and reset the foundation. The post-pandemic world is ripe with change and new alternatives if we allow it to be - which may require re-launching with a different approach.
For companies that stood their ground or whose performance increased during the pandemic, I’d suggest that leaders constantly reinvigorate their teams. People are what's keeping businesses moving forward and those people have to be honored for their efforts - not just with money, but with time to renew their creativity, skills and strength.
What lessons can leaders learn from the crisis? How do you plan to put what you've learned into practice when normality resumes?
The pandemic has actually generated more than just an impact from the virus. Clearly, the pandemic has taught us how much we don’t know, how arrogant we’ve been with the knowledge we do have, and how ill-equipped we were - with equipment, with facilities, with manpower, with protocols, and even with our communication skills to engage the general public to respond appropriately and with compliance in response to state orders.
Beyond the virus itself, we were largely unprepared for the challenging impacts of sheltering in place- we didn’t provide for those in domestically violent homes, we struggled to manage the needs of those who couldn’t fend for themselves, and we didn’t acknowledge the mounting tensions bubbling from below the surface as we remained home-bound for longer and longer periods of time.
All of our research about crowding and high temperatures has indicated greater propensity for violence, but we turned a blind eye to the data and watched people protest - first about their perceived civil liberties being taken away, then in response to the increased violence - largely towards the African American community members.
In all things, it’s important to be present to the data available, to respond as quickly and as comprehensively as possible, to be creative and flexible about resources and solutions, and to engage our families, teams and communities to work together. And, if intuition sparks a notion that leadership may not be authentic, address it and encourage new ideas and protocols.
Do you have any predictions for how the next stage will play out?
I wish I could say that we will be back to “life as normal” but that’s not why pandemics arrive. Pandemics appear to drastically alter life as we know it, to evoke change that would not otherwise be possible.
So, I believe that people will return to their old ways, and we will experience another, perhaps more aggressive, wave of the virus. I pray that we don’t need that form of Divine 2 x 4 therapy, but we, as a people, have been a bit stubborn to embrace change.
For leaders, especially in business, I encourage you to take the cautious gambler’s approach - keep up the good work, but put together a reasonable reserve so that you can keep yourself afloat for 6-9 months if things take a turn for the worse. We’ve learned a LOT about how to stabilize and grow using technology, but it’s imperative that you stay focused on communication with your team. They need to know that you’re all in this, we’re all in this, together.
What's the secret to keeping teams productive through this period of turbulence?
Conscious, authentic leadership is the foundation for maintaining motivation and productivity during times of crisis. Our teams have to not only know, but must feel our humanity. We must be willing to bring our core to the fore- to show up as ourselves- even when we are anxious, fearful, frustrated and disappointed, so that team members feel comfortable doing the same. Being seen and heard is one of the greatest rewards.
How should leaders prepare for the "restart" phase?
Leaders have to have a pulse on their team members and how they are feeling about re-entry. Teams are composed of people - and each member may have different feelings about returning to the workplace. If a team member is anxious about being on-site, it will limit that person’s motivation and productivity, and potentially negatively impact the whole team! Leaders may find that flexibility is required, possibly leaving some team members at home to work remotely while further data is collected about the impacts of re-entry.
How can we transform business as usual into something else, something better, something that aligns with our evolving values?
I believe that we have been given an incredible opportunity as leaders to set aside our steely warrior personas. By embracing our authentic selves and engaging in intuitively-driven and heart-centered practices, we can begin to LEAD our teams - to mentor best practices - rather than training sheep and expecting independence and creativity.
You Can Follow Dr. Sage Breslin On Her Social Media Channels Here:
https://twitter.com/SageBreslin
https://www.instagram.com/sagebreslin/
About Dr. Breslin
Dr. Sage Breslin is a Transformation Psychologist and Breakthrough Coach, serving leaders worldwide for nearly 30 years. She offers individual, group and corporate coaching and consulting services virtually and in-person. Her 5th book rose to best-seller status in less than 24 hrs. Breaking Through: The Conscious Leader’s and Entrepreneur’s Guide to Amplify Intuition, Clarity, Vision, Motivation and Productivity is the basis for many of her keynote addresses and her Group Leadership Transformation Program.
