There is no ‘back’
Last time we explored leading through the disparate experiences and emotions of your workforce.
Being ‘brave and calm’.
Attention is now shifting for many about the rules of working in the “new normal.” Leaders and their staff are keen to preserve whatever benefits have emerged.
And there’s a collective need to make sense of what’s happened and to learn.
I mentioned before the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter sent by the NHS Chief Executive, Sir Simon Stevens, on the next phase of the NHS response to Covid19. He included: “We should also take this opportunity to ‘lock in’ the beneficial changes we’ve collectively brought about in recent weeks.”
Rethinking the future is now the challenge.
It’s a massive task to reimagine and redesign work in the ‘new normal’. But we have heard time and again, its not about recovery but reformation and adaptation.
I like this quote from Eric McNulty, of Harvard’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative:
“I don’t think of resilience as bouncing back. There is no ‘back.’ Clocks don’t go backwards. Calendars don’t go backwards. We’re moving forward.
And the ability for people to move forward with hope is when you see resilience helping them bounce forward through that and then building trust. Every action, every decision you make throughout this crisis, is either going to build trust or degrade from it.
Back to that word: Trust.
My question to you today — how are you building trust in your organisation?
