We are going through an incredible time in history. A period that will last at least until May 20. Many business managers have approached me in recent weeks asking what they as managers can do to keep their team positive and motivated. In this article I share my perspective on this.

Of course I know that we live in uncertain times and that many people are really afraid for good reason. I know that the Corona virus is currently controlling our lives and all social discussions, and that there are many reasons to be afraid.

But understand: fear is normal. It is a normal human response when we are threatened physically or emotionally.

There's one thing you can't do with people's fears: you can't ignore them. We are emotional beings, and 1% of our decisions are driven by emotion. So don't ignore what people feel.

What matters is how you deal with fear. Fear can paralyze you and prevent you from doing anything, resulting in you creating your own reality. Of course, it is much better if fear drives you to take action: success by doing.

Previous crises have shown that disruption equals new opportunity. This is Action – Reaction: no matter what happens, there will always be a reaction. Hotels are empty, the catering industry is at a standstill. But did you see what was happening in hardware stores? Who had heard of Zoom before the Corona era? So with every action there will be a reaction: there are environments where business is now flourishing. For entrepreneurs, new problems can actually act as fuel. In the past, too, companies have emerged during recessions or depressions that are now enormous: Microsoft started in the 1970 recession. CNN was founded in the 1980 recession.

How can you make the most of it?

As a manager you therefore have 2 choices: the choice to either stir up panic or to steer towards positive action.

It doesn't matter whether you run a large or a small company, whether you lead a large or a small team, or whether you temporarily have your entire family at home and are the leader of your household. Your people are watching you: the way you respond, the conversations you have. Are you constantly talking about the things that cannot be done now because of the crisis and uncertainty? Or do you direct the conversations to what IS possible?

Right now, the world is looking for leaders to steer our future in a positive direction. Everyone in your industry, in your company, in your community, in your family is experiencing the same thing: uncertainty, fear and worry.

So what can you do to act as a leader, both at work and at home?

My advice is to focus on you Circle of Influence (Stephen Covey). This is a topic that I cover in all my leadership training.

Your Circle of Influence includes those things you can directly influence. Your Circle of Involvement includes all those things that you consider important, but over which you have little or no control.

When people focus on things they cannot control, they have less time and energy to spend on things they can influence. As a result, their Circle of Influence shrinks.

When people focus on things they can influence, they expand their Circle of Influence. However, the Circle of Influence will always be smaller than your Circle of Involvement. Therefore, focus your time and energy on those things that you can influence.

7 tips on how you can act as a leader of your team these weeks

Everyone is looking at you: your team, your children, the community you are part of.

Your job is to inspire, to be hopeful. To do that, you want to radiate peace, and you focus conversations and behavior on what you CAN do. You focus on the POSITIVE emotions, not the panicky emotions.

The people around you need 3 things from you: certainty, clarity, and simplicity.

They need to get the feeling that everything is under control again. Combined with a feeling of hope and a positive future.

Therefore, concentrate on the things you CAN do. While world events are not under your control, you can control how you spend time within your organization:

1. Take care of your employees. Many of them are forced to stay at home with their children. Keep in touch with them regularly. Do everything you can to help them through this situation as best you can.
Of course, it is not the case that you cannot have difficult conversations with people during this time. Conversations that you should have had earlier. Have the courage and take the time you have now to have these conversations.

2. The past few weeks have already been tough for many people. Especially mentally. So it's also important to look at everyone's mental health (in addition to physical health). Also your own, of course. Reset your mindset, if necessary.
You cannot have a healthy body without a healthy mind. The way you make your mindset sick is by bombarding it with fear and sadness. Good mental condition will keep you vital, healthy and productive. Refocus your mindset on what you can control: your Circle of Influence.
Protect yourself from an abundance of information regarding your Circle of Involvement. Focus on what is important for you to know. You don't have to listen to news programs all day long, you don't have to keep track of all the death counts in all parts of the world, etc. In 5 minutes a day you can get all the information you need to know. You don't have to bombard yourself with this 24/7.

3. Encourage your people to stick to their regular routines. Stick to your morning routine. Participants in my Time & Life Management training courses know how important a good morning routine is for your effectiveness. For example, every morning before you go to work, take the time to do your physical exercises and read for half an hour in a good book (e.g. Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod; this is about a good morning routine). Only open your email after you have completed the 1 or 2 most important work tasks for you that day.

4. Reinvest time and energy in your team. Prepare and position the organization together for the time when this crisis is over, so that you can make a flying start.
Perhaps this is also a good time to learn to understand each other better. For example, by organizing team workshops based on the personal profiles of https://www.insightsbenelux.com/ If you want, I can facilitate this for you.

5. Prepare for your comeback after this Corona crisis. It's spring, so use this period for business spring cleaning! Evaluate and revise your organization's strategy and goals for 2020/2021. Do this together with your team.
Also consider whether you have the right people working in the right places, and whether they are doing the right things?
Also check your team's processes and operational excellence. Be sure to include contact moments with customers. Are your invoices customer-oriented? How easy are you to reach? How often do you really speak to your customers?
In short: look at the way you work and ask: how can we make this better?

6. Spring cleaning also applies to your environment. If possible within applicable restrictions, have the team clean every area in the building. Is something broken, do things need to be repaired, do we have enough inventory, what is no longer needed in that space and can be eliminated?
Give everyone a large box and ask them to dump everything in it that is not essential to your work. You're not going to throw it away: you're just going to store it out of sight, for now. If you ever need any of that, you know where it is. After six months, throw the entire box away without looking at it again. Also do this with your digital files. Delete everything you are not currently actively using (or first put it in an archive folder).
Be sure to do this at home and take unnecessary items to a thrift store, for example.
You won't believe how liberating this decluttering will be.

7. Also spend time on personal growth and development. Personally, I have always been focused on that because I believe in lifelong learning. It's the perfect time to proactively fill your people's brains with positive things that are possible NOW! Therefore, sharpen your knowledge and skills now, so that you are ready when the time comes when you can use them again.
For example, now take those internal product training courses. Or are you going to improve your English (e.g. at www.ste.nl). You can also visit me to improve your practical skills in sales and/or management, among other things.
If you decide to invest in yourself, in your skills, in your future, stick to it! Prioritize yourself, you are worth it.

What do I do myself?

My agenda was suddenly cleared in mid-March... Great! Open space in my agenda! I have rescheduled most of my training sessions, but a number of training sessions have continued and I teach using videoconferencing software.

So I use my time for things that I know will be of great value to my clients. I am working on innovation in my training courses, I provide some webinars (free of charge) for my existing customers. There was a big project that I hoped to find time for during the summer holidays and I brought it forward. It's like an amazingly wonderful opportunity that I think will have a huge positive impact on my ability to help my clients.

Of course, I'm also practicing social distancing. Difficult for me, because I'm an extrovert. But introverts love it! They are happy that social distancing is finally socially acceptable.

I also want to stay healthy by paying attention to the quality of my diet and by exercising 4 times a week (running and cycling; my other sports are currently prohibited).

I started taking the national AI course (https://www.ai-cursus.nl/) to better understand what Artificial Intelligence is and means for us.

And my house is clean and tidy inside and out. I immediately put it up for sale.

It is up to you

I ask you to positively influence the people under your leadership.

The world around you is looking at you: your team, and certainly everyone in your family. They all experience the same thing: uncertainty, fear, worry… They look to you to determine how to behave, think and act in the future. So they count on you.

And you can decide who you want to be. A more capable leader, a more capable and loving parent, a more connected friend, a more engaged citizen. You can decide to make this Corona crisis the most positive, defining event of your life.

As Bill Gates recently said: This could be an ending or a new beginning. This can be a time of reflection where we can learn from our mistakes, or it can be the beginning of a cycle where we have finally learned something.

Ten years from now you will look back and either say “I'm glad I did it” or “I wish I did it”. Your future is determined by what you do now. 

So stay safe, wash your hands, keep a little distance in the meantime, stay positive, and I'm sure I'll meet you again soon.

Author

Erik van den Akker
evda@kennethsmit.com
06-83238832

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