More than any other time in history, people are feeling anxious and uncertain about the future. Coupled with the ever-present pressure to change and innovate to keep ahead of the game, Covid-19 has added to the feeling of unease.
Team members are on edge and fearful of the unknown. And they’re looking to their leaders for guidance.
Leaders set the tone. They create a unified vision and follow through on execution. They drive results and achieve goals.
And right now, your most important role is to help people stay calm, optimistic and resilient in uncertain times.
The good news is there are practical techniques you can employ today to help you cultivate your emotional intelligence and some simple things you can say and do to support your team through this anxious time.
Treat this time as a rehearsal for the future of work. How are you going to make it work for you?
Here’s three top tips that can help you and help your team today:
Ask yourself these three simple questions: “What is in my control?”, “What is out of my control?” and “What is it that I can do RIGHT NOW to make a difference?”. Reflecting on these questions helps ignite creativity and switches focus from problems to solutions.
Name it to tame it: one of the best ways to build your emotional intelligence is by building your emotional literacy. By labelling how you feel in the moment, you bridge the gap between feeling and thinking and get back control.
Here’s one for your team. Get them to practice an optimistic mindset by asking them this very simple question: “It’s a year from now. Looking back, how do you want to be remembered for the way you behaved during COVID times”? This helps reframe adversity.
