By Jack Gottlieb, 5 minute read
It’s 2020 and you thought we’d have some hindsight this year. Instead, we’re managing the novel coronavirus this year...and possibly into next year. It seems to be the only thing people are talking about these days: the virus itself, how it’s spreading, what it’s doing to our economy and society and lifestyles.
Maybe you have found yourself or people that you work with being sucked into the vortex of the daily headlines from the New York Times to the Washington Post, from CNBC to Fox, from LinkedIn to Facebook—and all of the emails we’re getting from every company we’ve ever done business with or whose website we visited a single time.
There’s so much competing information that the context is lost to us. Our confidence rises up and falls depending on the information we’re consuming. In both our economy and the society, there are critical and transformational lessons we need to embrace immediately and leverage daily so that we are able to own the reality so that we’re able to respond with purpose (instead of react in fear).
Context is the internal and external circumstances that establish the setting for an event, statement, or idea. Read on to learn how to create context for your organization and your people. (And then an invite below to the follow-up virtual workshop.)
OUR ECONOMY
The Reality
The stock market is experiencing dramatic fluctuations like it has a mind of it’s own and people’s economic decisions and reactions to those fluctuations aren’t a real reflection of what is actually happening in the world.
The Perspective
For example, on April 10th, The New York Times headline read: “Everything Is Awful. So Why Is The Stock Market Booming?” People are sick and dying. Employees are being furloughed and laid off. Businesses are borrowing and begging for money. The economy is shrinking, yet the stock market is a reflection of a different story.
Start thinking about how this relates to your organizational culture and approach and what your own internal headlines are and how your people are reacting. What is the real story?
Your Action
It’s time to gain True Clarity™ by defining the context you must have within your entire organization, each region, and each department. True Clarity is a clear understanding and accurate direction towards what is Really Most Important™. This begins with a one-page strategic plan that integrates your core purpose, vision, and mission within your strategic priorities. Once you have that, how do you lead with True Clarity in how the message is packaged and integrated into what is going on in your marketplaces and organizational culture?
OUR SOCIETY
The Reality
We are hearing discussions about "reopening" the country, vaccines being tested, and sports leagues that are seeking ways to get started. We are also learning about the increased death toll, complications with the virus, and new hardships coming out every day. It’s hard to know which way the compass is pointing.
The Perspective
This starts with how we strategically communicate and take action. The State of New York has been receiving clear and consistent communication from Governor Cuomo about how they are responding with confidence and strategic discipline even when they have to pivot due to worsening conditions. However, every state is not acting consistently and in alignment with other states. Even worse, the state governments aren’t aligned to the federal government. The virus doesn’t move; people move, so a coordinated effort needs to be communicated and acted upon at all levels of the “business” of the United States (and ideally on a global level).
Former President Barack Obama made an appearance on Thursday, April 9th, 2020 at a virtual event for the COVID-19 Local Response Initiative. He warned: “To be able to share information and best practices makes all the difference. Speak the truth. Speak it clearly. Speak it with compassion. Speak it with empathy for what folks are going through. The biggest mistake any of us can make in these situations is to misinform, particularly when we're requiring people to make sacrifices and take actions that might not be their natural inclination."
Decide now what needs to be clearly understood, validated, and coordinated to ensure that you’re not just disseminating information, but creating value.
Your Action
In order to foster Aligned Accountability that drives Purposeful Execution, your organization and leadership must start by creating an experience that gives your people a voice to share what is Really Most Important™ for the organization and themselves on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Then, design your communication and leadership to build trust and confidence (Alignment) and drive the follow-up and follow-through in your culture and strategy (Accountability). This allows you to know how to execute with purpose to ensure you’re working in the business and with what your people need today while also working on the business and how to become stronger at the same time.
TRANSFORM YOUR ORGANIZATION & YOUR PEOPLE
Questions to ask so that you truly understand what each person and team are experiencing...
Ask these questions on a weekly—if not daily—basis to create shared team leadership based on people’s real needs.
Concerns
What fears or uncertainties do you have for yourself and your family, our organization, our customers, and marketplace?
Confidence
Where do you have confidence and unwavering belief in yourself and your family, our organization, our customers, and our marketplace?
Clarity
Where do you need clarity right now for yourself and your family, our organization, our customers, and our marketplace that will further build your confidence?
What clarity can you provide to others that would share the progress, innovation, and successes we are having in the midst of this crisis?
What your people need to be communicated and aligned to on a daily, weekly, and monthly schedule...
Check in with your people weekly to share progress and gain insights that will help you ask the right questions and make better decisions.
Our Strategic Core
Always ground your people on the core identity (Purpose, Vision, Mission) of your organization and strategic priorities and how that connects to fully supporting and maximizing each person and team’s value.
Our Highlights
Document best practices and stories from people and teams that are role models and champions for all of us.
Our Progression & Reality
Determine the true vitals of the organization, teams, and people. Think of it like a balance sheet where Assets are replaced with Weekly Successes and Liabilities are replaced with Weekly Challenges. We need more successes than challenges.
Our Focus
Identify the specific actions that need to be taken for yourself, your team, your customers, and your organization. What should you continue doing, start doing, and stop doing to make a real impact?
Register now for one or both of our free virtual workshops that will expand upon this model of True Clarity™, Aligned Accountability™, and Purposeful Execution™ as well as provide the value, action steps, and experience you need right now.
