Empathy + Resilience
A weekly roundup of the latest future of work and conscious leadership news and insights
The year 2020 will probably always be regarded by those who lived through it as The Year of Great Uncertainty. From the COVID pandemic to the presidential election, there’s pretty much nothing that can be considered certain. Humans by nature like the comfort of predictability. So times like this can breed much fear and anxiety. And its times like this when we desperately need conscious leaders who can envision a brighter future and help us navigate the unpredictability.
Conscious leaders know that the only thing certain in life is change. And while there are many things we think we can predict, we must always be prepared for change—sudden or gradual. It’s important for leaders to help their teams through the discomfort of change by showing empathy and teaching resilience.
Surveys show that employees expect their leaders to comment on our current circumstances. That doesn’t mean contributing to the divisiveness or fear, but simply acknowledging the emotional and physical environment we’re all facing right now. This requires empathy. Conscious leaders are able to consider what their team members are experiencing and then ensure they provide the resources necessary to do more than just survive the challenge. That’s why empathy and resilience are such powerful characteristics of conscious leaders and their teams.
It’s easy to get bogged down in the emotional drama going on around us in normal circumstances, let alone the heightened drama and tension of 2020. But the leaders who rise to the challenge this year will establish themselves as the leaders who can create a better future for their teams, their communities and for the world.
As a conscious leaders, consider how you can be empathetic with your team, especially during the next few weeks. And consider how you can build your own resilience while teaching your team the same.
As you’re thinking through how to build your empathy and resilience, let’s connect. Working with a coach is a powerful way to build your leadership skills so you can continually become the best leader for your team.
Here is some of the future of work and conscious leadership content I found interesting this week:
Related to my newsletter earlier this week about conscious leadership during a stressful time, Harvard Business review published an article about how to work while feeling overwhelmed. There are some excellent tips for conscious leaders to apply to themselves and teach their teams. They key conscious leadership theme is to have patience with yourself.
A new survey by 15Five found that managers don’t have the structure needed to be effective. The survey revealed a huge disconnect between how managers perceive their effectiveness and how their teams perceive it. As a conscious leader, how are you equipping your teams to be successful? An important component is finding gaps like this and addressing them.
Running Remote published a fantastic article about how to hire remote employees. It is full of excellent advice on how to engage with job candidates in a remote setting and ensure both new hires and the company can make the onboarding process successful.
Reason published an interesting commentary about the future of learning pods for education. The quote from this article that resonated with me reflects how I view the future of the workplace: “But the pandemic has forced families to experiment, and many have discovered better education for their children than they previously imagined, with flexibility that government institutions can never hope to match. Now aware of what's possible, parents won't long let regulatory threats stop them from doing their best for their kids.” The same can be said of the future of remote work and conscious leadership. We now know a different way of working and leading. We can’t and we won’t go back to the old ways, no matter how much the powers-that-be may fight the transition.
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
J.D., CPC, ELI-MP
The way we work and build teams is rapidly changing. Leaders often feel unprepared to navigate the transition. As a conscious leadership coach, consultant and communicator, Meredith helps leaders and their teams create new ways of working and relating so they can prepare for the future by consciously co-creating it.
Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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