Reset During a Crisis??
YES. RIGHT NOW. Disruption, crisis and uncertainty can create openings for true change. It is in these moments, where there is a crack in thought patterns that expansion becomes even more possible. In these times, we often re-evaluate our behaviors of the past; the way we go about our lives, how we prioritize and even, who we are being. To be clear – I’m NOT talking about rethinking your damn toilet paper inventory.
I’m talking about expansion. Today creates an opportunity to step into person you want to be, to take action on being the leader you know you can be, and to show others what is possible. These moments allow you to shatter past perceptions more quickly – because people are more able to see who you are, in this moment, without bringing their past experiences of you to the present.
It’s time for CHANGE. Wake up people – the time is NOW.
Clean Slates are Hard to Find
Think about it, right…when we change jobs, move to new cities or even new countries, one of the biggest benefits is our ability to start over. We suddenly have a clean slate, where no one knows of our past, or the moments we regret, or the shame we carry.
We look forward to these moments because well, it’s really freakin’ hard to change people’s perspectives. And let’s be honest, it can be really hard to act differently around the same people. Once a first impression is made, or opinions form, or mistakes are made, people can be quick to use labels and seek information to confirm the stories they have created in their minds. This is done for a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is for self-protection / preservation. People don’t liked getting burned twice and most people hate to admit when they are wrong. Some people are judgmental and choose (either consciously or subconsciously) to bring their past with them to the present. So, this means we have a swath of people who have not done the personal work to meet people where they are in any given moment. This makes it challenging for them to see and acknowledge that change is happening right in front of their own eyes.
Co-Creation in Shifting Perspectives
When I have coached people in turnaround situations, I always encourage them to take an extremely pro-active role in changing perspectives. I advise my clients / team to actually go to those people that have been impacted, who have these long-held beliefs, and invite those folks to be a part of my clients’ journey to change behaviors and ask for support and help. This can absolutely work when the stakeholders are able to believe that change is possible, and make the conscious choice to not carry the past with them into the present.
You may find yourself in a situation however, where there is absolutely nothing you can do to change perceptions regardless of any action you take. It’s important to realize that when you are truly doing everything to change your behaviors and actions – and perceptions are not changing – it’s not something to blame yourself for. Rather, you have to see clearly that the folks involved are not interested in forgiveness or seeing the true facts of your new behaviors in play. As a total side note, I see so many people stay in roles far longer than they should, because they think they have the sole power of turning the situation around, which is just not true.
The difference between these two scenarios is where the difficult decision must be made, of whether to STAY in place for the transformation, or LEAVE because the co-creation process is not possible with the current players.
In today’s environment, there is an even bigger opportunity to make that transformation from where you are currently sitting.
Resetting From Where You Are
As I mentioned earlier, external factors that create chaos or disruption, can create an opening to shift long-standing mindsets and behaviors. At this moment in time, when we are trying to hard to disrupt bigger patterns in our environments, we have the chance to seize the moment!
I’m sure I don’t have to convince you that toxic environments plague our workplaces. NOW is a great time to RESET. If you have contributed to creating a “face-time” culture, a culture of distrust, a culture of caring more about profits than about PEOPLE, now is your time. If you’ve over-promised and under-delivered in the past, NOW is your chance to right-size expectations. If your tendency was to micro-manage and control others, NOW is your chance to back off and practice trusting. If you enabled (or ignored) bullying behavior, now is a great time to start holding people accountable to values of integrity and dignity.
If you are a good leader, there is a huge opportunity to be a fucking awesome leader! You can shift your entire trajectory. You can step it up even more. You can play a bigger role in igniting even more change for the better. You can be the light, when so many feel they are shrouded in darkness. You can encourage more autonomy, you can empower more people to find creative solutions. You can create even more leaders.
It’s times like these when we call the brave stand up, the courageous to show the way and the determined, to blaze new trails. Are you ready to answer the call?
Step into THE NEW YOU!!
We have entered unprecedented times – and for sure so many people feel lost in what this all means. People are searching for meaning and trying to figure out how to behave, how to make decisions, how to make sense of things. People are in search of new leadership; empathetic leadership, collaboration, connection and prioritizing the human impact. It’s created a crack to think differently.
How will you take advantage of the opportunity to reset? To shift thinking? To reimagine what’s possible? To be the change that this world needs right now? To be the person you would be, if you had a clean slate?
Step into the light, and see what magic will happen from there.
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