Nothing is Back to Normal, and That’s The Point
Recently, as I was presenting to a group in-person, on resilience and strength, I emphasized that nothing is back to normal. Last year I presented to the same group virtually and next year? Next year is next year. There was a time when we knew we could count on small changes such as registration fees, or venues or host hotels – and we adjusted. However, given all of changes from vaccines to variants to politics, mandates and on and on, all we can count on is that we can expect changes.
More than a Season
A recent study of 200 major organizations published McKinsey & Company said that “(M)ore than 90 percent of executives said they expect the fallout from COVID-19 to fundamentally change the way they do business over the next five years, with almost as many asserting that the crisis will have a lasting impact on their customers’ needs.”
No executive leader should deceive themselves into believing that everything is going to snap back to normal. In fact, McKinsey also found that 66 percent of the hundreds of executives they interviewed agreed this was the most challenging time of their careers.
Most executives have undergone an emotional shift from these times as a temporary period of having to endure change and upheaval to the acceptance of change as a long-term state of business. The old playbooks of management, marketing and sales will truly be as fluid, let’s say, as the playbook of an NFL team.
Is it Bad?
This need for resilience, and indeed for organizations to develop a stronger and grittier attitude may turn out to be a good thing.
In a report prepared by Psychologist Heather Craig (February 22, 2021) she pulled together a number of important workplace psychology research reports on resiliency and summarized those resilient employees shared several important attributes including: more effective communication; positive workplace relationships; a better social support system; a strong network of trust and (most importantly) they managed stress better than organizations that were not focused on resiliency.
It has been determined that resiliency is a learned process. In business or association life, we all once strived for “no surprises.” We wanted stability, predictability and probable outcomes. We can’t have that anymore. However, if the trade off are positive new skills and a higher degree of staff and industry cohesiveness.
Grit not Surprising
How do organizations develop greater resilience in these times? How do they arrive at a mindset and a vision of overcoming the challenges of constant and often surprising change? It is grit, the determination to not give into adversity but to have the strength and courage to adapt.
Grit is not “fancy,” grit is hardly mentioned in business schools, associations or keynote speeches. Yet, as a motivational speaker on developing resilience and organizational strength I know that grit is the essential ingredient that determines the success or failure of employees during the toughest of times.
There is no challenge we will face that can’t be overcome with grit.
For more information on booking Scott Burrows, Change Management & Resilience Motivational Speaker for your next event, contact him through this website or his office at: (520) 548-1169