Building resilience in yourself and your teams
Over the last few days, it’s hard to have missed all the conversations and discussions around #reopening and #buildingbackbetter, it feels like there is an increased and renewed vigor in the market right now, but as our sights turn to renewal and regrowth what should we be considering as business owners and leaders as we come out of this period of forced hibernation?
Here are a few things to consider.
Resilience If you look at the definition of resilience in the Oxford English dictionary it says: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness, and it would be fair to say that every one of us has been on our own personal journey over the last year, and the one thing for sure, is that we have all experienced change and difficulty of some sort, so building resilience in ourselves and our teams does require some consideration.
Whilst working with clients this week, I am also mindful that we should be careful not to confuse this increased sense of enthusiasm and vigor as resilience, it’s more likely to be increased adrenalin and unfortunately this will run out; so, over the next few weeks and months consider how you will personally prepare yourself ready for the next phase of what is to come. Whatever that may be, rest, hydration, exercise, diet or simply taking time out, take the time to prepare yourself. Think of it like running a marathon, you wouldn’t go out and run one after not training for 6 months, so let’s get training!
Revisit your Business Plan.
Just like your health, there is the health of your business, whether you call it your business plan or strategy document, if you haven’t already done so, get it out and dust it off again. It’s likely that the destination has changed for a lot of business owners, for some drastically, and we will remain on this rollercoaster for the next few months as we continue to adapt. Where you were and the direction your business was heading in is not necessarily the same place now, even if your business has continued to trade in full over the last year, I’m sure, if you look, there are some areas that have been in forced hibernation (ie, launches, NPD, face to face services, employees on furlough). So be intentional with both your destination and your roadmap.
Engage your Teams.
When we say teams, it’s easy to think of employees and internal teams, but you should also be considering your suppliers and external providers to your business. Everyone is waking up, take the time to reconnect with providers, suppliers and contractors and let them know your plans so they are better placed to support you as you grow. Also, it’s good to talk, remember they too; have been through some changes and may have new tools, offerings and alternative ways to support your business.
And in respect of teams; use the opportunity to “reboard” your teams, engage those who have been away from the office with those who may have been in throughout. Simple ways to do this may include a Capture Session. Set the topic for discussion – reopening offices or bringing teams back to the workspace, then use collaboration tools such as Google, Trello or Asana or simple post it notes in Zoom or Teams to gain feedback from individuals.
You will be amazed what comes up that you perhaps hadn’t even considered.
The success of your business right now will in part, be based upon engaged teams who have purpose and understand their responsibilities, and leaders who can lead with direction and clarity. Take time to reconnect!
Finally, be intentional, most people will be seeking clarity and a sense of direction right now, so here’s your chance to play a part and offer a renewed sense of purpose and clear direction.
Written for Enterprise Nation by Karen Watkins, business advisor and Founder of Rowan Consulting and Rowan Tribe.
Karen is a business advisor for Enterprise Nation and owner of Rowan Consulting which offers organisational coaching for growth businesses across the UK, she also owns and runs a successful membership site for entrepreneurs and business owners called Rowan Tribe.
For more information or articles from Karen please visit www.rowantribe.com or www.rowanhr.com If you’d like to talk about how we can support you as your business as its changes and grows, please contact us on hello@rowanhr.com for an initial exploratory conversation.
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