How have you spent your time during lock-down? After speaking with many people, the answer to this question is very variable.
It is dependent on other responsibilities, such as home schooling, working from home, adjusting to furloughed life, going into the workplace and holding the fort, or for key workers producing and delivering essential services.
As the lock down eases and you to prepare to move forwards into the ‘new normal’, taking stock of what you have learned in lock-down will put you in an advantageous position. Consider what you have learned about yourself during this time. Together with your stakeholders, reflect on what has worked well and not so well. Review work outputs and the performance of the business itself. I suggest doing a simple traffic light style check-in to help you to prioritise what needs to be done:
STOP: Superfluous activities. Look ahead at future needs and requirements. Review current practices and identify those that may be no longer fit for purpose. Has the focus changed? What can be stopped?
START: A habit of regular reviews and planning for future changes. Practise continuous improvement and make transitions to adapt and evolve to stay innovative. Motivate your team by playing to individual strengths and utilise their full range of talent. Add value by creating opportunities for contributions from your stakeholders. Some of the most creative ideas come from listening to different perspectives as it unlocks new thinking.
CONTINUE – To capture ‘lockdown learning’. Review all your positive practices and build them into the ‘new normal’ going forwards. Examples may be more regular and purposeful communications, opportunities for home or flexible working, reducing unnecessary travel, smart use of technology to conduct business meetings, having honest coaching-style conversations with your team to discover what they need to support and maintain their wellbeing.
Here is a practical example. During lockdown, I worked alongside a local business, supporting them to work with their whole team to review their company mission, values and behaviours. The focus was to align with future needs. The purpose was to have more clarity on commitments and expectations, both internally and externally, refocussing the business as it moves forward post lockdown. The client STARTED by articulating the future business need, then planned the adjustments and communication of the refreshed business offer. They STOPPED thinking the old way of doings things would be fit for the ‘new normal’. They are CONTINUING to involve the team in shaping the company’s future going forwards.
Now is an opportunity for you to use your lockdown experience to learn and refresh for a new way ahead. Are you ready to lead the way forward into the ‘new’ future?