Beyond coronavirus: The path to the next normal

The coronavirus is not only a health crisis of immense proportion—it’s also an imminent restructuring of the global economic order. Here’s how leaders can begin navigating to what’s next.

“For some organizations, near-term survival is the only agenda item. Others are peering through the fog of uncertainty, thinking about how to position themselves once the crisis has passed and things return to normal. The question is, ‘What will normal look like?’ While no one can say how long the crisis will last, what we find on the other side will not look like the normal of recent years.”

These words were written 11 years ago, amid the last global financial crisis, by one of our former managing partners, Ian Davis. They ring true today but if anything, understate the reality the world is currently facing.

It is increasingly clear our era will be defined by a fundamental schism: the period before COVID-19 and the new normal that will emerge in the post-viral era: the “next normal.” In this unprecedented new reality, we will witness a dramatic restructuring of the economic and social order in which business and society have traditionally operated. And in the near future, we will see the beginning of discussion and debate about what the next normal could entail and how sharply its contours will diverge from those that previously shaped our lives.

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Reinvent diversity and inclusion through wellness

For me, there is so much more to wellness. It is a holistic concept which involves fuelling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit and I look at 8 dimensions of wellness.

For diversity and inclusion to truly become integral part of an organization, it must be  integrated into everything a company does and corporate wellness programs are a great  step towards that. 

Before COIVD struck the concept of wellbeing was limited to physical health — nutrition,  exercise, weight management, here also we were not focusing on most important  element; sleep.  

For me, there is so much more to wellness. It is a holistic concept which involves fuelling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit and I look at 8 dimensions of  wellness.  

Physical wellness comprises of physical activity, healthy nutrition, and adequate sleep.  

Emotional wellness is about building meaningful relationships and coping with life  stressors. It is also involves having high emotional intelligence, ability to work through  life challenges and resilience. Self-respect is an important part of emotional wellness and  organization can create environment where the focus is not only on diversity but  inclusion as well.  

Social wellness is a sense of bonding with others. Remember that water cooler chit chat  that is being missed the most. For many, it is extremely refreshing since it gives a sense  of connectedness and belonging.  

Source: People matters 05 May, 21

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Leaders Get in the Way of Organizational Change

 

I received a call from the chief transformation officer of a midsize financial services company. Their company-wide change effort to shift from a product company to a services company was in shambles after being underway for nearly two years. “We thought we’d done everything we needed to do to keep this transformation from derailing,” he told me. “We communicated relentlessly, held virtual town halls to engage people, and resourced dozens of initiatives to support the vision for change. But we’ve ended up with nothing but hamsters running on wheels. We’ve made no measurable progress, cynicism is setting in as people are mired in activities that feel futile, and we’ve long lost sight of the vision for why we started this journey in the first place.”

Our in-depth diagnostic revealed derailers I’ve seen ensnare change efforts for decades, no matter how well intended the efforts were. Leaders frequently underestimate the amount of work required for the change, overestimate the organization’s capacity to make the change, and misjudge how the organization views their connection to the change.

Source: HBR 30 Apr, 21

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7 Tips for Dealing with Uncertainty

If this year has taught us anything, it’s that uncertainty is a B.

Although we may see the light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine accessible to most, it’s going to take a while to shake off the trauma 2020 delivered. Uncertainty flooded our everyday lives—between not knowing when our health and safety wouldn’t be under threat, to not understanding the different restrictions state to state, to simply not knowing when our daily lives would resume to normal. It was tough to swallow. 

But this is not the only time in our lives that we will face uncertainty. 2020 was unique because uncertainty plagued all of our lives. Typically, uncertainty strikes different people at different times. 

Ideally, the following tips will help aid you through this year, but also in years to come. Here are some best practices on how to cope when uncertainty strikes:

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