Bob Martel
June 17, 2020
Central Mass. HEALTH - Summer 2020
Change is the one constant you can count on
By Bob Martel
Business is no longer as usual and while the optimists among us will seize the day, in the present moment, life is different right now, including work life.
As the restrictions around the coronavirus pandemic begin to lift and companies start transitioning back to work, the leadership skills at all levels of management in all companies will be further tested and are ever so critical to leveraging a strong restart. Decades ago, when my eighth-grade French teacher said “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” (coined by French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr) little did I know it would pop back up today.
It’s true. The more things change, the more they remain the same. I imagine things were different after previous pandemics. The anticipated and the unexpected change coming to your workplace as well as the need to maintain a healthy work-life balance will require your full attention.
It’s time for hypnotic change management. Don’t leave change to chance. Embrace its reality. Respond to new changes and engineer the implementation of new behaviors you want to see. Business leaders in this new work environment will need to demonstrate resilience themselves while selling this attitude to the company as a whole. What impedes resiliency? Resistance to change, and all of the inner obstacles in one’s mind.
Change in the one constant we can count on and embracing, anticipating and being open to the uncertainty of new workplace changes imposed by the government, employees and the customers (let’s not forget them!) More so than ever, perhaps, leaders must hone their influence and persuasion skills to retain top talent and to guide the company to successful organizational change. When we use our emotional intelligence skills or recall the Serenity Prayer, we realize what we can control in our world, and what we cannot. How we train our mind (and influence the minds of others) to respond to change will determine the quality of our work life as well as impact the company’s ability to bounce back to full engagement with the customer.
Additionally, on a good day, employees and middle management tend to resist change. It’s human nature. Everyone’s priorities are changing as they are learning quite a bit about themselves as they react to inner fears and experience the changed behaviors in others. This transformational change work ahead will require your focus and attention. New conscious awareness is reprogramming automatic new thoughts and actions. Be prepared for employees to behave a bit differently as they return to work. Patience and a calm mind are required.
Keep these things in mind as well:
• Your business resides in the minds of your best customers. Your customers are going through similar pandemic-driven changes in their world. They are focused on their own lives and business. What changes will you make in your marketing and customer service to preserve the top of mind value proposition they once recalled?
• Train your mind using subconscious anchors to stay calm, relaxed, and in control of your emotions. Emotional intelligence is a leadership skill that, as a consultant and coach, I have to say widely varies among business owners and CEOs.
• Mindfulness at work is essential. In order to tap into the creative and innovative skills of your employees, and to kindle their enthusiasm, you need to offer them tools to reduce stress and anxiety. Respecting individual employee’s value, imagine the collaborative mind power of the company with everyone focused on the (new) vision, mission and goals of the business.
• Design the changed behaviors by first asking yourself “Do I or would I want to do this new behavior?” and is leading by example helpful? Find true inspiration by identifying your high impact, easy-to-do behaviors chunked down to what I call tiny habitual success patterns, which require conscious involvement in the beginning but become installed new behaviors in a few weeks time. Teach employees to access their best (pre-COVID) success habits and apply their “Yes! Attitude” as Jeffrey Gitomer presents in his book with this title.
Bob Martel is a board-certified hypnotist, located in Holden. He may be reached at www.positiveresultshypnosis.com or bob@bobmartel.com
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