Changing world conditions, a health crisis, and many other substantial and dynamic culture switches have changed our lives forever. These shifts represent a myriad of challenges. For some leaders, the changes have left them feeling overwhelmed and burned out. In fact, many have been in this state for some time.
What these leaders may not realize, is that they are not yet aligned with a new way of leading and working. This misalignment is creating mediocre – if not devastating – results for businesses and teams.
Awareness is the First Key to Identifying Misalignment
Being aware of where you are at and how your current state might be affecting your team is a key awakening moment. Sometimes we do not even realize that something is drastically wrong. I invite you to observe the energy levels of everyone in your personal and professional life, and take notes. The impact is something you can feel and sense in the immediate.
Misalignment Impacts Everyone Around You
When a key leader, a business owner, or an entrepreneur is in a state of overwhelm and burnout, the entire team is affected. It trickles down to our teams and the impact can produce chaotic results. When your energy is less than what it should be, everyone around you reacts accordingly.
I regularly see leaders living in, what I would call, their headspace. Deep down in their heart, these same leaders know that they are not working in their passion area. Something is off. They ignore the nudges, and stubbornly cling to the logic and strategy of what “should” work, even when they see that it is no longer effective.
The idea of flow vs. force comes full circle here. Some of us are forcing action, forcing results, and forcing our teams to take a certain direction. We are disappointed and even shocked to see that the payoff for our hard work is a constant state of low energy. We are pushing forward, fighting an uphill battle that is tiring to all. This is what creates burnout and overwhelm in quick order.
Clinging to old Paradigms is a Recipe for Disaster
When businesses started opening again, many companies have gone back to “how it used to be,” and, “the normal way of doing business.” I believe this is one of the biggest mistakes companies are making in an era of complete change. Those that are hanging on to old paradigms are creating a recipe for disaster.
How do we identify this mindset? I hear it when leaders say…
- This is how it used to be.
- This is what we have done before.
- We will continue doing it this way, because this is the way it has worked before.
When we are misaligned to what should be happening in our companies, in our roles, and even in our personal lives, we are creating the doom that likely will only worsen.
Take Time to Pause and Re-Align Priorities
The health crisis has created a collective awakening for people to re-think what they value, what they want in their life now, as well as the direction they would like their future to take.
Many leaders have used this time to think about their work and their lives in general. Some of these leaders realize they do not want to go back to “the way it was.”
As leaders and influencers, we always have a choice in how we lead our teams and run our companies.
We can choose to be more flexible. We can commit to listening with intent to what our employees are saying. We can also choose to cling to the old.
Maybe you have discovered that your passion is different now compared to what it used to be months, years, or decades ago.
Having had time to reflect, all my clients are discovering that they want more freedom, they want more focus, and they want to do something that is more aligned with what they love. This is another important and key moment in a leader’s life.
Leaders who have reached this point, have seen first-hand how their misalignment with what really lights up their day, has a trickle-down effect on their teams. My clients who have chosen to switch business models, reform, and get into alignment with their passion areas, report amazing results.
Now is the time to pause, to evaluate, to reconstruct, and to figure out a new paradigm.
Here are four key concepts of what you can do so that key staff stay happy, employees are engaged, and you are more relevant for these times.
1. Practice Intuitive Vision
One of the exercises I do with my clients who are key leaders and business owners is to go into an intuitive visioning practice. We intentionally observe what we already know, but may not have been thinking about front and center every day.
We all have this intuitive ability, however, it may have been something that we have never learned to develop. By using intuitive strategy, we do our business planning in a new way. Is it radically different than the traditional strategic planning methods? Not really. It is an elevated way of looking at our logical mind. We ask important questions, like…
- What are the key concepts of the strategy and direction we want to take?
- Does this feel right? (Can we sense that this is the right direction for us?
So, it is this internal, intuitive gut instinct check that we incorporate into strategic planning and strategy sessions. Ultimately the results are inspired, aligned, and almost seemingly effortless.
2. Determine Employee Contentment
The next step is to take a collective look at the state of your key employees. How can you get quick, efficient, and strategic feedback from employees, key staff, and leaders?
I perform the emotional intelligence 360 reviews. The concept behind this assessment is to get a sense and a rating of how happy and content each person is. It also provides direct feedback on the exact areas where change is needed now. As a certified Emotional Intelligence 360 assessor, I have seen companies use this information with great success. They quickly realize that some of the doom that is lurking around the corner, is easily prevented by getting feedback from the people running their companies. This assessment will not only work for workplace wellness, but is also quick and effective to produce amazing results for leadership development, and many other areas that are key to elevating success, profitability, and wellness on a professional and personal level.
3. Rethink your Paradigms
The third step is to ask yourself whether your old concepts, ideas, platforms, and processes are still effective for this time. Your staff, your employees, and even you want more freedom and flexibility. So, going back to how we need to shift our old paradigms is essential. If we do not choose to make these changes and re-think, re-evaluate, and restructure to the reformation we need now, we will see an exit of some of our most valued staff and key people. So, the time is now, to do the work…
- Rethink everything that you are doing,
- Create more efficiencies,
- Craft elevated platforms for success in quantum leap style, and,
- Ensure that your business is future-thinking and aligned to what the world of business and life in general requires now.
4. Step Up and Transform
The fourth and final step is to take brave action.
In many cases it is tough for companies to restructure. It means we must swallow our pride. We need to re-work everything we have built over the years, and adjust and transform to get re-aligned. However, these brave steps are needed and can be really invigorating. Yes, it can even be fun to incorporate these changes, because the results we get is quick and remarkable.
Additional profits and efficiencies in a business that is focused on sustainability, on workplace wellness, and on doing good for all, is the most rewarding and aligned concepts we can develop.
An Invitation to Reshape your Life, Effortlessly
You do not have to fear culture switches, health crises, or any other changing world conditions. You do not have to stay stuck in an agonizing state of feeling overwhelmed.
The time is now to address the misalignment that is dooming your team and your success.
To do this quickly, effortlessly, and in an exciting way, my VIP Above the Summit Strategy sessions are my #1 offering. These sessions are perfect for…
- Tailor-made individual leadership coaching
- Business team leadership development
- Workshops, and,
- Keynotes
If you are ready to get out of that overwhelmed state and back on track for amazing and immediate results, the VIP Above the Summit experience is perfect for you.
To learn more, I invite you to contact me for a free 30-minute evaluation. We will have a no-obligation session to see if my VIP Above the Summit offering might be right for your unique coaching needs. I am excited to start working with you, and to help you create the life and the results you need and deserve.