Covid is the shared vision you didn’t want or ask for.

But it’s pulled people together, to work towards a common goal, like never before. And that goal is beating this virus and keeping people safe.

Even the Barrett Values Centre, the company we work with to measure culture for our clients in senior living, has seen this phenomena globally, across all industries. This pandemic has spawned more team work and has improved communication in the workplace. And because of that, Barrett’s has seen culture change happening at a much faster rate than normal, months versus years.

People’s heads are down, they know what they need to do, and they are making it happen. On top of that there is simply less time, patience, and energy for blame, bullying and other workplace productivity hexes.

It turns out in a crisis, people get back to basics and in some respects it’s very good.

I’m sure you are witnessing some of this where you lead. Maybe you think, “I like the way they are working together right now” or “this is something positive I would like to see stay”.

The question becomes, if Covid has provided the ultimate example of a shared vision, how do organizations replicate this unity after the crisis has passed? How do leaders protect this cohesiveness and shift it to a more long term vision, which ultimately should be the vision of your organization?

It’s all about leadership. Fearless leadership.

A leader’s responsibility to inspire a shared vision is more important than it has ever been before. Without a strong vision, teams are uninspired and unfulfilled. Like a zombie workforce.

Fearless leaders look towards the future, even if there is a giant crisis in the way! A crisis that is consuming all thought and robbing you of sleep at night.

Fearless leaders peer around that crisis, just to keep some glimpse of the future in sight. They have to!

This reminds me of my friend, Kelly, who once told me with great excitement, “I have a water view in my new house! You can see the ocean!”

When I got to her new house, she took me upstairs to a spare bedroom, and then into the closet. She had me stand on a step stool and with a huge smile on her face, she pointed to the tiniest spot in the upper lefthand corner of the window. Balanced on my tippy toes, bracing myself on the window frame, neck craning, I squinted. But, by golly, there it was, in all its sparkling, glimmering glory. The Atlantic Ocean. What a vision.

Give them something sparkly to look forward to and work towards

You need to be like Kelly right now. Enthusiastic, excited, and positive about what is out there. Fearlessly.

Bring all your team members up to the third floor of your imagination. Help them balance on that step stool to see your glorious view of the future. You see it? Do you see it???

Press on with the hopes and dreams of your organization, no matter what. Engage and enlist others to join you in envisioning a new future. Help others to see how their own values and aspirations are aligned with the greater organizational vision, deeply connecting them to the cause.

Be endlessly positive about the future, fighting off the dread we are so used to in this field. Yes budget cuts exist, yes there are endless (and sometimes pointless) regulations, and yes, this is a system that is already over-burdened.

But your team shouldn’t share that dread.  

They should only know that you are endlessly passionate that they can make a difference.

Make today the day you set the stage for an incredible future, be it’s biggest cheerleader and champion. Talk it up and make it tangible for people to get behind. Show your team that you want to give them a workplace to be proud of, one in which they had a hand in shaping.

When values support the vision

Wouldn’t it be incredible to know what your team members want from you? There is no better time than now to truly understand your teams, what they value, and how you can support them to be their best. And it would certainly help you to shape and support your future goals and rally your team members around them!

Lucky for you we have just the tool to measure your culture, learn what your team members really want to see and feel in your culture, and from there you can create the cohesive team of your dreams. Sound too good to be true? It’s not. Let’s talk!