Look up!
If you’ve got your head down busy thinking about cost-cutting and finding efficiency savings then just stop.
Take a moment. And look up.
As a leader in a tough economy, spending time and energy on giving people growth opportunities and the flexibility to do whatever they’re most interested in, probably isn’t at the top of your priority list…
Perhaps the natural instinct right now is survival and our brains are stuck in ‘fight or flight’ mode.
We’re so busy with Business As Usual and chipping away at quarterly targets, that often it feels like there’s no headspace for creativity or innovation.
It’s easy to lose sight of what actually makes the organisation tick.
But you’ve got to protect the core.
Otherwise you could lose the very essence of what will make your business flourish. And at the core of most organisations are people & their passion.
Whilst it’s important to ensure the organisation is running efficiently, the crucial step to weather the storm and build organisational health, is to reconnect employees with their passion.
What lights them up?
Why do they do what they do?
And what fills you up with energy?
Understanding the answer to these questions will help you to refresh your perspective and see opportunities you couldn’t see before.
So how can we tap into this latent energy?
AS AN INDIVIDUAL
Keep track of what energises you.
Commit to doing more of it – even when the pressure’s on – avoid throwing out all of the things you like doing.
AS A LEADER
Acknowledge any negativity AND contextualise it with your own perspective.
Identify the positives people might have missed, and help broaden their perspective on what’s going on.
AS AN ORGANISATION
When times are tough, communicate so that people don’t create their own version of reality.
Listen to employees. Dialogue is a 2-way process. Don’t lose great people who leave and go on to say ‘no one listened to me’.
Let’s not miss out on the masses of untapped potential at your fingertips by keeping your head down and letting your focus narrow.
Look up!
By giving people the opportunity to do what they’re energised by, and changing your mindset to see this as a necessity instead of a luxury, your teams and organisation will flourish.
PAOLO MOSCUZZA, PARTNER
Paolo Moscuzza is a Chartered Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a registered coaching Psychologist. He has nearly 20 years experience of assessing and developing the capability of leaders and he heads up OE Cam’s Leadership Development Practice. Paolo is a former winner of ‘HR Management Consultant of the Year’ as featured in the Sunday Times and his approach has been described as “fresh, energetic and innovative”.
LUCY COX
Lucy is a Business Psychologist in OE Cam’s Talent Management practice with expertise in management and leadership development. With experience spanning organisation design, employee engagement, team effectiveness and learning & development, she enjoys using psychological insight to create mindset shifts and drive behaviour change both at an individual and organisational level.
