New data coming out of Wuhan is showing that Covid-19 may be far deadlier than originally thought. Moreover, none of us knows what our economy will look like after the virus has run its course (or, more optimistically, after a vaccine is implemented.) The big, glaring takeaway? As leaders, we can no longer arrange our thinking and actions around crisis planning. Crisis planning runs on adrenaline and an unspoken assumption that this is a short-term challenge. Coronavirus is not. In fundamental ways, it’s our new normal.

Today I present five steps we can all take to help us shift perspective, turn the corner emotionally and intellectually, and build stronger systems that can endure. Here are the first two:

  1. Allow yourself to grieve what’s been lost. Acting like this will all blow over means that you aren’t letting yourself acknowledge what’s been lost. This is the critical first step to being able to move forward.
  2. Assess what’s truly needed. If you’re like the rest of us, you’re realizing just how many of your activities weren’t absolutely essential. Now is the time to reassess what you’re doing with your time, energy and energy. What does your organization contribute to the world? If you’re not certain of the answer anymore, that means you need to change what you’re doing. What else can you offer?

In today’s three minute episode of my Culture Leadership Charge video series, I outline the three additional steps we need to take – and set short-term crisis planning aside.

This is episode eighty-three of my Culture Leadership Charge series. Each episode is a 3-4 minute video that describes proven culture leadership and servant leadership practices that boost engagement, service, and results across your work teams, departments, regions, companies – and even homes and neighborhoods.

You’ll find my Culture Leadership Charge episodes and more on my YouTube and my iTunes channels. If you like what you see or hear, please subscribe!

Have you responded to this month’s culture leadership poll? Add your perspective to two questions – it’ll take you less than a minute. Then click the “results” link to see what others from around the globe think!

Photo © Adobe Stock – Monkey Business. All rights reserved.

S. Chris Edmonds

Chris helps leaders create purposeful, positive, productive work cultures. He's a speaker, author, and executive consultant. He blogs, podcasts, and video casts. He is the author of two Amazon bestsellers: Good Comes First (2021) and The Culture Engine (2014).
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