This situation has impacted all of us, no doubt. How can we change our mindset to adapt to this ambiguous situation? Unbox’s quest for answers had us knocking on the doors of three distinguished panelists. In the second webinar of the ‘Unquarantine Your Mind’ series, titled ‘Unquarantine Your Mind – Mindset Shift’ held on 28 May 2020, the focus was on –
Positive Psychology for better mind management
Leveraging self-awareness and Emotional Intelligence
Effective crisis management with a future-focused approach
In a three-blog series, we elucidate the insights given by each one of the panelists.
Our first panelist is Mr. Vinesh Sukumaran. He is a positive psychologist from the University of Missouri, a Guest faculty at IIM Bangalore, and an organizational development consultant who has trained and coached over 20,000 people.
What do you see most of us doing today?
A lot of people would love to predict and listen to predictions about what’s happening, what comes next, is it going to change soon and so on. We’re all trying to get some sort of certainty, but in the current scenario, ‘Uncertainty is the only certainty’. Most of us like to believe that the ‘new normal’ means things are going to go back to how they were earlier. While there is a possibility, there is no certainty.
What is the one essential skill to navigate this?
It would be ‘being there’. Be there for yourself, your family, your team members – in testing times like these when you cannot be there physically, be available mentally and online. Do not just be connected, be there.
How do we stay stronger longer?
When things are not going well, we tend to think per Aaron Beck’s 3 Ps –
The secret of being mentally stronger lies herein. Change your way of thinking.
Think about all the good things – savings, education, experience
The problem is not everlasting. It will go away eventually
There is a market condition, a pandemic out there; thank God I got fired in a situation like this and not when everything was going well.
Changing your mindset to think in this manner is the best way to battle with turbulent times.
4. How do we build trust with our team members while managing them remotely?
Start by being real – we trust people who are real. Do not hide things from your team members. If anything is going wrong, then inform them, keep them in the loop.
Different strokes for different folks – each one of us trusts and builds trust differently. For some people, it is about seeing results and for others, it could about background or repetition. Once you understand your team members, you can gain their trust.
Tough times are a great chance for leaders to build trust – it is easy to trust when things are going hunky-dory. How someone behaves when things are going haywire is what matters when building trust. These are great times for leaders to step up and say, “Well things are going wrong, let me help you.” This goes a long way in building trust that cannot be artificially created.
Consistency is crucial – trust can not be built by doing something once. It can be easily broken and hence, it is essential to deliver each time. At the start of each day, reset your trust clock to zero and work on building trust for that day. Do this every day.
5. What should we do now?
Do not just sit back and do nothing. A lot of people are like this. But it is important to not do nothing. Take some action. Even if your business or organization is struggling, the solution is not to do nothing. When you act, eventually you will get results.
In light of the current novel and ambiguous situation, we at Unbox have sought to find answers to some of the most asked or thought of questions. In our recently conducted webinar on the 30th April 2020 ‘UnQuarantine your mind’, we spoke to Bala, the Ex-Managing Director of a Big 4 Audit firm who managed a 3000+ strong organisation across management, risk and technology, and is now a Business Advisor and Leadership Coach.
In a 3-blog series, we will discuss the three main takeaways from this conversation: the first one being –
Nicholas Taleb in his book describes a Black Swan event as –
Bala recommends the best way to overcome the challenges of remote working as a manager/leader is to use SOAP.
Structured daily check-ins – Just because the team members are working from home does not mean they are available 24/7. Having a structured check-in routine ensures that privacy is not infringed upon and allows for team members to raise queries or concerns, should they have any.
Offer emotional support – not everyone is comfortable working remotely. It is paramount to lend a listening ear to their anxieties and concerns and try to reduce their stress. Not only acknowledging their stress but also providing words of positive affirmation go a long way in helping such team members.
Access code – rules for engagement. To ensure that the team members do not feel as though you are breathing down their neck or micromanaging them, the rules for engagement need to be set upfront. This makes remote working more efficient.
Platform for remote social interaction – Discussions and talks around the water cooler are absent owing to the physical isolation. Some organizations have measures in place for this – talking about anything but work on a Friday afternoon, dressing up goofily and exchanging stories, and other such activities that can emulate the physical interactions.
In light of the current novel and ambiguous situation, we at Unbox have sought to find answers to some of the most asked or thought of questions. In our recently conducted webinar on the 30th April 2020 ‘UnQuarantine your mind’, we spoke to Bala, the Ex-Managing Director of a Big 4 Audit firm who managed a 3000+ strong organisation across management, risk and technology, and is now a Business Advisor and Leadership Coach.
In a 3-blog series, we will discuss the three main takeaways from this conversation: the first one being –
Nicholas Taleb in his book describes a Black Swan event as –
Bala recommends the best way to overcome the challenges of remote working as a manager/leader is to use SOAP.
Structured daily check-ins – Just because the team members are working from home does not mean they are available 24/7. Having a structured check-in routine ensures that privacy is not infringed upon and allows for team members to raise queries or concerns, should they have any.
Offer emotional support – not everyone is comfortable working remotely. It is paramount to lend a listening ear to their anxieties and concerns and try to reduce their stress. Not only acknowledging their stress but also providing words of positive affirmation go a long way in helping such team members.
Access code – rules for engagement. To ensure that the team members do not feel as though you are breathing down their neck or micromanaging them, the rules for engagement need to be set upfront. This makes remote working more efficient.
Platform for remote social interaction – Discussions and talks around the water cooler are absent owing to the physical isolation. Some organizations have measures in place for this – talking about anything but work on a Friday afternoon, dressing up goofily and exchanging stories, and other such activities that can emulate the physical interactions.
In light of the current novel and ambiguous situation, we at Unbox have sought to find answers to some of the most asked or thought of questions. In our recently conducted webinar on the 30th April 2020 ‘UnQuarantine your mind’, we spoke to Bala, the Ex-Managing Director of a Big 4 Audit firm who managed a 3000+ strong organisation across management, risk and technology, and is now a Business Advisor and Leadership Coach.
In a 3-blog series, we will discuss the three main takeaways from this conversation: the first one being –
Nicholas Taleb in his book describes a Black Swan event as –
The COVID-19 situation certainly fits this description – it has impacted the economy of over 190 countries and brought them to the brink of recession, apart from threatening the lives of people. The stock market has also taken a hit; a 30% drop was recorded in less than 20 trading days. Every country is trying to “flatten the curve”. However, we must consider the fact that flattening the medical curve steepens the economic recession curve. The key here is to find a fine balance between ensuring that the number of cases does not increase while trying to get the economy up and running.
Considering the extent and intensity of the impact, along with the ambiguity of the situation, a question that most of us ponder is, “How do we go about this situation? Should we be scared? Careful?” The exact words used by Bala to describe the ideal approach is ‘Cautious Optimism’. Being overly optimistic and thinking that normalcy will be restored soon blinds us from reality. Instead, we need to be cautious and take the necessary steps that will better prepare us to face this situation.
The secret of being mentally stronger lies herein. Change your way of thinking.
Bala recommends the best way to overcome the challenges of remote working as a manager/leader is to use SOAP.
The COVID-19 situation certainly fits this description – it has impacted the economy of over 190 countries and brought them to the brink of recession, apart from threatening the lives of people. The stock market has also taken a hit; a 30% drop was recorded in less than 20 trading days. Every country is trying to “flatten the curve”. However, we must consider the fact that flattening the medical curve steepens the economic recession curve. The key here is to find a fine balance between ensuring that the number of cases does not increase while trying to get the economy up and running.
