Captain Tom leads the way but are we ready to follow?

How do we manage the new normal and make it work for all of us?

Whatever we do, whoever we are, state of mind will dictate so much of what we manage to achieve. This is particularly pertinent as we negotiate our way through an unfamiliar business landscape. The last few weeks have been a test that will continue for the foreseeable future. How do you feel about that? 

I am an executive recruiter, and as the days passed in March, I watched in some amazement as the house of cards I had built began to look increasingly fragile. There’s no doubt that it is difficult and depressing, to juggle the new set of problems that are beginning to spin. Yet what options do we have, apart from learning how to cope and creating a brand-new way of working?

Last week I mentioned what appeared to be a remarkable achievement by a man approaching his 100th birthday.

Since I wrote my post, Captain Tom Moore has attracted ￡26+ million in sponsorship for his small act of traversing the length of his garden with a walking frame. Michael Ball has now created a charity single collaborating with Tom to help attract more donations. Guess what? It’s entered the charts at No 1. Of course it did!

So, what’s my point? We have to do what we are capable of doing, however small or insignificant it might appear to the world. We all have something to offer and can make a real difference to how we emerge from this pandemic.

Sometimes just saying thank you sincerely is enough.

That was the motivation behind the Great Garden Walk. Tom’s family admitted that ￡1000 sponsorship was more than they could dare hope when they set up the project. What the family did not realise was how this achievement appears to have tapped into the national psyche. We are all so thankful for the National Health Service, ironically, set up after another crisis we were never truly prepared for.

Covid 19 has reminded us just how profoundly we rely on the NHS. We all understand just what it does and how much we need the organisation at our weakest and most frightening moments. It’s something we should no longer take for granted or stint in how much we each pay for it.

I think this is my point. We can no longer take anything for granted.

Marketing messages that proliferated after social media became popular now seem to ring very hollow. Now is the time for each one of us to step up and demonstrate just what we truly stand for. This is the chance to demonstrate our reliability, integrity, compassion and honesty. Surely this is the opportunity for all of us to do something that will support others, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant. We are not passengers; we have to physically change what we do and how we do it.

Companies and candidates will need to develop a more symbiotic relationship.

We need what others offer and should surely acknowledge the potential gains there are in such positive and supportive relationships. Ghosting and lack of acknowledgement has to stop. All recruiters and companies need to learn lessons from this. When the current situation passes, and it will at some point, I don’t personally think that we will return to the way things were and just carry on regardless. Lessons will be learnt and I truly believe that business will be conducted on a more ethical footing with a lot more respect for individuals.

We are all in this together; the egocentric epoch is over

I made the decision early on that I would do my very best to support the people who support me each month no matter how challenging things might become. We are a team and it seems clear to me that the qualities that were dropping away like loyalty, empathy and reliability are now taking centre stage again. We are in an unique situation and facing a potentially exciting opportunity to do things differently. The slate is being wiped clean and we should be ready to be transformational. The smallest gesture can make a profound difference, just ask Captain Tom.