Know your strengths, power and people!

Now is the time to know your strengths and unlock your power.

Yes, your own personal strengths, know them, understand them, use them, but also the strengths that surround you.

Your personal power, plus that of your people that’s your real strength. Your real Power.

Prior to COVID19 we were all about the new decade, growth, possibilities, having our best year yet, we talked about double digit growth, high performance, innovation, investment, Top Line, Bottom Line, ultimate GROWTH!

Little did we know what was around the corner in quarter two!

Although there is unprecedented change and perhaps life will never be the same again as we get to know and perhaps even embrace a ‘new normal’. We are creating history right now, we are learning every day, we are participating in a ‘new normal’ and no one knows what’s on the other side. What we do still have however, right now, is what we can control.

You have a business; you have staff, you may have a family, you may be home-schooling, you are no doubt having to navigate completely unknown territory, you are, your people are, your friends and family are. 

You may have large or small responsibilities, but they are responsibilities. Whilst each day you are learning how to manage these changes that have been enforced upon us, deep down you may still have goals, a valuable product and or service to offer and you still want your business to survive and grow.

That’s OK.

Now is the time to get super clear on your current situation, the facts, what you have, what you don’t, what you need. Your focus may be different right now, but you still have an opportunity to be curious about what the new world has to offer, innovation, advancement, ideas, expansion, pivots. 

Awareness of ourselves and our people will be the only way to do it, the only way we can ever deliver change, transformation or growth, of any kind, is via a clear purpose, plan and people. 

Our fellow humans have all the answers we need.

Any business starts with an idea, ‘someone’s’ idea and through conversations with other humans it grows. Simple!

So whether we are looking to sustain, maintain or transform our business, think not only of your purpose, your what but also how. How will you fully embrace your people advantage and unlock all of your strengths, your Power?!

Now is the time to spend quality time thinking about who we have within our business today? How do we understand their talents? How do we use these talents right now? How do we set the conditions to enable these valuable assets to flourish and make the most of our current situation?

A few tips to think about:

1.         Be clear: What are your strengths? What can you focus on right now? Is it a product, service, a customer, market? Is it a financial number? Be precise. Get clear and communicate your strengths and expectations to your team.  What do you need specifically to move the idea forward? Skills, experiences, resources? Communications around the plan need to be clear, consistent and continually reflect the current circumstance. We are operating in fluid and dynamic time of uncertainty, we are all human and all going through our own ‘new’ so be clear but also patient, empathetic and supportive. A rhythm of connecting, sharing progress plus celebration, helps to build and sustain momentum. Be clear and take people on the journey, with you.

2.        Understand who you have: Having a clear understanding of the talent, the strengths within your business is fundamental. Knowing every single human, who they are, what their strengths and experience are, what their current situation is and what fire is in their belly right now, is essential. Knowing this is powerful, matching your focus with the in-house talent is a winning formula. When your people assets align with your vision and ambition, anything is possible, at pace. If you don’t have what you need now, be clear on the gap and communicate it, do your people know other people that fit the bill?

3.           Cultivate the right conditions: Currently we are expecting people to merge their work lives with their home lives, people have had a change enforced upon them which is different and can be significant with every employee having a unique set of circumstance. Those with families are trying to balance home-schooling, caring responsibilities with their jobs, those on their own may have a different set of concerns. People may be worried about their livelihood and how they can be all things to all people. Making sure the two-way, psychological contract is clear, supportive and that you are checking in each day, week will be important as it will connect hearts and minds in dynamic circumstance. Communication and transparency will be your friend. If you get this right you will cultivate the conditions to unlock your strengths and power short and longer term.

4.          Unify your power: Be sure that your People and Business challenge are working in harmony. Make sure every single employee is clear on what the priority is and what you need from them so that they can understand how they can contribute and vice versa. Two-way communication will be the only way that you will really win with your people right now. Everyone should be clear on how the current situation and their brilliance connects to the current priority and where they can focus their energy, unique talent, passion and where they can get support to move the business towards the ambition.

5.       Showcase talent everyday: Now is a good time to showcase your peoples talent, innovative ideas, strengths. You may be shifting resources around your business in the current climate and getting to know different people in different capacities, finding a way in the current climate to share what’s working, what people are thinking, bright ideas, enables you to open up the opportunity for people to showcase their experience proactively. Despite everything being virtual right now, you are still able to share great ideas via a weekly showcase zoom, skype, teams etc You can still run awards and acknowledgements or ‘spot light’ great work ad-hoc, encouraging people to share skills and ideas every day. The more you show case great work, the more awareness of talent the more able you are to identify the strengths you have to use and the more forth coming people become as you are creating a culture of what is possible. You can match talent to the live issues whilst providing more brain fuel for others to also learn and grow!

Being clear on what you want, what you have and what is possible will enable you to align the power you do have right now to move forward.

The winning environment will be one which is open, supportive, a culture that nourishes, is empathetic, encourages proactive leadership and ownership, learning and sharing, celebrating the wins you do have each day. These climates will naturally deliver. 

People can thrive in the current conditions when they feel that their basic human needs are met, they believe in the purpose, understand how they can contribute and are supported. Now more than ever people will want to be part of your winning formula and make a difference they just need to process how.

If you need help to identify the path to help you in this dynamic change environment let’s have a virtual cuppa to see how I can help you unlock the power of your people.

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