Leaders Keep Going! But don't leave the lessons of 2020 behind...

The day the Premier of Victoria declared the State of Disaster was the same day I started my new role with Davidson PXP. Since that day, just over three months ago, I have learnt a lot about what’s happening in the world of HR Managers, within leadership teams and the complex challenges that executives are having when it comes to leading their team in a remote setting whilst also trying to put “self-care” on the priorities list.

It’s been tough. We know that, we acknowledge that and we know the battle also isn’t over (just yet).

In March, there was a dramatic shift in the way organisations worked, where they worked and how teams functioned. Some people thrived in a remote working economy whilst others really struggled.

Everyone’s experience of 2020 has been different.

From leaders that have been working tirelessly from 8am to 8pm to keep their operations and teams going, to the Mums and Dads that were home schooling whilst trying to maintain their professional roles and even through to those that found themselves out of work and having to write a CV for the first time in over 20 years.

Everyone’s experience has been different.

With uncertainty in the environment for most of the year, emotions and anxiety levels have been high and has brought out both the best and worst in people as we worked our way through the COVID-19 pandemic period.

The next phase comes with this concept of a “COVID normal” way of living, working and playing. This is going to be the toughest phase yet.

Whilst we hear all around us that “we are returning to normal soon”. What I’m hearing within my closer network is that “normal” has been distorted from what we knew earlier this year and that in actual fact, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Why should we give up the benefits we have found through the adversities that 2020 has brought and “go back to normal”?

The leaders within my network are starting to think about not only how they can safely return their workforce to an office environment but also whether that’s “what employees really want”?

Employee feedback surveys are rolling out to clients to inform HR Managers, Exec Teams and CEOs on what employees really want in the new world of work.

 Gone are the days of a leader telling staff they need to be back in the office five days a week from 9am to 5pm. That system has had its circuit breaker broken and any leader that’s providing this directive is about to experience turnover like they have never seen before. Not only that, attracting new staff to an out-dated operating environment, a culture of dictatorship and one that is not in tune with the broader societal challenges that relate to a COVID normal are going to see their operating costs for people sky rocket.

 As leaders look to the end of year, planning is starting to happen to ensure 2021 is a year with more progress than what was possible in 2020. Innovation and business improvement projects are back on the agenda from a pro-active sense as opposed to a reactive need. Team workshops are being scheduled in to set objectives for the year ahead and align individual plans for achieving these. Employee experience and organisational culture surveys are being executed in order to get a measurement point to work from and to “hear” what staff are saying and what they want moving forward.

The next phase, COVID normal, is going to be tough. Remember though, it’s in our moments of discomfort that the greatest growth is achieved. So hang in there and push through. Good days and good times are coming again.

If growth is achieved in our moments of discomfort, we all should have grown in some way this year and we must heed the lessons that life has provided us in 2020 and take them into our working lives’ in 2021 to make it our best year yet.

 Cameron Norton

Cameron Norton is a People, Process and Performance specialist with a focus on helping leaders, teams and organisations achieve their potential.

His mission is to empower people to push beyond what’s comfortable to achieve remarkable progress in their professional lives.

Cameron is extremely passionate about helping people to think differently to overcome challenges that have been holding them back from achieving their potential. After all, the same thinking that created the problem isn't the same thinking required to overcome it.

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To get in touch with Cameron, you can reach him on +61 400 913 843, email him at [email protected] or send a direct LinkedIn message.

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