A better year

COVID-19 has caused the world to speed up. At first glance, this seemingly careless statement may not make sense when you have the world as a whole locked down for the majority of the year. I have.

Locked down for the majority of the year, the one thing I have noticed is that the world has sped up, and time has passed by so fast it’s incredible. Perhaps I am not fair. Busy doing webinars every day and sometimes to the tune of two to three in a day can persuade me that time breezes by so fast. Others who are stressed being locked up in their homes doing remote work and competing with the family for bandwidth in their internet connection suffering from cabin fever may have felt like the days are so slow, and they could not wait till things go back to normal. So, which one is which? Are the days slow, or is time breezing by so fast?

Somebody came up with this sage observation. He or she says: “Time moves slowly, but time passes by so quickly.”

What happens outside the purview of everyday developments is this actuality. The crisis has accelerated change and momentum in a way that is unimaginable during pre-COVID days. The vaccines are now available and this provides a sense of hope and optimism. However, vaccination might still take a while to happen. Businesses are now gearing up to position themselves in a post-COVID world, and they need to make preparations. The question now is: “How would you awaken the dampened spirit of your people when they have been locked down for the majority of the year?”

Smart execs and HR people know that there is never a more critical time than now to boost and energize the people through soft-skills training. Being locked down is challenging as movements are restricted. The old and traditional practice of visiting clients, transacting business, and doing sales presentations in person has given way to sterile virtual meets. What happens now is that movements and touch have been restricted. While touching and interacting with people is significantly reduced, feelings and emotions compensate for the lack. I would suspect that this is the reason why HR managers and company execs tell me that their people’s general sentiment is either that of anxiety or that of lethargy.

People are just mentally exhausted. No wonder after my webinar presentation and during question and answer, there would be many comments people send through the chatbox. Words and expressions like: “Just what I needed at this time, Francis,” or “You’ve provided clarity to the questions I have.” or even quaint messages like “You just don’t know how much this session to inspire and help me with what I am going through...”

So here is the challenge. With the promise of a better year to come, then how do we wake them up and get them ready to operate in the new reality? I suggest that leaders are to address their people at their point of need.

1. Provide more learning sessions that can inspire and encourage them to be more hopeful and enthusiastic, with the prospects of a better year anticipating better things to come.

2. Offer opportunities for self-development. The message here is that the company cares for the people, the company is investing in their growth.

3. Foster collaboration within the team. This should be done even when most interactions today take place virtually.

4. Encourage joy and happiness. Keeping an eye on whether or not people are happy with their work because happy people are productive people and productive people find themselves happier. (The proverbial chicken and egg question).

5. Set clear and realistic goals taking into account the months of slow growth and the changes in the business landscape.

6. Avoid micromanaging. A boss who is always looking over your shoulder and second-guessing your decision is not appreciated much. It gives the impression that the boss does not trust the people and is concerned only with the task and not the person.

7. Cut down on the frequency of meetings. Understand that all those (Zoom, MS Teams, Streamyard or Webex) virtual meets can be stressful and fewer meetings would be better for everyone concerned.

You need to awaken the fighting spirit, the courage, and the people’s enthusiasm and prep them up so they would be up for the task. And one more thing, this pertains to the leaders too. As the title of my webinars go – A Better Year requires a Better You. So power up and get going.

(Connect with Francis Kong at www.facebook.com/franciskong2. Or listen to “Business Matters” Monday to Friday 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. over 98.7 dzFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch,’ the classical music station.)