So what is now really new about the New Leadership Style in the New Norm?
Over the past few months, we read a lot of tips and insights on how to cope with the new leadership challenges; some suggestions claiming that nothing will be the same. Honestly however, we have not yet read anything really new. Trust, empathy, transparency, employee centric communication and appreciation have been taught for decades, centuries, in fact millennia. Why? Because great principles and values are timeless; they have been around and taught since The Buddha, Lao Tze, Sun Tzu, Aristotle or Marcus Aurelius – just to name a view.
This crisis has accomplished that those values and principles receive higher attention. People seem to realize that it is not so much about what we achieve and do; it is rather about who we become.
Let us also remember that there are many leaders out there, who were since long …
- … leading virtual teams across countries and continents through online communication platforms
- … trusting their remotely working employees, who they may see face-to-face only once every few months
- … allowing, and in fact driving, work from home and other flexible work arrangements, seeing the increased engagement and employee satisfaction
- … caring for the employees under their care from a whole person perspective, looking at physical, emotional and mental wellbeing
We wanted to use this opportunity to thank all those serene leaders for being the rock in the surf, for thinking and behaving based on values and principles.
What does this mean for leaders and coaches?
Firstly, we would suggest taking the word “crisis” literally from its Greek origins “krisis”, meaning a “turning point to the better”. In that sense, we want to help our coaching clients to see an opportunity in every life challenge. Let us help them more than ever to identify limiting beliefs and change unhealthy mindsets. As we like to say, “The lessons which are really hard, provide the learning which sets us truly apart.” Let us help people to
1. Know that their value does not depend on the opinion of other people
2. See failure as part of success and mistakes as the best teacher
3. Acknowledge that the path of lasting change leads through a valley of despair
4. Look for a helping hand
5. Embrace the lessons to be learnt and emerge stronger, better, wiser
6. See every crisis is a turning point
7. Never give up!
Secondly, we see leaders as coaches and advocates for “Evergreen Values and Principles (EVP)” that are timeless, fostering humanity and serenity as a true source of life energy. This could mean, helping coachees and employees to become more successful in
- Instilling a culture of trust and respect as it sets the basis for any health relationship
- Providing more autonomy through empowerment, based on instilled trust
- Creating certainty through bilateral communication and clear expectations
- Developing good feedback skills
- Displaying more empathy by moving the focus from self to others
- Standing up for fairness, even if it could be of personal disadvantage
- Promoting collaboration of equals amongst equals
While this list could go on, you may reflect on your very own evergreen values and principles. How can you live by them yourself? How can you coach them to others?
Let us close with the words of Top Executive Coach, Speaker and Author Clyde Lowstuter: “As coaches, we equip people to be in touch with their best selves.” – Now more than ever. As leader, be a great coach!
Choose ATvisor™ – Live & lead wiser and Unfold the Serene Leader in You.
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© ATvisor™; Picture Source: WordPress; This article was also posted in APAC Voice, The official newsletter of the Asia Pacific Alliance of Coaches (July 2020)
