The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted how people live and work. The sudden transition to remote working has been isolating and blurred the line between professional and personal life.
Working from home can mean working longer hours and navigating a new work-life balance. It has also limited valuable bonding time with colleagues.
Leaders find themselves torn between being empathetic to their employees and increasing performance. They want to support the needs of their employees while making sure the business remains competitive in order to survive.
Agile and resilient teams are the key differentiators between businesses that thrive and those that struggle to survive. Unfortunately, studies show that current levels of resilience and agility remain low across many businesses. Aon’s 2020 report – The Rising Resilient – showed that only 29% of employees are resilient in the UK. Korn Ferry’s 2015 report found that only 15% of executives are agile. To survive and be competitive, companies need to nurture these qualities.
Promote resilience
Resilience is the ability to cope and recover quickly from setbacks and move forward. The current forced isolation due to remote work has led to a significant decline in support and social connections. This, coupled with other uncertainties, has negatively impacted employee’s resilience levels. Having low levels of resilience is like having cracked foundations that could crumble at any time. Needless to say, this is risky for any company.
You promote resilience by helping people expand their perspectives and find new positive ways of looking at and dealing with problems. Research by psychologists Grant et.al. (2009) found that coaching significantly helps build resilience. By promoting a coaching culture, coaches can encourage employees to be less isolated and leverage the support of their organisational network. Coaching nurtures a positive attitude and effective coping mechanisms that help employees thrive, even in the face of challenges.
Build Agility
Agility is the flexibility to adapt to dynamic circumstances. Being agile has become the name of the game for both individuals and companies. It determines the ability to survive.
Encouraging agility within your team requires you to believe in and empower them. Empowered employees build a solutions driven mindset and make the most of their situation. This allows them to continuously adapt and prioritise people and interactions over processes. Having a coaching culture helps unlock an agile mindset and culture. With their executive coach, employees can discuss their challenges and roadblocks and find new solutions.
Coaching utilises a range of approaches that helps employees address their challenges in real time and continuously evolve their ways of working. This improves productivity as employees are given the opportunity to reach their full potential. Having a coaching culture will help your company and team thrive.
