This is a guest post from Proven Marketing for Professionals Inc.
(Member since 2020)
We cannot choose the conditions that we are born into, but we can choose how we respond to those conditions. To state it differently: we cannot control the COVID-19 pandemic or the global economy, but we can control how we respond to them.
We can choose our behaviours and mindset; how we interact with people, who we interact with, the information we consume, habits we develop, and our general outlook.
Ultimately, we have a choice between pessimism, which breeds doom and gloom, and optimism, which breeds opportunity and contentment. It is this choice – our overarching response to the conditions – that determines both where we end up and the quality of our journey.
I’m not saying it’s easy, but we can choose to live and participate in the lighter and brighter world of optimism.
Do yourself a favour and limit your news consumption. Try reading it instead of listening. You’ll notice a considerable decline in anxiety by doing so. Exercise, meditation, and journaling are other ways to calm your nervous system. You’ll feel better and your decision-making abilities will improve.
Once the fog clears, you’ll realize that the status quo has shifted and the conditions are more challenging, but there are still opportunities during turbulent times.
One of these opportunities is the leadership vacuum. There’s very little projection of confidence, vision, or offer to help people move forward in a truly productive way. This is an opportunity for those who are willing to step up as genuine leaders in their respective communities. Ask yourself, “how can I be of service?” In other words, what is your purpose on this planet, and how can you help the world in a way that aligns with that purpose?
These questions are at the root of servant leadership. The servant-leader has a natural desire to serve, followed by aspiration and conscious choice to lead. She focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of her communities, helping people develop and perform. It contrasts sharply with traditional, top-down leadership, which is largely driven by personal ambition.
As a servant-leader, the people whose lives you impact remember you, become loyal to you, and value you more. After all, people do business with people they know, like, and trust. The products and services you offer become more valuable because they are yours. You have developed equity that follows you wherever you go and whatever you do.
There are and will be different and great needs in our new reality, with keen people moving in to fill them. More home-based work and greater digitization of the workplace is coming, followed by a need for relevant support services. Anyone offering value related to contract issues, employment disputes, mental health support, stress reduction, insolvencies, and bankruptcies will be well-positioned. There will be greater demand for mediation and alternative dispute resolution with people wanting to avoid lengthy and expensive court battles.
The intention is not to be opportunistic. Rather, it is to better position yourself to serve the needs of your communities and make a meaningful difference. Consider your unique talents and skills, and how to leverage them for this new reality. What can you do now to prepare for these inevitable developments?
Nothing about the entrepreneur’s journey is easy, and I would go so far as to say that it is the ingenuity of our entrepreneurial communities that will lift us out of this global economic crisis. Let’s be part of the solution.
< Back to Articles | Topics: Trends