COVID-19 has changed most things, including the way leaders lead. I am no exception to this reality. Most likely, neither are you.
The following are 3 Counterintuitive Ways COVID-19 Has Changed The Way I Lead:
Because of Mental Illness, I am placing a special emphasis on Valuing People Over Processes and Projects
I have always deeply cared about the people who make up the teams I have had the privilege of leading. However, I can become focused on tasks and accomplishment. But because of the following items, I now start EVERY meeting by asking the team how are they doing… REALLY doing:
- Loneliness
- Hopelessness
- Anxiety
- Fear
- Uncertainty
- Suicidal Thoughts
Myself and another member of our executive staff create forums and opportunities for anyone “who just wants to talk.” I want our people to know me personally and our organization collectively cares more about them as people than just what they can produce.
Once again, I have always felt this way. However, I now lead with this approach out front. I have made the secondary primary.
Instead of moving Comfortable People to places of Strategic Discomfort, I now move Uncomfortable People to places of Strategic Comfort.
One of a leader’s primary responsibilities is to get people to become comfortable being uncomfortable. This is because the following happens in discomfort:
- Personal and Corporate Growth
- Innovation
- New Ideas
- Solutions
- Creativity
By strategically moving comfortable people to a place which appropriately stretches them, the people get better and as a result, so does the organization.
But what happens when COVID-19 caused EVERYONE on your team to be uncomfortable? I no longer have to make people uncomfortable. They’re already there!
I now must look for ways to move them to strategic places of comfort. It is in these places where people regain confidence. They experience a sense of security and as a result they begin to start experiencing small wins again. As a leader, I can then begin to help them start stacking up these wins. And enough small wins eventually equals some big wins for the person, team, and organization.
Places of comfort used to be ruts and areas of plateau. Now, places of comfort are launching pads for tackling the next days challenges.
We have a Leadership Famine in our world. So I Have Now Returned To Just Teaching The Core Fundamentals of Leadership.
Don’t try to outthink the room.
If you think about, how many new, fresh leadership ideas have come out in the last decade? Few, if any. If I have to be candid, it’s as if God has put a canopy over leadership knowledge and said, “When you are faithful to live out what I have given you for 25 years, I’ll give you some more.”
When John Maxwell wrote The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership and Jim Collins wrote Built To Last, did we really need any more leadership books? Those two books, along with the Bible, provide more content than we can live out in our lifetimes. Of course I have no credibility here because I wrote two leadership books myself.
I don’t think you’ve seen any new leadership ideas in the last decade. I do think you have seen a land rush on people taking proven concepts to trying to repackage them in new, compelling language. It is simply new packaging to proven ideas.
When I teach leadership to groups and individuals now, I don’t try to outthink the room. I primarily focus on the fundamentals. I teach the principles of character, competency, and creativity and its collective relationship to culture. I try to instill what makes a person influential, what makes them worth following. The principles I teach were learned in kindergarten and on the sports field. People are reminded struggle is necessary for strength. Hard work works. They are reminded of the value of honoring and respecting authority and how God blesses such behavior. Say “Yes sir”, “No sir”, “Yes Ma’am”, and “No Ma’am.” I teach what is needed to go the extra mile, how to do it and what that looks like, and how to treat people like you would want to be treated. People are reminded to keep their word and to value accomplishment over activity. Listen before you speak. Be nice and kind. It is acceptable to disagree. It is not acceptable to be disagreeable.
Because leaders do these basic things so infrequently, we have a leadership famine. These concepts are desperately needed in today’s world.
What are ways you now lead differently.
During the 2019 college football season, fans were given a gift when legendary coach Urban Meyer joined Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff preview show as a studio analyst. As a three-time national championship head coach, Coach Meyer’s ability to deliver complex leadership principles with brevity and concise terminology created a compelling experience for educated and “smart” fans. Throughout the season, I captured Coach Meyer’s best leadership quotes from this weekly show. I wanted to make them available to you in this new complimentary resource Urban Meyer 2019 Fox Sports Big Noon Kickoff Ebook.
The contents includes Winning Cultures, 3 Types of Teams, Strategy and Competition, Recruiting, Rivalry Games, Personal Performance, and much, much more. Click HERE to get your complimentary copy today! Trust me – this resource will make you a better leader.