No doubt, the past two years have been incredibly difficult ones and just when we thought we might be turning a corner, the world has been cast into a new set of challenges that don’t appear to have any easy answers.
Despite the uncertainty, times of great challenge can also be times of great opportunity. Especially for those who are prepared. Ahead are five trends to be on the lookout for this year and recommendations on how you can thrive.
Trend: Continued Inflation and Uncertainty
For nearly two years, experts have been projecting “better times” ahead. Without a clear timeline for when that will unfold, and with the ongoing stressors being reported daily, it might be easy for leaders to lose faith in their forward momentum. Uncertainty, however, will always be a part of leadership planning. The antidote is to create a clear vision and stay true to its course. First, determine where you are going, then plug in the who and the how.
In times of great stress, we can take our lessons from Admiral James Stockdale, who was famously a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. As the highest-ranking officer at the Prisoner of War Camp known as the “Hanoi Hilton,” Stockdale created a formula that could help his men survive even as they faced the most brutal conditions.
This formula, which has become known as the Stockdale Paradox, reads:
“Acknowledge and confront in every way the brutal facts of your situation and hold onto the unwavering faith that you will prevail in the end.”
In implementing the advice of Admiral Stockdale, leaders should not only face the realities of 2022 but also move forward with hopeful optimism that they will prevail through these circumstances. This is no small feat. Sometimes you have to dig deep to tap into your spirit of perseverance, but relying on your well-founded strategy and having a steadfast commitment to executing that strategy will help you stay the course.
Trend: Increased Levels of Fatigue
New global and local challenges also mean fatigue and stress will be a significant part of everyday life. As such, business leaders will feel the additional burden of how to take care of the people they employ as well as the people in their broader communities. As leaders, we often feel we need to put in extra hours to protect our team, but in doing so, we may forget to make time to take care of ourselves.
One easy fix is to spend time outside. It is called the GREAT outdoors for a reason.
The benefits of being outside have been regularly and scientifically documented and include reduced stress, reduced anxiety and depression, and a boosted immune system. While spending time outdoors won’t solve all your challenges, it can help you recharge and move forward with a stronger sense of purpose.
Simultaneously, encourage your team to spend time outdoors. By encouraging them to find ways to reduce their stress, you help foster a better workplace culture. If you are among the people who find it hard to make time for yourself, we encourage you to download our tool to schedule and protect your much-needed time to recharge.
Trend: Need for Unity
Speaking of workplace culture, 2022 is a time to bring people back together. After two years of remote work and Zoom meetings, the sense that we’re disconnected from one another will only continue to grow. To mitigate the sense of isolation, it is critical for leaders to build a sense of unity in their teams.
Unity can be forged by having the team in alignment as they refocus on the overall business strategy. To help build that unity, make sure to clearly define what each person is accountable for.
By utilizing a Function Accountability Chart (FACE), a tool developed by Verne Harnish in Scaling Up, leaders can create a Job Scorecard, where they highlight key roles in their organization, what competencies are most needed to fill those roles, and who is needed to fill missing roles
We recommend you fill out a FACE card during an in-person strategy session with your senior leadership. Define who will be responsible for what in three years’ time, making sure that every senior member is simplifying their functional role as much as possible. Then work backward – working through your BHAG, then your 1HAG, and then keeping backgward to your 90-Day Plan.
Clearly defining the vision can bring about a stronger sense of alignment towards the organization’s goals among the entire team.
Trend: Importance of Community and Purpose
As a CEO, you have already been hearing about “the great resignation,” as the economy is seeing unprecedented levels of people leaving long-standing jobs in favor of new opportunities. Keeping on track with your vision can help overcome this challenge to a certain extent.
However, “no man is an island” as the saying goes. Learning from your peers as to how they respond to challenges and successes can help you develop your own personal accountability. Cultivate your own personal leadership style by joining a peer group of similar business leaders. This group (also called a cohort or mastermind group) should consist of people who share similar experiences so you can help mentor one another.
It is imperative, however, to find a cohort that consists of people who have similar goals as you and who will support you in your challenges, just as you share their values and are ready to support them as well.
Trend: Continued Importance of Communication
Creating systems of accountability for your business is not enough to guarantee forward momentum. As anxiety and uncertainty prevail, it is critical that you give people impacted by your decisions a chance to voice their opinion.
When Monty Moran was Co-CEO of Chipotle, he made it a priority to visit as many restaurant locations as possible and talk to the people who worked at each location. He used those learnings to develop his own priorities. Monty then developed a managerial pipeline, creating better opportunities for employees to advance with Chipotle.
By having these conversations, Monty created programs that helped benefit his employees and fostered greater team unity.
We know 2022 may look daunting, but we’ve survived 2021 and 2020, and can continue to thrive as long as we stay true to our vision and find the right talent to work with us to build that vision. Stay the course, and the opportunities will present themselves.