This timely HBR article by business psychologist and executive coach Dr. Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg provides valuable guidance on re-energizing our teams in the midst of Covid-fatigue. I found particularly insightful the author's findings about the need to balance Compassion (mental health challenges in our teams is real) with Containment. Containment is described as providing a sense of stability. This is accomplished through "setting limits, raising the bar, keeping the pressure at the optimal level, and helping each other snap out of self-pity and moodiness." This is a message to those like me who tend to deal with emotion through logic and calmness. Sometimes we need to turn up the heat and go into fight mode.
The author provides practical ways to do this.
Our teams will outperform when we lead with both Compassion and Containment. Be empathetic, then get energized to kick this Covid butt and come out of this even stronger!
These are the types of discussions we have in our CEO peer group private advisory board. If you'd like to learn more, contact me.
