Transitioning well is a skill. It requires the ability to adjust, at times very quickly, to a new paradigm, a new way of looking at life, at the world, and at your position in it. The hardest part frequently is letting go of the old and the familiar, whether you were comfortable with it or not.
The gift of transition, however, is a new-found freedom in which you get to create a new version of you and of your company. You are free to redefine or let go of whatever gets in the way of the new version and free to explore, experiment, and grow. This experience of freedom is what we all need now. If necessary, take the time to see what holds you back, personally or professionally, from jumping into what you, your company, and the world need right now, so you can fly out the door into a new form of success and productivity and into a whole new paradigm of business in the post-pandemic world.
In this time of a pandemic, so many things have been thrown up in the air. How they land, however, is truly in each of our hands: some companies are using this time to survive in a period of the unknown hoping to come out with minimal damage. Others, however, are successfully using this time to redirect – to transition – so that when this process is over a renewed message and purpose, with expanded impact and influence, already exist.
With a new paradigm for business evolving, now is the time to visualize, create, and implement the shifts needed. The “new normal” will be far different. Will you? We never went back to the “old normal” after 9/11 or after 2008, and we certainly will not now either.
With that in mind, what is your image for who you want to be as a leader in this new space?
I have written an ebook Owning Your Leadership describing in detail the following styles, we possess some of each yet with significant strengths in one or two:
- Thought leader – creating the vision – out of the box thinker and calling others to see it?
- Team Leader – motivating your people as a community while they adapt and expand?
- Supportive Leader – supporting all the leaders as they grow into the new paradigm?
- Visionary Leader – charismatically and passionately implementing this new vision – while bringing it to the world?
- Organizational Leader – overseeing the pragmatically needed shifts, changes, and protocols for a smooth transition?
Ask yourself these three questions: 1) What changes will most support your life while you live a new – or renewed – set of values? 2) How can your company best serve those who turn to you? And 3) What approach or services are needed to show your support not just for your business but for the bigger picture?
Dorothy A. Martin-Neville, PhD
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