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Imagining life after Covid-19 is not easy. One may feel rather stuck in this exceptional period and emotionally depleted. The situation calls for us to forgo a cognitive bias called « availability heuristics »; that is our tendency to have our thoughts consumed by which is directly in front of us. Indulging our availability heuristic inhibits both present-day creativity and positive future projections. The good news is that you just have to look up, shifting your line of sight to consider other possibilities. All I can do is invite you to live intensely, even in confinement: to love, read, learn, play, cook…

Have a great day!

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Do you know what it means to have a « sense of coherence »? In psychology, it is a characteristic of people who are healthy, live longer, are happier in the different spheres of their lives and perform better at work. People with this characteristic are defined as follows:

– they perceive the world as understandable

– they have confidence in their resources (physical, psychological, social…) to cope with difficulties

– they assign meaning to events

Originating from salutogenesis – a disruptive way of thinking which focuses on promoting what is good for us rather than on relieving sources of tension – having a sense of coherence relies upon an individual making good use of their available resources to overcome challenges and maintain their wellbeing.

To prepare for the return to work, I encourage you to harness 3 simple resources which cost nothing but will add great value to your teams: listening, supporting, and meaning-making.

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Are you familiar with « toxic handlers »? These are people who have the ability to « absorb » the stress triggered by crises and limit the impact of it on their colleagues.

These empathetic qualities will prove essential in the transition out of lock-down, enabling these people to:

– quickly identify colleagues in difficulty

– listen and soothe with compassion and respect

– take action around finding effective solutions

How do you recognize a toxic handler? Often-times senior managers with atypical backgrounds, they reveal themselves in adversity without trying to shine and derive their resilience from their difference.

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Do you know what anticipatory anxiety is? In psychology it is the pervasive fear of an event to come. At the moment, many employees are apprehensive about coming out of isolation and returning to work because of the risks of contamination. Avoidance behaviours will appear such as refusal to shake hands, refusal to take the elevator together, self-isolation in open spaces etc. These are all essential subjects to raise awareness of amongst managers, HR and union representatives so that any instances can be identified early, erased through guided support and future instances actively protected against.

The success of post-lockdown doesn’t rely on goodwill but on prepared and coordinated actions.

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Together with his team, the « sensemaker » manager will intentionally try to make sense of the exceptional situation. To transform the crisis into an opportunity for growth, he differentiates 3 dimensions of sense. These are:

– A feeling: what did we feel?

– A meaning: what does it mean for us?

– A direction: where do we go from here?

In the « sensemaker managers » workshops that I lead, we learn to consider each person’s past experiences as a means of building a common future; to collect the threads of each individual story and weave them together to deliver the kind of performance that the current situation requires.

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Three types of managers will emerge at the end of lockdown:

– The aggressive type: he’ll discredit the difficulties experienced by everyone by demanding a focus on performance alone: « no more twiddling your thumbs, I want everyone 100% on sales. » He will come out looking brutal and will be despised by his team.

– The avoidant type: he’ll pretend that nothing happened for fear of delving into the real issues, asking « How was traffic this morning? » He’ll look like a coward and lose the confidence of his team.

– The « sensemaker »: she’ll recognize recent difficulties in order to better move forward, saying « we are going to take a moment to share our experiences and use them to improve how we function as a team. » She will be seen as an inspiring leader and will foster long-term engagement in her team.

Sensemaking is a ridge between the two valleys of performance and serenity. Only by keeping your balance can you reach the summit.

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Attempting to manage a team through an exceptional situation using conventional management methods will lead to great disappointment.

Sensemaking invites us to uncover symbols within each person’s experience to bring collective meaning to this event.

Don’t: say things like « the past is the past; now it’s time to focus on the numbers so we can catch up. » This deprives the team of an opportunity to create a stronger sense of unity and improve how they function together.

Do: suggest to your employees they list the pros and cons of lockdown and share them, so as to identify common ideas for improving teamwork.

There can be no performance without resilience, no serenity without supportive management.

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Do you know the term « sensemaking »? In psychology it is one of the most effective techniques for restoring well-being and performance after an exceptional crisis. It is based on a particular form of management used to facilitate a healthy return to work.

Let’s begin with phase 1: recognize that what happened was an ordeal for all members of your team.

Don’t: joke around, such as by saying: « how was the holiday? » This only invalidates your team’s efforts and generates feelings of aggression towards work–which is harmful to their health and sense of value.

Do: take half a day to listen to your whole team and exercise consideration for each person’s unique experience.

Recognition begins with listening and ends with performance. It is a means, not a reward.

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There is no greater loneliness than the loneliness we feel in the presence of others, especially when those others are our loved ones. Almost everyone has experienced this feeling of strangeness in a familiar universe and it is frightening.

It’s actually a sign of a temporary anxiety that psychologists call depersonalization or derealization. Don’t panic if it happens to you. We are living in an exceptional period of uncertainty, and being anxious is normal. You’re not losing control. Your brain and body are simply preparing themselves to deal with whatever comes next.

Try to be accommodating towards yourself. It is simply your humanity expressing itself.

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Remote management is complicated, especially when it comes to detecting an employee in difficulty. Here is a simple technique to identify employees who are in trouble – the « 3i” rule:

– Isolation: when employees are less present at meetings and check-ins with their managers, or don’t speak as much as usual.

– Irritability: when they quickly become tense and show increased sensitivity as manifested by anger, crying or annoyance.

– Instability: when their mood swings abruptly and often

It’s at times when the situation is tense that your hand as a manager can be too. In the face of suffering at work, we all have a role to play.

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