How do we build and maintain trust during these difficult times? - part #3

It was an in-depth phone consultation about problems, issues, and possible trends that were emerging as we all move through this global pandemic. We weren’t trying to solve today’s problems. Instead, we were trying to understand  a diversity of possible futures and whether or not we were prepared for them. In particular, we were focused on whether or not the company had the capacity to come up with effective solutions if any one of the possibilities were to happen.

As we explored all the options, I kept thinking about the concept of splatter vision. When watching nature or when hunting, the goal is to let your vision spread out. You are expanding your peripheral vision and looking for movement within the environment. Then, once you find the movement, you can focus and take action. Given all that is happening in the world right now, we need to expand our peripheral vision and not just focus on events but on the movement within and across the events so we can discern what are the emerging trends. 

One way to do this is to engage in regular and in-depth strategic dialogue. The teams I see that are struggling as we move into this part of winter are the ones which lack situational awareness, namely they do not have a sense of what is going on around them. Technically, situational awareness is defined as “the perception of the elements and events with respect to time and/or space, and the comprehension of their meaning and the projection of their status in the near future.”

In past From Vision to Action Leadership classes, I have called this macro-myopia, namely a failure to see the big picture connections. When we engage in regular and in-depth strategic dialogue, we spend a lot of time listening and sharing with the goal to help people gain perspective and make connections between “elements and events” in time and space. This helps the team and the leader get on the same page about what is happening and why it is happening within the company and within their service environment. The outcome of this action is that people feel more connected to each other in a time period where people feel more divided and alone.

This week, create and engage in more strategic dialogues. It will help build trust on so many levels.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257