Have you ever found yourself doing something over and over again knowing that you really shouldn’t be doing it?

Like cigarette smoking? Or sabotaging your diet?

Well our current economic situation is kind of similar. This is not your parents recession- this is not the recession of the 1990’s rather this is a transition to a new economy and for those that refuse to adapt its going to be painful.

What do I mean by a new economy?

I mean an economy that is not ruled by ‘rule’s of the past and that is not using old solutions that were used for past problems. Heck if were to reframe the current economic environment we could say that we are in an era of much needed transformation.

A small town in Texas recently discovered that they needed to shift gears and get in touch with the ‘times’. This towns main resource was oil and with oil as volatile as it is they had the foresight a few years ago to look at alternative sources of energy. The town of Sweetwater Texas with the help of oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens has gone from oil focus to natural resource. They have harnessed the power of “wind”. http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/texas-oil-tycoon-aims-to-harness-power-of-the-wind/2008/04/18/1208025477683.html

That is an example of new economy thinking.

There is something to be learned about going where the ‘wind blows’ instead of hanging on to what has been. The businesses that will prosper in the years ahead are those that are listening to what is in the wind such as:

• Flexible work hours
• Flexible work options (home/office/part-home)
• Time off sales incentives and creative incentives such as trips
• Anything to do with the ‘green’ movement
• Philanthropy and giving back will be an expectation

We can choose to either use past solutions to solve current challenges or we can be brave and focus on new, unorthodox and creative solutions that ride the winds of rapid change.

What is one thing you could do this coming week that would creatively solve a current challenge? Something to ponder.

We wait for Barack Obama’s inaugaration with great anticipation- surely he will ‘fix’ this mess we are in. Surely he will save us, finally someone who we can rely on- won’t he??

The challenge with the mass projection of expectation on one single person is a lack of personal responsibility. We are hoping to be saved or rescued.

 No leader is an island- Obama is a man, a human being, a father and he is a symbol of hope and the changes that need to be made to turn the global uncertainty we are currently experiencing requires a collaborative, unified and inclusive approach.  

 He will not do it alone, his greatest test of success will be his ability to unify the differing opinions and rules long held by government for many years. His success in becoming President is that he has the gift of ‘the ability to connect’ with anybody. This single element will make him a leader we will trust. Our trust will increase our willingness to take full personal responsibility for OUR part in changing things for the good.

The power of connection is that it transforms negative control as a leadership style. 

A client I have been coaching let’s call him Alex is a 40 years plus leader in a recession proof industry Canadian government staffing.

Alex has always been successful- as a Gen X/Zoomer cusper his past success has been tied to his tenacity, hard work ethic and a belief that one person can make a difference.

Alex is celebrating a major mindset shift he just made which is- the reason he has been so frustrated, so stressed and so ‘fed up’ with his team is because he has believed he alone could ‘get’ everyone on board with him. Some of his thought patterns were:

“If everyone would just ’see’ the big picture (like I do) they would do better”

“If only everyone had MY work ethic then we would be making plan”

“If only everyone was willing to work late hours like I have had to do my entire career they would have the results I used to get when I was in sales”

The real problem here wasn’t everyone else the challenge was in Alex’s approach. You see he was leading by ‘disconnection’ and had zero awareness at how this was causing his team to ‘move away’ from him versus ‘move toward and with’ him.

Once Alex made the mindset shift that he was ‘controlling’ not ‘connecting’ he began to shift his beliefs and his actions. Alex’s new mindset now asks questions from a ‘connection’ paradigm and the above questions morph into:

“How can I bridge the big picture with each individual mindset of my team?”

“My work ethic has been learned over many years- what do I need to communicate to my team about my expectations and their thoughts on how we can meet our targets?” 

“How can I provide a honoring incentive that truly values my team for staying late to complete a team project?”

Coming from a place of connection causes us to deepen our inquiry into ourselves, our beliefs and our expecations while honoring, respecting and being open to being part of a team rather than separate and superior. 

 We truly are in unprecedented times one survival mechanism is to focus on ‘connection’ thougts and actions and watch your team transform. You will sleep better too!