Re-Tooling in the Midst of Chaos

RE-TOOLING IN THE MIDST OF CHAOS Don’t Forget the Not-So Obvious By: Sara Bradshaw Ray, CIC In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all been working double-time to make sure we are meeting the needs of our teams, our families and our neighbors. In an environment of chaos, no one thinks clearly. Yet, in chaos, it’s easy to dial into the obvious “must haves” of the moment and lose sight of the necessary “must haves” to keeping our teams healthy and happy.

Believe it or not, “The Science of Happiness” is a real thing and the lion’s share on which the Greater Good Science Center at Berkley focuses their research. They study psychology, sociology and the neuroscience of well-being, so they can teach skills for fostering a thriving, resilient and compassionate society.

Through their research, they’ve discovered the four keys to happiness at work: purpose, engagement, resilience and kindness. This seems logical, but in the upside down world we live in right now, all of this looks completely different, or it should, in order to keep our teams healthy and effective in the work from home bubble.

“Trust me, the old “normal” will likely never exist again.”

PURPOSE

Our purpose is what gets us up in the morning and out to do what we do best. We’re not “out” anywhere right now, and when we get “out” again, it will likely look drastically different. Being able to define and see the results of being engaged in our purpose EVERYDAY is the fuel that drives what we do, yet in our current situation, can we still see if what we’re really doing is what we want to do? And what we’re doing is really meaningful to us and aligns with our core values? Are we really making a difference?

Our teams need to be able to see this every day in order to maintain their purpose for life and their work – which boils down to happiness. The lack of direct contact with the impact of our efforts can deprive us of our purpose – so make sure you and your teams can see the daily impact of your purpose to keep the fires of our passion burning.

ENGAGEMENT

Zoom, Teams, Google Hangout and even FaceBook Live chats are becoming well-known household names. If we’re not using these amazing tools to truly connect with our teams in a very genuine, authentic way, we’ve missed the magic of the face-to-face interaction that’s critical to engagement. Even more than before, our contacts with our teams have to be at a more personal, vulnerable level because of the socially distanced microcosm we’re working and living in right now. As leaders we might have never extended ourselves before. This isn’t a put on your suit jacket, synch up your tie and sit at your laptop in gym shorts kind of gimmick though. This is truly leaning into our teams to work harder, maybe longer and certainly more personally than we’ve ever worked to inspire and authentically engage our people.

RESILIENCE

Resilience seems to be the biggest challenge many of us are facing right now. The ambiguous news and varied return to work timelines are exhausting and take its toll on all of us. When we’re able to ground our awareness of the present we’re able to shift our attention away from worry and fear, which takes us back to our purpose. When we know what we’re doing and what our goal is, we can ground our emotions in the super-present and maintain a healthy stance on the shifting sands on which we’re standing. We may need to take more frequent walks outside, a slightly longer lunch break to include a little bit of yoga, a better chair to sit in or a make-shift standing desk platform to help fuel our resilience. Our teams might need more encouragement from us, as colleagues. KINDNESS

In terms of kindness, there are so many incredible stories of people going out of their way to do random acts of kindness for others. This is another one of those silver linings of COVID-19 that might never surfaced otherwise. Celebrate them, encourage them and do them yourself for your teams, your friends, family and especially strangers. It’s GREAT medicine for what ails us all. Birthday parades, bears in windows for the little ones out in the neighborhood on a “Bear Hunt” and a small rainbow on the mailbox shows that we have hope for a bright future and a more positive and uplifting attitude toward this temporary craziness.

Remember, as leaders, our teams follow our lead – from the front! In the midst of chaos, it’s easy to focus on the immediacy of hyper-productivity and miss the importance of effectiveness. We can’t forget to ground ourselves and our teams in the necessary “must haves” of healthy teamwork and moving forward to achieve our collective vision of the future. Take a couple of good deep breaths, then focus on what might need to be re-tooled a bit so you don’t miss the not-so-obvious things that form the foundation of our team’s trust – your heart. Trust me, your team depends on it!

Sara Bradshaw Ray is an Executive Coach and founder of MyNetwork and Synerdynamics. She is a former independent agency owner with more than 30 years of insurance experience. She now helps leaders capitalize on the power of synergies through mastermind groups and coaching. Contact her at info@synerdynamics.com or (405) 880-2920.

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IN MEMORIAM

RUSS WARDLAW, INSURAMAX

Russ Wardlaw, President of Insuramax was named a Top Producer 2020 by Insurance Business America. The individuals highlighted are the best-performing insurance professionals across the country. Have any GOOD NEWS to share from your agency or your participation in your community? We would love to hear! We can promote your success in our magazine and on our social media. Contact Taylor Lee at tlee@bigiky.org or give us a call at 502-245-5432.

DANNY HOUSE 1952-2020

Danny Russell House, 68, passed away on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Danny’s professional career in insurance started with Commonwealth Life Insurance Company. He was the longtime owner of House Insurance Services in Hancock County and a partner of House-Hoffman Insurance Services in Owensboro. Danny was a past president of the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce, served on the President’s Advisory Council for Motorists Mutual Insurance Company, and served on the board of Hospice of Western Kentucky and United Way. In 2011, Danny was named the Citizen of the Year in Hancock County by the Chamber of Commerce. Surviving are his wife of 47 years, Marsha Reynolds House; son, Brandon House and his wife Johnna; 3 grandchildren, Halley Stewart, Ella House and Ansley House.

MATT STEPHENS 1992-2020

Matthew Ryan Stephens, 27, passed away Monday, June 22, 2020, at his residence. graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in Risk Management and Insurance. He was a Real Estate Certified Insurance Professional currently employed with Risk Placement Services, Inc. in Lexington. Matt is survived by his parents, both sets of grandparents, many aunts and uncles and his two best friends, Chadwick Dale and Bradley Tussey.

While they are caring for you, we are caring for them.

When a global pandemic ushered in a wave of fear and uncertainty, healthcare workers courageously stepped forward to educate, lead, and serve our communities in an eort to save lives and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

While these heroes continue working hard to protect and care for us, KEMI is committed to doing the same for them by providing important safety resources and extending workers’ compensation insurance benefits to policyholders on the front lines.

We will get through this together, and KEMI is here to help. Learn more at kemi.com/COVID-19.