“The best force for counteracting chaos is connection.”
Chaos has come in many waves over the past 24 months. Every time there seemed to be a settling of the sea, another storm rolled through. As we engage with our clients in 2022, three things are happening in the SMB space:
- Most teams are returning to the office and re-establishing routines.
- Lineups have changed, significantly in some cases.
- The humans we lead are weary.
When humans suffer, we usually suffer in isolation. However, in a natural disaster (global pandemic) we suffer collectively, a shared experience. While studying human responses to natural disasters, Tom Mouallen (New York Times) concluded that ‘the best force for counteracting chaos is connection.’ (Impact Players, Brown)
From the seat of the SMB owner, we have two opportunities to reduce chaos with connection.
First, if items 1-3 are true for your team, invest your time and attention to help them connect. Engagement accelerates when they are connected with each other and with the purpose (mission) of the business. Use self-directed teambuilding exercises or professionally facilitated sessions to connect or re-connect your humans.
Second, even though SMB owners have a group of people around them every day, we can still suffer from isolation. We need connections with other leaders who are fighting the same battles, recovering from the chaos, and challenged with building new teams. The power of shared experiences/learning will eliminate the suffering of isolation, and accelerate your profitable performance and growth.