For most of us managers, with lockdown being gradually lifted, the focus of summer 2021 will be the return to normalcy with loved ones, and (drum roll please) summer vacation!
The past year has been an especially difficult one in terms of keeping your teams motivated. Here are some suggestions to help you recharge your batteries and be ready for an equally unique fall.
Rediscover your strengths—those you had as a teenager, that came to you naturally, and that helped you find your first hobbies. Below are a few suggestions based on different profiles, some of which you might identify with. Go ahead and add your own personal touch to any of them.
- Learners: Read, try new things, or learn something fun and exciting.
- Creators and inventors: Grab your paintbrush, tools, pen, camera, drawing board, or instrument and get started on a personal project. Visit art exhibits and attend live performances to get inspired by others’ work and creativity.
- Connectors: Reminisce and catch up with a childhood friend. Spend time with people who share a common interest.
- Devoted parents: Open your home to your children’s friends for playdates. Appreciate the life’s simple pleasures as you watch them play together. Or embrace the closeness you developed during the lockdown by going on one last family adventure.
- Contemplators: Spend long periods of time alone in nature—set aside time to think, or rather, shut your brain off, and observe the clouds or stars in a hammock. You deserve this oasis of non-productivity…
- Athletes: push yourselves, now that there are no more limitations! Alone or with others, practise your favourite sport or something new: pickleball anyone?! And finally … the Cup is within our reach! What more could we ask for to kick off summer?
- Social butterflies: Create opportunities to meet people by hosting dinner parties, going out in groups, bringing people together. Enjoy a healthy dose of human intensity!
- And finally, in the current spirit in which inclusivity is so important: Get to know someone who is different from you, be curious, learn about other cultures, and be open-minded—try seeing things from a different perspective.
Your turn: What’s your childhood talent? How can it help you recharge your batteries?
With this energy boost, you will be ready to embrace the new hybrid work culture with openness and enthusiasm. This will require a fresh outlook on your role and that of your colleagues, a renewed confidence in people and a renewed ability to inspire and bring people together.
Have a great summer!
