Make the unknown known

Trikini: a matching bikini and face mask set. Coronavirus couture: One designer in Italy hit the headlines this month when she created the trikini. The surgical face mask has become a symbol of our times, an essential item in everyday life. The designer face mask is the new must-have fashion item. With masks advised for the foreseeable future, people are finding ways to incorporate them into their outfits. High-profile figures have started to match their masks to their outfits. Images of a matching mask and suit outfit garnered more than 100,000 likes on Twitter.

With the mask on, when we can’t see the lower half of the face, it’s easy to be misunderstood. Behind a mask, the distinction is not so clear: Are you wincing at me? Do you just have a lot of crow’s-feet? Was what you said an insult or a joke?

The mask is worn not to protect and not to hide.

Being transparent and open is one of the most important leadership habits you will ever develop. Will it be uncomfortable? Probably. Will it create lots of reactions? Yes. But it is the right thing to do.

During this pandemic, the situation we face is changing so fast and is so uncertain, when information is unavailable or inconsistent, that communication, transparency and guidance  is more important now than ever before.

This month, we accelerated digital options and hosted a dilogy of large scale virtual engagement webinars for customers to share and exchange views on this new normal.

These experiences are critical for customers in the short term, and the impact will build positive relationships that are bound to last long after the crisis has ended.

Those who are trusted are candid: they are not afraid to tell the truth in the clearest terms possible. Appearing to hide something breeds skepticism. Whether it is during hard economic conditions, or during a new project, being transparent puts customers and team members on the same page and builds trust. 

Yes, being confidential about appropriate matters is important, but when you're willing to share relevant information, they will give you the benefit of doubt. Being transparent implies giving bad news when appropriate, even though you know it could hurt. Leaders who are frank and transparent become trusted and the team, in spite of uncertain times, remains unified. 

Seth Godin puts it this way: "Earn trust, earn trust, earn trust. Then you can worry about the rest."

 

Staying power

"Just Do It" slogan became: "For once, don't do it. Don't pretend there's not a problem in America". Nike released the 60-second "Don't Do It" campaign on its social channels. As protesters pour into streets across the country set off by the killing of George Floyd, corporate America is speaking out. Some high profile CEOs and business leaders have done this publicly on social media channels while others have issued internal statements to their company’s employees.

In light of the "dehumanization" of black people incidents history, Mayor Jacob Frey commented, "Being black in America should not be a death sentence."

Will it ever stop?

There is no undoing the past. With great sadness, I will tell you that. There is no forgetting or letting go of regret.  

Going through the long game, for example, a ten-year voyage of trials and tribulations. Of disappointment without giving in. Ironhearted and ready to endure whatever punishment the Gods decide you must. Now that's perseverance.

Life is not about one obstacle, but many. Perseverance is a matter of will. Endurance. Resilience. The good thing about perseverance is that it can't be stopped by anything besides death.

We whine and complain and mope when things won't go our way. We're crushed when what we were "promised" is revoked - as if that is not allowed to happen. We can go around or under or backward - we can keep going, advancing, even if we're stopped in one particular direction.

Our actions can be constrained, but our will can't be. Our plans - even our bodies - can be broken. No matter how many times we are thrown back, we alone retain the power to decide to go once more. Or to try another route. Or, at the very least, to accept this reality and decide upon a new aim.

There was a time in my life when i thought that life could not get any better. Things were going very well indeed. Then I entered one of the darkest periods of my time, my life.  It's during this time that I find out what I am made of - grit, determination and an enduring faith in my dream. I truly believe that God does not close one door, without opening up another.

We can't control the barriers or the people who put them there. But we control ourselves - and that is sufficient.

It's easy to talk about how important it is to believe in yourself and what you're doing, and never give up. The hard part is actually doing it. Getting pushed down many times and standing back up again and again is one of the hardest things to do in life.

That's why it is so important to find contentment and meaning in the daily grind, in the struggle. Perseverance is a constant pursuit, but to be truly good at it, and to be resilient, requires that you enjoy the ride of your life, whatever that roller coaster may look like and however different it may differ from what you envisioned.

There are endless great success stories of our time about those who have fought incredible odds to succeed. J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book while going through a divorce, living in a small apartment with her son with the assistance of the government, and mourning her mom who had recently passed away. The manuscript was rejected by twelve different publishers. Not one, two or even three. Twelve.

One yes has much more power than a thousand no's. Its power is so great that it can wipe out the memory of those rejections. When you get the yes you want, the no's will no longer matter.