This COVID-19 pandemic has forced teams to work together differently.  Everyone’s environments have changed.  Emotions will likely never be higher at work as people are concerned for their health and safety, for their financial security and for the future. 

Emotions will likely never be higher.  Those emotions are impacting the productivity of every team right now.  People are learning to tap into parts of themselves that they are not used to accessing in a normal workday. 

On the last episode of the DoverDrive Experience we introduced ACE Planning.  Today we’re expanding on [A] :: Awareness.  Cale Hall, EdD joins me to talk about how he is currently running several businesses during this global crisis.  Not only does Cale hold a doctorate in Education and Organizational Leadership but he is also a Master of Theology.  It’s an incredible combination of learning and implementation from both a personal and team perspective. 

Here’s what he shared with us:
Co-Authored by Cale Hall, EdD

Personal Awareness & Health

The biggest piece of advice for personal awareness and peace is to begin each day with a healthy routine.  Do not waiver from it.  There are three major components to a healthy morning routine.

1. Meditation – clear your mind and allow time for a personal connection – with yourself. This is the heart of awareness. 

2. Prayer – Connect with God. Many of us are type A personalities and like to try to control everything.  Control is an elusion.  Spend time talking to your source.  The tools and resources you need to accomplish your purpose will be revealed to you through a combination of prayer and meditation.
3. Exercise – Begin every day with at least a half an hour of exercise. Your body will produce only as much as it is given.  Not only is exercise good for the body, it’s also a time to clear your mind. A walk or a run outside is fantastic for connecting with nature and admiring the treasures God has given us.  It’s difficult to be upset when you’re surrounded by so many things to be grateful for.

Professional Awareness & Health

The success of a business begins with the leadership.  The leader sets the tone and defines the culture of a company.  Many leaders expect their employees to do things that they themselves are not willing to do.  Most often, employees follow a leader’s example, not simply their directives.  Here are a few ways to create a culture of unity, teamwork and collaboration:

1. Create an open line of communication. Speak to your employees, even when you have nothing work related to say.  Get to know them.  Learn how to they learn.  Learn how they want to be lead. 

2. Be transparent. This one is a bit harder for most business owners.  They think that if they show weakness in the business that employees will panic and maybe even look for another job.  The truth is quite opposite.  If a leader is transparent about issues, good and bad, employees will have an opportunity to see the underlying reasons why tasks land on their desk the way they do and will ultimately have more buy-in for the tasks.  This is a great way to begin to lead – mission first – not task first.
3. Be vulnerable.   This list gets harder and harder.  Raise your hand if you find it difficult to be vulnerable?  Don’t worry, we can’t see you.  The truth is, showing vulnerability is difficult to do in general, non-less with people that you’re supposed to be leading.  Here’s another truth, your employees don’t need a robot barking orders, they need a human who can express and receive emotion.  Your employees need to connect with YOU before they respect you.

How are you conducting your ACE Planning through this pandemic?  Share what’s working for you right now or simply raise your hand and let us know that you’re a work in progress like us.

Your ACE Plan

Awareness:  Get to know yourself and your business.

Creativity: Define areas for you to add value in new ways and on new platforms.

Emotional Resliency: Define self-care and how you will practice it in order to maintain health and resiliency.

Need More?

Need a little more guidance planning for the success of your business? I'll let you in on a secret - I need guidance all the time!  Really!  The absolute best thing I have ever done for my business was to decide not to do it all alone.

That's why I built the DoverDrive Experience.  I know what it's like to carry the weight of a growing business on your shoulders and feel the pressure of having to know everything at all times.  It's exhausting and impossible.

Inside the DoverDrive Experience, you're getting learning/doing content shared with you EVERY week.  That means you create a cycle of business development.

You see, the biggest mistake that business owners make is that they only work ON their business when something isn't going right or when they don't have enough business to meet financial goals.  The truth is, if you work on yourbusiness continuously, you'd have less problems and less periods of feast or famine.

Join us inside the DoverDrive Experience and let's get started GROWING your business.