If Leaders Bring Only One Thing to their Teams During these Uncertain Times, It Should be Confidence: Here's How

ADELAIDE, Australia - Feb. 28, 2022 - PRLog -- After being shot 14 times with a high-powered rifle and lying on the ground for three hours before rescue, Derrick McManus' mindset was fixed on what he could control in the midst of an otherwise uncontrollable situation, versity in order to create an outcome by design. His mindset and command over his emotions gave him the power to implement the toolshe had spent years developing in preparation for this once-hypothetical situation. He wasn't resilient; he was durable. He didn't require time to bounce-back from adversity, because he was already equipped.  And he was confident that, although his situation was extremely uncertain, he had prepared to the best of his abilities to give himself the best chance of survival. The same principles of durability and preparation apply to the professional landscape that has emerged as a result of the global pandemic.

"People are craving certainty in an uncertain world. To create an optimal environment, employers need to connect with their employees and have open, honest and confronting conversations about the reality of the future."

- Derrick McManus

Nelson Mandela once famously said that we cannot prepare for something while secretly pretending that it's not going to happen. It is impossible for organizations to deal with the pandemic by acting as though nothing- and no one- has changed. Teams are looking to their leaders for guidance, grounding and certainty during uncertain times. Most of all, people are looking for the confidence of a positive future to be restored.

Derrick has been working for more than a decade with some of the world's leading organizations to build durability at all levels, from top to bottom. Derrick can develop durability in organizations using a combination of tools such as:

Confronting Conversations Open and honest communication is paramount when it comes to instilling confidence, inspiring change and moving the needle within an organization. This  starts with the CEO and trickles down through all levels of the team, at every step of the process. Confronting conversations confront the reality of the situation, are done with care and compassion to build connections, a shared understanding and to create more success for everyone.

Clear Vision: Leaders must first have a deep understanding of the current situation and their own values, as well as a defined roadmap as to where their organization is going in the future. Only then can they clearly and directly communicate these goals to their teams to ensure that everyone is aligned, not only in achieving the desired outcome, but in the methods used to get there.

Body of Knowledge The key to building durability is in the preparation for all possible outcomes. It's easy to talk about the easy stuff, but this step is where the BIG stuff truly matters. Think of this as the 'discovery phase' where leaders build up knowledge around all key areas:

• Possible challenges and opportunities
• Resources - intellectual and logistical - and any potential gaps
• Possible triggers so that a proactive plan to pivot, with agility, can be devised

Planning: Too often, leaders are taught that they should be flexible, but in reality, it's agility that plays the biggest role in an organization's ability to adapt, change and ultimately, sustain optimal performance. The difference? Flexibility is reactive, takes time and involves trial and error. Agility is proactive, pre-planned and already learned, allowing instant response at the first sign of change. Agile thinkers inspire confidence in their team.  Agility evolves through planning.

"Flexible organizations adapt and bounce back from unexpected change. Agile organizations have open, honest, confronting conversations, anticipate challenges, and have proactive solutions to power forward, sustain optimal performance and create success."

- Derrick McManus

As the world reopens and business leaders are forced to re-evaluate what their businesses will look like moving forward, we have watched as long-believed myths have been disproven and employees' visions for their futures soar to new heights. Those leaders and organizations best able to adapt to these changes and seize this opportunity for deeper connection and confidence within their teams are the ones who will ultimately thrive when the dust settles. The message is clear: we must go beyond resilience and better than peak performance - Human Durability™ creates sustainable optimal performance and more predictable success.

Derrick McManus is a counter terrorism operative, hostage shooting survivor, motivational speaker, and Human Durability™ expert, on a mission to help business leaders reach new heights in their organizations by building teams that can sustain optimal performance. He can be reached directly at Derrick@DerrickMcManus.com.