What now for companies after Brexit?
What a 24 hours it has been. Whether you were in favour of staying or leaving, what’s the future for companies after Brexit?
As we see it, never before has there been more of a requirement to engage your employees. Aside from the fact that people might be feeling worried, anxious and uncertain about the future, during times of change many employees look up the chain of command to see how their bosses, MDs and CEOs will act and what leadership / direction they can give.
That gives leaders a great opportunity. As nobody truly knows where we are heading, companies collectively can still achieve amazing things if they unite their teams internally. The questions the workforce might be asking their leaders actually provides the answers in a weird way. If the workforce is asking “what of the future”, then the CEO should be asking back, “…exactly that, you’re right and thanks for asking, so, what of the future? Let’s talk about this using the collective brainpower of the entire team”.
My point is this. Now is not the time to impose traditional management techniques. Metaphorically taking the reigns and imposing your way and your thoughts on your workforce. That merely provides short-term gains. As the future is uncertain, never before have we had such a golden opportunity to engage the workforce and ask for their opinion.
One of the things I have seen in my job is how past belief systems fuel current behaviour. Negative assumptions that this is “the way it has always been done and therefore how can we change it?” should now make way for comments such as “OK, this is now, this is new territory, what fresh ideas can we all brainstorm together to forge a new future together? Let’s ditch old behaviours that didn’t work and adopt a new way of thinking”.
Nothing can be more motivational for a workforce than being involved in this process of change. Allowing them to generate the ideas in collaboration with the so-called “ivory tower” can give them the essential ownership and sense of responsibility that is so desperately required at a time such as now. A time when change is being forced on the UK. We cannot avoid it. It is here. It is now.
So the question is, as a leader, as a CEO, as an MD, as a small business owner, how can we get our people involved so that when they all look to us for answers, we ask them the same questions back, asking them for their opinions, their ideas, their contributions.
Who knows what we are heading into. For us at Mindset I briefed the team this morning that this is a new dawn. A new future. New unchartered territory. We can achieve great things together……….yet, it might surprise you to discover that I personally voted to remain!
Well done to the Brexit campaigners. Well done those who voted to leave. I have to hand it to you. You did well.
So, my final thought is this. With my compliments I’ve just given these people still ringing in my ears, let’s therefore go with the flow. Let’s embrace the fact that they voted for us to leave. Let’s prove to the world how incredible the UK is and can be. Let’s do this together. Let’s be united. Let every senior leader engage with and ignite the power of their workforces and discover new ways of doing things. Let’s become a true Team UK!