RESILIENCE & UPSKILLING

By Kevin Broom, PESA

Every business has a plan. It’s constructed with care, calculation and deep thought. And then a pandemic breaks out during a price war between oil production giants, and companies are suddenly forced to ask, what will we do when the plan doesn’t apply?

The current crisis has created a situation that emphasizes the need for businesses to focus on reinforcing a resilient company culture and investing in helping employees upskill to be prepared for the aftermath. At its core, resilience is about the ability to create new plans and continue working even when business goes in directions we didn’t expect or anticipate. Companies that succeed through a major upheaval such as what’s happening now are ones that have people who can think on their feet, adapt to changing circumstances and quickly acquire the news skills required for the new environment.

Fortunately, research shows that resilience is a skill, not a personality trait. Like any skill, individuals can develop it with time and intentional thought and practice. What makes a person resilient, according to “Psychology Today,” are optimism, the ability to regulate emotions and the ability to see failure as a form of feedback. Think Thomas Edison’s famous quote, “I have not failed. I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.”

Psychologists believe that resilience is an ordinary skill – one that anyone can learn and develop with time, training and effort. While many companies have invested in helping employees upskill to transition to digital technologies, helping valued workers build resilience is critical for navigating a crisis.

There are four core components where companies can help their teams become more resilient. Managers can help create a positive environment by being trustworthy and compassionate.

CONNECTION

Experts recommend prioritizing relationships and fostering an empathetic and understanding work environment. Team members should feel they’re not alone in the struggle to adapt or in their emotional responses to stress. Managers can help create a positive environment by being trustworthy and compassionate.

WELLNESS

Encourage team members to take care of their minds and bodies. Ideally, healthy living is the norm, but it’s more important than ever during a crisis. Eat well, engage in mindfulness activities such as journaling, yoga or meditation, recall things for which you’re grateful, and avoid negative behaviors such as drugs and alcohol.

HEALTHY THINKING

Especially during a crisis, it’s important for leaders and team members to be conscious of how they’re thinking. Specifically, psychologists recommend identifying irrational thought patterns and cognitive biases such as a tendency to catastrophize. A diverse team could have advantages in this area because of different ways of approaching issues and challenges.

Other keys include accepting circumstances that are beyond the team’s control to enable greater focus on things that can be altered, maintaining a hopeful attitude, and learning from the past. Change is a normal part of life – even extraordinary events – and reminding each other of past difficulties can help the team find the strength to expect good things to happen.

MEANING AND PURPOSE

Among the bigger hazards during a crisis are the loss of hope and feelings of helplessness. A key to maintaining motivation through difficulties is infusing the day-to-day tasks with an overarching resolve giving the work purpose. Meaningful work inspires passion, which fuels the team to be proactive about setting goals and taking steps toward achieving them. A good question for a leader to put to herself and her team is, “What’s one thing we can accomplish today that helps us move in the direction we need to go?”

For an OFS company, the purpose could be something like, “Our mission is to provide the world with the energy it needs to overcome the pandemic and fuel the economic recovery.” This mission contextualizes the day-to-day struggles within a broader quest to help people and can sustain team members through difficult days and weeks.

If resilience isn’t something you’ve thought much about, it’s not too late. COVID-19 and the oil price wars are significant threats that also present opportunities for companies to upskill their teams. An overnight rise in remote working and a drastic curtailing of in-person contact has required an on-the-fly revamp of how we work.

This is where reskilling and upskilling become foundational for individuals and businesses. Reskilling is to learn new things that are outside our usual area of expertise. Upskilling is to refresh our current knowledge and skills to strengthen them and perhaps use them in new and different ways.

At a time when companies are urgently engaged in an existential struggle, it may seem like there isn’t time for developing and upgrading worker skills. It might be critical to surviving the crisis and launching into a more prosperous future, however.

First, social distancing is causing a revolution in work processes. So many people are working from home that companies are getting creative in implementing mobile applications to keep teams connected and productive. Helping employees acquire new skills and adapt to change is a wise investment of time and money.

Second, reskilling and upskilling helps us maintain productivity. Being unable to see colleagues and supervisors could lead to struggles with communication and motivation. Challenging employees to develop skills, maintain contact and support each other can help overcome distractions and the tendency to procrastinate.

Third, an investment in reskilling and upskilling is not a short-term thing. Knowledge and new expertise acquired during a crisis will remain part of the team in the future and could help push the company to new heights once the crisis has passed.

The key for leading your company in becoming more resilient and focused on reskilling and upskilling is to get started.