MAINTAINING YOUR
Professional PINresence LIMBO T
he state of limbo we have lived in during the past three years has many of us mentally and emotionally just plain exhausted. As humans, we aren’t wired to stay healthy when we live this way – with the constant fear of potentially lethal unknowns, unrelenting stress, additional or lower workloads, and working or managing from afar in at-home or hybrid settings. And just when you get life somewhat squared away and think you have some semblance of a new order and fluidity, a positive COVID-19 test (whether your own or from someone near you) is revealed. Quarantine ensues. You’re then required to once again reassemble your new patterns to continue functioning in your daily existence. For 2022 – thus far – it doesn’t look like limbo is going to disappear. Are you exhausted? Unsure of your direction?
Looking for help to carry on in these times? Through conversations with friends, colleagues, and clients, I’ve heard plenty of stories about how they’re attempting to “maintain.”
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? “ My workload of covering for a depleted workforce has me just plain exhausted. I can’t do this anymore.”
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July/August 2022
“Along with my duties and tasks, I’m now assigned to managing my team from …” “ I’m juggling parenting with a full workload from my kitchen table.” “I don’t feel safe going out for a nice meal in a restaurant. It used to be our one way to take a short break.” “I’m just plain burnt out!”
Change Is Uncomfortable One of my long-time favorite quotes is from “Dilbert” by Scott Adams: “Change is good. You go first.” It takes on new meaning when you’ve had no say or choice in the current major worldwide upheaval. We’ve been forced to adapt and change at record speed. We all seek a sense of control or a degree of predictability in life and tend to resist change. This drive is likely to intensify when we have to deal with large-scale change, and it’s almost certain to produce anxiety, fear, anger and/or sadness. Even if something positive emerges from change, it’s still hard. As the late Paul Knudstrup wrote in a 2020 “Image Matters News” guest article: “When the pain of the present is greater than the uncertainty of the future AND when a new behavior or opportunity is sufficiently attractive, then change can occur.”
Maintaining and Sustaining in 2022 In this time of continued uncertainty and being caught in the impact of the pandemic and an economic downturn – when it’s so unclear what will happen next – you can maintain, protect and guide your professional presence from within. If you’ve read any of my materials, been a part of individual/group coaching, or attended a program, you’ve learned about developing a “Total Image.”
Your Total Image
(i.e., your personal and professional presence) includes: our Hidden Image (attitude, honesty, Y confidence, self-esteem, knowledge, abilities, and experiences) our Visual Image (dress, grooming, and Y extended image elements) our Experienced Image Y (courtesy, caring, body language, people, and communication skills) Your Proven Image (your long-term track record)
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