Maintaining Your Professional Presence in Limbo
The state of limbo we have lived in during the past two 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 — at least in the beginning — 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.”
“My workload of covering for a depleted workforce has me just plain exhausted. I can’t do this anymore.”
“Along with my own 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!”
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?
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 uncertainty and being caught in the impact of the pandemic — 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:
• Your Hidden Image (attitude, honesty, confidence, self-esteem, knowledge, abilities and experiences)
• Your Visual Image (dress, grooming and extended image elements)
• Your Experienced Image (courtesy, caring, body language, people and communication skills)
• Your Proven Image (your long-term track record)
For managing a presence that will safeguard you well into 2022 and beyond, let’s look to your Hidden Image for support.
Mindset
Have you slipped into a glass half-empty mentality? Maintaining your professional presence begins with the space between your ears. What you believe about yourself and think about will ultimately have the biggest effect on your life. It might seem like a cliché, but maintaining a positive attitude about yourself and your abilities does make a difference. So make sure your self-talk is acting as a powerful confidence booster instead of a negative self-fulfilling prophecy. Commit to putting positive thoughts and input into your brain from now on.
Resilience
Resilience is a muscle that works best when you exercise it and, ironically, you have the chance to develop more resilience when you face your greatest challenges. Discover your best tricks for bouncing back from rejection and disappointment, and then use them every time.
Flexibility
In a recent Strategic Management article, owner and HR consultant Nora Akins wrote about being flexible in these in-between times. Strategies require options — Plans B, C and D. Managers can no longer be evaluated based on their ability to deliver a plan. We need to shift our focus to the ability to use ever-changing plans to deliver the best outcome.
Purpose
Know your purpose — your big-picture thinking/reason/focus for your life in the new year. Has your fundamental purpose shifted during the pandemic? Then be clear about what that purpose is. Knowing your intentions or objectives will generate the sense of drive that helps you accomplish your goals. Having purpose means knowing yourself, knowing your priorities and aligning your behavior with your desired outcomes.
Applying these supportive Hidden Image strategies will help you face current stresses and uncertainties. They will help you develop new behaviors that will allow you to successfully maneuver through these changing times. And aligning your thoughts, mindset and actions will help you maintain your professional presence. And as others see you as a positive, professional leader/person, you might just make things better by helping them become more positive and raising their ability to maintain in 2022.
