As a CEO, you probably just recovered from the challenge of delivering an inspiring online Christmas Speech. It was a speech via Zoom, or Teams, with an honest reflection on this tough and strange year. You tried to thank everyone for their contribution via your webcam. Although you got a couple of appreciative chats and some nice whatsapp-messages in return, the warm and joyful feeling that you remember from all the years before was definitely lacking.
Christmas Day is over. The task in front of you is: the New Year’s Speech.
Now what?
We all have a longing for true connection: people sharing real stories and engaging with each other as we were used to do. However, let’s admit, we did not reach all people back then either. For instance, people abroad that never joined the New Years Drinks. Maybe they were not even invited, because… how on earth could we have made that happen?
I do not have the one solution for your speech. However, I can offer you an alternative to try. There are always things that need to be said at the beginning of the year. Say them. Truthfulness is always inspiring. Give context and direction, as people expect you to do. Make it short. You don’t need help with that. You know how to do it. And then, don’t stop there. Create an opportunity for the people in your company to really connect and have a meaningful conversation with their colleagues.
“Never waste a good crisis”, as Churchill once said. That is what we did at soul.com. Starting in March 2020, we facilitated thousands of conversations worldwide, in companies, in educational environments and among friends on the changes of Covid and the impact and opportunities that this situation brings. We experienced deep connections between people in sharing thoughts on two main questions:
- What changes has this situation brought into your world?
- What impact would you like this experience to have in your life?
The conversation in your organisation can be about all kinds of things. We can provide you with a suggestion and we can support you with a structured approach. Choose a topic that everybody in your organisation can relate to. Facilitate these conversations with a structure that enables sharing thoughts, exchanging uplifting insights and undertaking energizing action.
Remember, always,
that everything you know,
and everything everyone knows is only a model.
Get your model out there
where it can be viewed.
Invite others to challenge
your assumptions
and add their own.
D. Meadows