
- Focus on the seeds you sow rather than the harvest you reap
Farmers can’t control the weather, but they can control the care and attention with which they plant and cultivate crops. Sooner or later, if they sow diligently, the weather will comply and a prosperous harvest will be gathered.To resurrect momentum, prioritize effort and don’t get caught looking at end results. Find the intrinsic satisfaction of doing an honest day’s work and improving in your chosen field. Make consistent contributions in your personal growth and development. Even if results don’t come immediately, you’ll position yourself for future gain.
- Keep hope alive
Have you ever watched a sports competition and seen the team that’s behind on the scoreboard give up? Already defeated in their minds, they quit playing hard. In doing so, they give themselves no chance of rallying for victory.When business slumps, people are tense, emotions are frayed, and bad news quickly escalates into panic. Overhanging worry and stress tempt people to abandon hope. As a leader, your circumstances may be grim but your face doesn’t have to be. Smile and be upbeat. Give encouragement. Look for successes to celebrate. Inject humor into the mood of meetings and into conversations. Above all, don’t whine and complain or tolerate defeatism in the attitudes of those you lead. People are relying on you to jump start momentum in your organization, and your response to adversity can set the tone for everyone on the team.
- Foster unity When you’re winning, relational problems can be glossed over, but when times are tough the fissures between people are exposed. If you’re trying to regroup your team, nothing extinguishes the spark of momentum like infighting. As Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Before you can build momentum as a team, you have to iron out relationships. This means working through conflict until you reach a place of resolution and mutual respect. For a leader, it also entails using communication to link unity with survival. Teammates must be told, in no uncertain terms, that the future success of the organization depends upon their ability to pull together.
- Maybe you would benefit from having a coach walk alongside you, acting as a catalyst to generate new ideas and insights that will recapture stalled momentum.
- Maybe you and your team would benefit from a fresh look at the year ahead in a setting that generates focus, teamwork, commitment and accountability. This will definitely invigorate the team and rekindle stalled momentum. After all, it takes teamwork to make the dream work.
- Maybe you and your team would benefit from having tools and techniques available to them to build trust and have healthy conflict – be able to address negative under currents and unresolved conflicts