Progress Talks Or Progress Walks, The Modern Multi-National Marketplace Needs Your Care

The Modern Marketplace Is Online

So not every nation is a bustling hub of foreign phonics and strange but friendly cultures. The internet is absolutely this place. With a majority of people online these days, mixing with the crowd is an essential part of business and leadership. We are all different, when we are online the distances that keep vast differences at arm’s length are negated. We are all in the same social space, the same marketplace. When you interact with a seller you could be talking to someone in the next town or someone on the other side of the world.

We Are All Unique Individuals

We are not all the same, our cultures affect a lot of how we all behave and feel. The heroes we grow up with define the good deeds we want to do, and the enemies we learn about define our boundaries. We all agree on certain key principles, honesty, respect, care, safety, and so on. The little differences can add up to one big culture shock if we’re not prepared. Sometimes we can get angry about the way people think because from our perspective it’s the bad who think like that. How do you feel about having nasty thoughts? Do you believe that the other person is willing to tolerate that nasty feeling by thinking the way they do? Of course not, they don’t even feel the way you do. This makes rationale tricky to communicate. It’s these small but significant differences that define our communication when coming to common agreements.

Society Progresses With Or Without Us

A keyword in modern society is progressiveness. The quality of being progressive can mean many things. Progress requires growth and direction with purpose. The one factor that is making progress hit or miss in the modern age is the ability to deal with the changes multiculturalism has brought. Remember, a lot of work and business is done on the internet with people and services all over the world. Your products and services are available to a global customer base. This is a great thing for teams and a great thing for progress yet it has to be adopted with sensitivity to difference, sensibility, and culture. We're not here to police other people (unless you’re in the police), yet we are here to police our own behaviour and communication so that business and progress can happen efficiently.

Mental Health At Work And Home

A huge challenge that has arisen in recent years is the effect of mental health on our ability to function. Perhaps our radar for issues is more sensitive now and the problem has always been there or maybe something about modern life is exasperating the underlying causes. Our brains are sensitive instruments and they need to be treated with care. What we put in has a direct effect on what we put out, so our environment has to be taken into consideration. The way we interact with each other and the tolerances we afford one another have a true reflection on the ultimate mental health of our team. A damaged mind is as significant as a damaged hand, we’re limited in what we can do with it. No one thinks twice about helping a person with no legs yet when someone has no self-esteem, they are often seen as the problem. Getting over this hurdle is going to be necessary if you want to communicate progressive practice in your team.

Look After Your People

A leader is charged with taking the lead on issues of team mental wellness. Disheartened and angry people don’t sell as much as happy and friendly ones, so it’s up to you to keep everyone in chipper spirits. Being open to conversations about mental health and workplace psychological safety is important. Instigating the evolution from oppressive conditions to beneficial ones must begin with the leader. Not many employees are willing to suggest changes for the sake of their own happiness. Avoiding workplace fatigue and emotional burnout matters because these things result in a lesser-quality team. When one person drops out it can be like a dominoes situation if the basic principles are not addressed with consideration.

Consistency In The Process

It’s vital that everyone knows where they stand. Often we can be used to having things a certain way in other situations that we unintentionally transplant to the new one. When this happens, people can get mixed up with what they are meant to be doing, what they shouldn’t be doing, and what kind of communication are appropriate in the team. If it is left to get out of hand, it can lead to all kinds of problems, errors, and unpleasant experiences. Getting everyone on the same page with their responsibilities and boundaries is important. The rules of the system need to be clear. When mixing people from many places, ensuring they all follow the guidelines is a challenge.

Honesty And Transparency

Transparency matters. If you put yourself behind a closed door, then people begin to put all their prejudices into play. They will try to guess the rationale, the situation, the next instruction, the intention, and the rest. It’s easy to assume the worst when we don’t know and many people will gladly do this and then spread their thoughts as the truth. Prejudice and discrimination or misguided hypothesis, doesn’t help. We can help this by always communicating effectively what our intentions are, why we are doing things, and what the problems are. People not only need to know where they stand, but they also need to know where you stand as well.

Recommended reading: Progressive Leadership: Challenging the theory of the firm in the 21st century