Many had a stupid year in 2021. Extremely stressful, in any case. Growing up as a free generation, we had to accept a loss of individualities for the first time: Freedom of decision, freedom of opinion and freedom to create. This loss of personal and professional autonomy cannot be explained away. But the fact that the year 2022, with its geostrategic upheavals, marks a “turning point” for us is not something any of us imagined.
Yes, we learned a lot about our own resilience in 2021: the ability to take a step back, to control the flood of information and to block out absurdity, as well as the new orientation of personal and operational processes, all of which suddenly became mentally vital for survival.
How do you position yourself in the face of a loss of trust? How do you regain trust? How do I manage to ‘tune out’ this firework of information and half-truths without losing the overview? How do I remain capable of acting and creating? Where are there spaces for my creativity? How do I regain land? Who am I in this change? How do I maintain my freedom?
How do I deal with the loss of trust in state institutions, parties, media, science, with all that has given structure to our lives and direction to our ability to act, without questioning everything and anything?
What does it take to lead, motivate or strategically advise a company, an organization in such times? How do we shape our communication, our social and professional exchange in the face of continued restrictions and upheavals?
But somehow we have always managed so far. Many things have worked out. Isn’t gratitude in order? In order to motivate and strengthen ourselves, our partners, employees and the people around us, we need two things – despite all the dark clouds: a positive image of the future and confidence in our power to shape it.
Let’s listen to our profound stories from the field of tension: Losing trust. Gaining confidence. Moments of my balance. How do I succeed?