Today's business leaders are grappling with a crucial question: How can I ensure the recovery and longevity of my company?

We're living through an unprecedented health, economic, and ecological situation.

The current context is disrupting our environment, our organizations, and each of us personally. Medical conclusions from King's College London based on 24 studies about quarantine detail numerous and lasting psychological impacts: stress, insomnia, emotional disturbances...

In recent days, companies have been trying to return to normal operations, taking into account the impact these upheavals have on employees.

So, how do we collectively rise to the challenge of the future of businesses in this setting?

Reflecting to restore meaning

All in the same place, at home, a chance for everyone to experience the world, the company, their family, themselves, differently.

This complete shift in paradigms prompts us to question the meaning of our actions, our role, and the role we want to pursue, both as individuals and companies.

This inquiry is enriched by a heavy volume of information about the foundations and destinations of our societies. The question of existence comes to the forefront, offering businesses a chance to identify with their employees what they aim to achieve (and for what societal purpose).

Cultivating social connections within business

The "Future of works" study (2019) by Mazars and OpinionWay describes companies as "the place of social connection." We've been deprived of this for several months.

Dr. Sébastien Bohler, a neuroscientist, describes the effect: "Remaining secluded has the same impacts on our brain as food deprivation: it's a fast – but a social fast."

During prolonged isolation, people can lose their motivation and the company's efficiency risks faltering.

Everyone can perceive the limitations of digital alternatives over time. Yet, creating and maintaining this social bond, which drives action, is a key success factor to collectively overcoming the challenge companies face.

Placing trust at the system's core

Patrick Lencioni presents trust as the foundational element in his behavioral pyramid upon which all systems rely.

The "Qualisocial COVID-19 and lockdown" study (April 2020) indicates that 50% of people struggle to envision the future. The loss of trust in what's ahead is one of the impacts of this crisis.

A team built on trust is resilient; its members can fully express themselves, share doubts and ideas.

When managers exhibit trust from the outset, we see effectiveness in all aspects of company life.

Building a shared vision of a desirable future

Facing short-term challenges can lead to centralizing thoughts within top management in an effort to act quickly. Asking them to handle all resulting actions can become counterproductive.

Solutions shaped by leadership will require significant investments of time and energy to engage employees.

A natural response in tough periods is to analyze problems with the intent to find solutions. Creating tomorrow out of today's issues? While it's essential to acknowledge difficulties, it's more effective and sustainable to embrace a collective approach focused on what already works in the company, the reasons for its success.

Through dialogue centered around their strengths and aspirations, employees can sculpt a desirable future for the company and discover ways to achieve it.

The involvement of each individual in constructing the future is the only way to ensure its long-term achievement, and presents a remarkable opportunity to uncover the depth and commitment of teams.

And you, are you ready to trust the collective to build your company's future?

Initiating a collaborative approach

Hasn't the tremor already happened? A society that dared to officially question economic success as the only metric for success. Alexis de Tocqueville once said: "No matter how radical the Revolution was, it innovated much less than is generally supposed..." Revolutions, as spectacular as they are, consolidate transformations already underway.

What this crisis teaches us is the importance of projecting ourselves in the long term, constructing the future of our organizations with the people who will bring it to life.

We are convinced that a collaborative approach, focused on our strengths and aspirations, is essential for thoroughly questioning the value each person wants to create, for themselves, the company, and society.