
CPR: taking the stress out of practicing public speakingÂ
Practicing a speech is intimidating. Not only do you have to know your stuff, but you also have to think about your structure, your gestures, and your audience. Here’s how to use...
by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg Published March 10, 2022 in Brain Circuits • 2 min read
If you feel like your team is suffering from a type of inertia as you try to return to business as usual, you are not alone. The pandemic has upended our lives in a pervasive way, and the workplace is not likely to ever be the same again.
The silent promise
When we sign on to a new position in an organization, there is often a great deal of paperwork, including a scope of work with deliverables and expectations related to your role. But as a leader, you are making a contract with your team that is much stronger, one that’s the glue that keeps the team together; a psychological contract.
A psychological promise is what bonds teams together. These bonds can be based on shared goals or purpose, feelings of friendship and caring, or ideals. This is a critical factor in top-performing teams, because the bonds we form create the energy we need to work well as a group.
Broken bonds must be mended
One of the major disruptions the pandemic caused has been to change our work environments, home environments, priorities and views of the world in a way that has shaken the foundations of our former bonds. If you feel you are having trouble getting your team back in the work groove as we settle into a new routine, it may be that you haven’t spent the time recreating these bonds. As a leader, it would be well worth investing time in reconnect and understand how people have shifted their views of work-life balance and long-term goals. This is necessary to defeat the inertia that many teams are feeling.
Plan to spend time connecting with your colleagues and see what you can do to fill them with positive energy. Positive feedback is important, so embrace it. There is a bonus effect: if you energize one person, it’s contagious, and will spread to others, so making an effort to do this on a daily basis will benefit the whole team.
Further reading:Â
How to help get your team out of a lull by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg
Adjunct Professor at IMD
Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg is a clinical psychologist who specializes in organizational psychology. As an executive advisor, she has more than two decades of experience developing executive teams and leaders. She runs her own business psychology practice with industry-leading clients in Europe and the US in the financial, pharmaceutical, consumer products and defense sectors, as well as family offices. Merete is the author of the book Battle Mind: How to Navigate in Chaos and Perform Under Pressure.
15 hours ago • by Robert Vilkelis in Brain Circuits
Practicing a speech is intimidating. Not only do you have to know your stuff, but you also have to think about your structure, your gestures, and your audience. Here’s how to use...
July 15, 2025 • by Ben Bryant in Brain Circuits
Knowing how much vulnerability to show and when to maintain distance is a key leadership skill. Consult this checklist to gauge whether you’re keeping too much in, and check out the four...
July 10, 2025 • by Jean-François Manzoni in Brain Circuits
From absorbing stress to finding your authentic voice, nine leaders of global companies share the wisdom that has helped them excel in their roles.  ...
July 8, 2025 in Brain Circuits
According to the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1tn each year, predominantly from reduced productivity.  Here are six simple habits, taken from design thinker Vishakha Singh’s SHIFT...
Explore first person business intelligence from top minds curated for a global executive audience