EDITOR’S PICK

‘New Normal’ Will Continue to Be Ever-Evolving

Face it, everyone. With Delta variant cases of COVID-19 continuing to rise across the United States, and other strains of SARS-CoV-2 emerging, the sincerest wishes that we can get back to the way things used to be are just that—wishes. As offices continue to reopen and kids head back to school, what business leaders need are plans.

As AMA President Manny Avramidis points out in his column, everything is going to remain fluid, for an uncertain amount of time in the future. While the coronavirus could conceivably burn itself out, experts say this is rather unlikely. For managers and businesses to succeed, they need to rely on flexibility and resilience, and understand how to make changes.

Research that AMA conducted with its members in July about the new skills needed for the new workplace found many reporting increases in their workload and hours worked. The No. 1 concern is being able to strategize for a hybrid workplace, while No. 2 is that change management needs to be an ongoing, organization-wide priority for professional development.

Before you can make plans, you must know the goals you are trying to reach. Edwin A. Locke draws on his 50 years of experience in goal-setting theory to create a handy checklist, with detailed instructions, on how you and your organization can achieve goals even as plans are modified and changed.

Lacey Leone McLaughlin and Emily Lopez discuss how to navigate leadership challenges, offering their perspectives as an executive coach and as an HR leader.

And Cassandra R. Lee offers advice on how to make adjustments to work in your new environment, whether that is from home, in the office, or a mixture of the two. 

AMA continues to seek out new topics for its seminars and new ways of reaching people. As you navigate the fluid pandemic reality, AMA will be there to support you.