Moving from permacrisis to permachoice

The 2022 word of the year, according to Collins Dictionary, is permacrisis: an extended period of instability and insecurity, especially one resulting from a series of catastrophic events. 2022 globally has been filled with pandemic, war, volatile markets, weather chaos, rising inflation and more.  As leaders you’re dealing with supply chain, talent retention and attraction, quiet quitting, hybrid work environments, economic uncertainty, rising costs for labour and materials and so much more.

Permacrisis is a state of victimhood where we can’t control what comes our way but also a sense of being powerless to what comes next.  Let’s invent a word for 2023 that helps put us back in control; Permachoice.  Permachoice is recognizing that we can’t control the difficult things that come our way but taking ownership to choose what we do with our difficult situations to create the future we want within the boundaries of the new realities.  Permacrisis is the lie we tell ourselves that we have lost our power to influence and create what we want within tricky boundaries.  It’s a lie.

The truth strategic leaders remind themselves about again and again is that they have infinite choice around their mindset, vision and behaviours to achieve the vision of what they want.  They accept the realities of constraints and continually revise their vision and strategies to achieve the reality they aspire to for the future.

My vision is that leaders across the globe recognize that we all have choice despite our difficult circumstances and that focusing more on what we want to create rather than reacting to things outside of our control is the way to achieve our vision and north star. Even more, I wish those leaders to help their teams develop a mindset of permachoice that helps them see possibility and opportunity where challenge shows up. Practicing a mindset of permachoice helps develop our resilience in the face of challenge by focusing us on what we can control and using that energy to achieve a new future.

Imagine you are at the end of 2023 and you can wholeheartedly say its been a banner year and you get to send a postcard back to us today to tell us about what’s different.  What would you like to say that you and your team have created? What steps did you take to make it a reality for you and your team?

I invite you to leave behind the notion of permacrisis here in 2022 and instead focus your drive and passion towards what you want to create; permachoice.  What a great time to do that leading into a new year.  What will your 2023 end of year postcard say?