Seasonal Greetings
As 2020 comes to a close, many are excited to spend this time with friends and family and take a well-deserved battery recharge, after a rollercoaster of a year. All that could be shaken this year was shaken. As we reflect, 2020 was certainly a year of adjusting or stretching our capacity toward embracing something new. Much has happened this year, for most individuals and companies’ ‘agility’ and ‘adaptability’ was front-and-centre of lessons learnt.
For us at Fairtree, this year stretched these two qualities in us. Although challenging at times, we have learnt that the most innovative and valuable initiatives are birthed when we solidly embrace the challenge presented in front of us and apply adaptability & agility.
In the Third Quarter, as a team Fairtree Invest and Private Client, had a breakaway to check-in on how everyone was handling the year, all the exciting new initiatives that are coming soon in 2021 and the new work-from-home adjustments. Through a series of anonymous Change Adaptability exercises, we discovered that we have a diverse variety of personality responses to ‘change’ in our team:
ANSWER CHOICES
The But Why Guy
The person who will always question ‘purpose’ and if the change is really necessary.
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The Worrier
Caution, concern and risk are three main focuses to this person.
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The Eager Beaver
The person sees possibility and usually has a large amount of energy and enthusiasm.
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The Nay- Sayer
This person has a strong resistance to change entirely and much prefers unchanged routine and structure.
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The Finer Detail Guy
Usually, this person will buy-into the change, but they feel more comfortable when they can understand all the finer details, be hands-on when implementing and give input.
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The Dooms-Dayer
This person wants to plan and prepare for the absolute worst, outlier possibility, situation that could have a 0.1% probability of coming true.
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The majority of our team’s results was the; “Eager Beaver”, “The Finer Detail Guy” and the “But Why Guy”, a few others spread across the rest of the personalities. Each personality has a bright-side and a dark-side, strong points and areas to grow in. We all embrace change and challenges differently and that is okay, there is room for us all. If we were all overly eager to embrace change, who would be checking risk and managing caution? Caution is good, but too much caution hinders and delays. Eagerness is good, but too much eagerness causes haste and could compromise on risk assessment and reliable implementation. When we all work together to embrace the change and challenge, we can learn from one another’s strengths, check each other’s blind spots and grow in our own individual areas of weakness.
Another question was asked “How long did it take you to adjust to ‘lockdown lifestyle’ for work-and-home life?”:
For some of us, we may start-off with a resistance to change, but with time, we become some of the most committed to implement the change from our area of strength. It just took a little longer to take the jump. The important thing is that eventually, everyone comes along on the journey toward the new destination.
Let us all take this time to reflect, rest and celebrate whatever victories we had in 2020. Focusing on the things that we have to be grateful for this year and prioritise what we have learnt is important to us.
We want to thank you for another year in allowing us to be a part of your financial journey and entrusting us to steward your finances on your behalf. We look forward to all that 2021 holds, but for now – we want to wish you a wonderful festive season with your family and friends.
If you would like a global market update please feel free to visit our website for a copy of the latest Monthly Insights.
From our Family to yours.
