The third in my series of insights and practical tools for Leading in a 100% Covid World.
My name is Mic, I am a leadership coach working largely in the tech sector for the last two decades with founders and senior executive teams helping them build, grow and thrive. My aspiration is flow - the state of being in flow for oneself, your team and ideally your organization. I believe when we’re in this place we can accelerate our growth and have lasting transformative positive impact towards the goals we have as people, teams and organizations. Weekly I will offer a reflection of what I’m hearing in my practice and my team’s work in leadership development. It’s an incredible time in our human history - my hope is this will give you insight, practical tools you can immediately apply and comfort in our shared experience of managing through Covid19 and leading in these especially challenging times.
The new normal is isolation, strange unfamiliar and maybe unsettling at times. And, as we each find our own new normals, go through the different stages of adjusting, it most likely does not feel stable. We don’t know how long this will last, our normal routines - gym, travel, shopping, work - are massively disrupted and at times it may feel like we’re grasping for stable - as my coach Leslie Williams put it - “I now have an uninvited guest in my house called fear and anxiety - it’s not necessarily mine but it’s certainly here”. And, we want to be productive, feel like we have forward momentum and purpose. That may feel daunting to organize.
I’d like to offer a way, a way of finding balance, rediscovering your own resilience and strength, and learning more about what you need because your go to practices may not be available to you any more. The most effective, resilient and capable leaders that I work with when faced with 'i don't know what to do' get curious, mindful and energized to co-actively be in practice about their most effective ways forward. Let’s get playful and serious about finding out what will work for you now.
1 - Take EXTRA GOOD CARE OF YOURSELF
- What are the practices you can do to nourish your mind, body, and spirit?
- Start with the basics - how much sleep are you getting? What are you eating? How are you moving your body? Are you someone that already knows how to do this well or is this an opportunity to learn more, join an online community or buddy up with a friend online?
Get curious and playful about what might work for you now. Being playful with your practices is critical to resilience - given we’re all feeling the feels and that can change within one day or one hour - it’s all ok, let go of the notion of 100% or perfection, notice how you feel, what shows up when you try something observe yourself so that you can best judge what brings you ease joy or fun. Yes fun, even in these trying times. Our bodies need to regulate the cortisol being produced by this stress and anxiety and the best ways to do that is to orient towards things that bring you joy and pleasure. For me right now that’s cooking, walking the dog, and I feel blessed to love my work.
2 - Physical space
This meme was recently shared with me by one of the CEOs I’ve worked with - I hope it has the intended impact of humour ;)
It made me laugh out loud - Whether you live in a tiny space or large home you still need to find a space you feel you can work. One of the coaches on our team had a great practice around this. First, she cleaned but like CLEANED - got rid of as much clutter as possible cleaned all surfaces created the feeling for herself and her husband of Freshness.
Then they designated work spaces. Many of them were unconventional - like the dresser in her bedroom that is serving as a standing desk, the kitchen counter (I like that one too), etc.
Finally, they actively discuss each day where they each want to be. Because they live in a very open small space they need some distance so they can’t hear each other work. So I’ve noticed she moves around - for each video meeting I’ve been with her in the last few days she’s been in a different space and I only hear her. Pretty awesome.
It’s also important to have variety - moving around so it doesn’t feel like your’ stuck in your basement all the time or in one immovable space. The more we can feel freedom within our own spaces the better for our minds and productivity.
And the schedule - we as a team redefined what our new norms needed to be to work most effectively. Across my entire coaching practice of all leaders *every one is noticing they are not as productive, creative, motivated* That is ok and normal under these conditions - this was my earlier point about body health and processing cortisol. So on our team - that means - lunch has become sacred. From noon to 1:30 no team meetings are booked. People can use that time however they need to replenish themselves. It’s important. What I’m noticing for me is that I need times in between to walk the dog and get in the garden - both of those things instantly lift my spirits and bring back energy to whatever I’m working on.
Parents - this is what I’ve heard across my practice - first they are getting all the resources to support their kids. Many are creating schedules for the week that includes screen learning time, play and creativity, and exercise. One of my best friends is a former principle, has 3 kids at home ranging in ages from 8 to 17 - she also has been home schooling her children on and off for decades. She turned their dining room into the classroom for the day. Lessons would be posted on the walls. The entire space was dedicated to learning during the day so the kids could be clear on what they needed to learn and also room enough to play. We need the same things.
3- Boundaries - In & Out
As I was reflecting and writing this article, again my coach offered another important nuance. Boundaries are not just about what we are letting in they are also about what we are giving out. Our focused energy is now more than ever precious - this unwanted house guest called fear and anxiety is taking a certain amount away from us every day - like it or not. And so let’s get mindful of where we want to be focused, what work we want to do, and which people we want to work with. Of course we aren’t fully at choice in this - there are people projects and tasks we are obligated to do (particularly if you're working right now). I’m offering being mindful in how you fill your day so that it doesn’t drain you but rather gives you energy back as much and whenever is possible. Here are some questions to ask yourself about your working day to support this outcome. And, if you’re not working right now - the Mason Jar exercise is something I did when I was in between that really helped me get clear about that.
Step 1: Understand your strengths
- What do you love doing?
- What have people said you’re particularly amazing at? Don’t know, now’s the time to ask - send out a short survey to friends and work colleagues you trust (to tell the real truth) current or from your past.
- What are your core skills?
- Take the time to think about and write down the responsibilities and tasks in the work that you do that you 1) Love and are great at; 2) Like and are good at; 3) Don’t Like but are good at; 4) Don’t Like and are not good at
Step 2: Structure your day
- Consider - how can you structure your day to ensure you’re getting some and enough of love and great or like and good and minimize the don’t likes.
- Is this an opportunity to elevate someone else you work with in the areas that either you’re not strong or are strong but it doesn’t give you joy
Step 3: Learn more about You, your values and your style
Find out about yourself - the more that we can optimize our work and surroundings to support the best of ourselves the more resilient we can be.
- what are your values (and therefore your triggers - the things that are pissing you off),
- what do you know of your personality style - have you tried some personality tests? Here are a few that I like and that we use in our coaching practices. In addition a few more that many organizations I’ve worked with use within their teams:
- Are you a giver or a taker? if you're a giver (get joy from being in service of others) be mindful of how much you’re doing to ensure your energy stores don’t get too depleted.
- Here’s a great resource by Adam Grant on this topic where I first learned the phrase
By turning yourself into a science experiment - meaning observing yourself in action through any given day you will begin to notice what is needed to create the optimal day more often, set healthy boundaries and foster greater resilience for yourself. Take care :)
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