How To Lead In A Never Ending Story
While chatting in our Shift Practitioner WhatsApp group, Robyn Katz shared this artice aptly titled Covid-19: The Never Ending Story. The author, Christina Baldwin, proposes the pandemic isn’t an event (or a story with a beginning, middle and end), but rather a shift. She writes:
“A shift is a much harder experience. We don’t know how long it is, how big it is, or what consequences it enforces. We don’t know if it actually ever comes to resolution in which the protagonists have triumphed, good has won the day, the dust-up of drama has settled, and we can finish our popcorn and eye the satisfying announcement, THE END… In a shift, is the end just THE BEGINNING? And beginning of what? And what just ended? And who am I in the muddle of this? How can I make story and meaning when everything keeps changing? And what happened to the camaraderie when we were cheering for team humanity?”
So if this is indeed where we are, how do we show up, continue to lead, and inspire others?
Three Strategies To Lead Through Change and Uncertainty.
Recognise that you can not predict or control what happens next - don’t try to write the story
As famously quipped by Mark Twain, “I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” So much anxiety and stress is caused by imagining worst case scenarios or equally, being disappointed when fantasies don’t come true. Remember when we were told that we’d be back to normal in 2022? That my friends, was a fantasy.
The fact is no one can predict the future with complete accuracy. As Margaret Heffernan explains in her book, Unchartered: How To Map The Future, even with all of our modern technology and sophisticated data analysis, a prediction is only ever a hypothesis. Predictions and forecasts are based on probabilities, not absolutes. While it is useful to look to forecasts and models to predict where things might be heading, it is essential that our plans take into account multiple possibilities.
GO WITH THE FLOW
The hardest part about change is accepting it. When we get stuck in our world view, or overly attached to our vision, it can be extremely difficult to adapt. The sooner we can accept the situation, the sooner we can move forward.
Learning to go with the flow is about letting go of our expectations and illusions around what is in our control. Shift Practitioner Godwin Vaz offers leaders a variety of strategies and practices to support their ability to navigate chaos and embrace change including meditation. In his upcoming Inner Journey program, he will guide you to: Move from self doubt to confidence; transform anxiety and overwhelm into clarity and centred action; and go from over thinking and paralysis to more intuitive, values-based and effective decision making. Learn more here.
CREATE CERTAINTY WHERE YOU CAN
To inspire others to follow you, to show up and do their best work, you do need to create some certainty. While you can’t control global events, and what others doing, you can control how you are being.
When you show up consistently as confident, caring and committed you inspire those same qualities in those around you. You become a solid rock in peoples lives and you create a sense of stability and safety even when things are difficult.
Shift Practitioners Candice Smith and Cathy Duvel teach leaders how to embody the behaviours that generate the best quality thinking, actions and results from those around them. Their next course will be delivered online in March. You can learn more here.
None of the strategies above are easy, particularly in our current climate, which is why we recommend you don’t go it alone. Like athletes, the most successful leaders have the support of an excellent coach. All of our coaches come highly recommended. If you would like a suggestion for who might best meet your specific needs and goals, please book a call.