There comes a time, when the best thing to do is to stop and reflect. That time might be now!
Covid-19. In a matter of a few weeks life has changed, significantly. And yet, as humans, we adapt. The new normal that everybody was talking about is here and is continuously evolving.
The past few weeks have been all-consuming for many leaders. It was all-go on every level. Firefighting, whilst making sense of what was happening. Taking action to protect and stabilise, deal with all the implications – health, safety, operations, financial, people.
In my coaching I’m now noticing a shift towards more calm and an increased focus on the future. Now that the immediate is dealt with, we are starting to look at future scenario planning. Difficult to do with so much uncertainty ahead and important.
A CEO I know says crisis are revelatory. It shows you what is working and what is not. You might have struggled to prioritise, had some difficult relationships with your direct reports, peers or even your boss, you might lean towards a controlling management style or you were simply in the rat race, not knowing why or what for, but it was easier to keep going. Whatever the situation, it’s likely that recent experience has shone a brighter light on what’s working and what it is not. Where you have good relationships and where you don’t. Where you can trust and where you can’t. Where your leadership works and where it doesn’t.
I’ve heard many stories of how things were done differently, how people innovated and found ways to overcome issues that would previously have been impossible to imagine. It shows that innovation is possible when there’s enough urgency. There’s scope for doing things differently, if we have to or if we really put our minds to it.
Learning will take place from all of these things and from my coaching experience I know that learning increases when you become conscious and intentional about your learning. In other words when you stop and reflect and then use the insight to create a different future, with intention.
With the firefighting coming to an end, it’s the perfect time to intentionally hit the pause button. Here are some questions for you to ponder. My hope is that afterwards you’ll be able to hit play with a renewed sense of clarity, focus and alignment.
Me - as a leader
What am I proud of in the way I behaved as a leader?
What could I have done differently?
What am I learning about myself as a leader?
And how will that shape how I choose to be in the future?
My family
What worked for us as a family in this crisis?
What are we grateful for in our family?
What could we have done differently?
What are we learning?
And how will that shape how we want to be together in the future?
My team
What are we proud of as a team in the way we’ve responded / acted during the crisis?
What’s new as a result of the interactions we had – ie what surprised us, what got confirmed etc?
What could we have done differently?
What are we learning?
And how will that shape how we work in the future?
My organisation
What did we do as an organisation that was surprising, innovative, etc?
What could we have done differently?
What are we learning?
And how will that shape how we work and what we do going forward?
Do the reflecting on your own, with your family, with your team or even invite your organisation to do some reflecting together. Let’s learn from the past and innovate a new future together.
I know myself that taking time to pause doesn’t come naturally. There isn’t enough time, too busy with the day job. I’d argue we can’t afford not to right now. If not now, then when…it’s never been more important to shape the future consciously and with intention. What we do next, matters hugely.
Happy reflecting!