During times of crisis, self-leadership is the secret to thriving during a forced change like the global crisis we are experiencing now.
What happens when the leader is going through the same crisis at the same time as you?
How do you lead others when you are struggling with the same sense of uncertainty?
What do you do when you have your family, employees, and the company looking to you for direction to guide them through the crisis?
Start with self-leadership. Start with examining yourself and where you are on the change curve and getting a vision for where you want to be after you make it through the crisis before or in parallel with helping others manage the crisis.
The change curve is “a popular and powerful model used to understand the stages of personal transition and organizational change. It helps you predict how people will react to change so that you can help them make their own personal transitions, and make sure that they have the help and support they need.”
4 Ways To Thrive During A Crisis
Be Aware of Your Emotions: The emotions you experience in times of change and especially during a forced change like a crisis, are equal to those emotions you feel when you have grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Being aware of your emotions and where you are on the change curve will give you the power to choose what is your next best step to moving forward. For example, if you are in denial, then you are less likely to take steps to do things differently to accommodate for the change. Understanding that crucial piece of information will inform your next steps and better lead others.
Know The Difference Between Grace & Excuses: Going through a crisis will require you to do things differently while still keeping other parts of your life going.
You will feel overwhelmed at times.
Therefore, do not expect to keep all of your same routines and events running like a well-oiled machine.
Give yourself some grace.
With the stress and heightened emotions, you may find yourself being short-tempered and more irritated than usual. With that in mind, give yourself some grace.
At the same time, know the difference when it’s grace and when you are making an excuse for poor behavior and lack of self-control.
Regardless of whether it’s grace or an excuse, the most important thing is to know the difference between the two so that you know how to adjust if needed.
Create Your Future: With every crisis and significant change, it creates an opportunity for a new path and new possibilities that were not present before the turn. Some people are calling it a “new normal” it’s more empowering when you can see how it’s an opportunity to create your future.
It’s a chance to take a big leap and accomplish something that you could have only dreamed of doing. When you make it through this crisis, who wants to be just “normal”?
What is Your Change Story?: The most compelling life stories throughout history came from a crisis that forced a person to see and do things differently. What do you want your change story to be when the crisis is over?
Write Your Change Story:
- What is changing in my life?
- What emotions am I experiencing? How can I use these emotions to help me move to a level of acceptance that my life has changed?
- What do I want for myself?
- What do I want to be proud of when I come through this change?
- What story do I want to tell you about my life as it relates to this change?
Effective self-leadership is the first step to thrive during a global pandemic. When you start with leading yourself, you will then be prepared to lead others in powerfully and authentically.