Dear all, whose responsibility is to lead people through the unknown,

It feels somewhat irrelevant to produce more suggestions and strategies since the media is already full of them. All of you working and leading through these times have become experts of crisis management and can share with the rest of us on “how to be”.

However, having noticed myself (and many of you) getting fatigued from all of the uncertainty and juggling, I decided to post my share of findings of what I see being as helpful.

Let me begin with:
a) there is no “one-fits-all” recipe, and b) by normalising feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, each of us experiences this Corona Spring differently within our own individual context (work, life, family, psychological, health, etc.). Therefore, drawing comparisons is not helpful to anyone.

I am offering these four strategies for you to adjust to your situations creatively.

1.Taking care of yourself. First task is to take care of yourself and only then- others. You will be of no help otherwise. Have a radically honest conversation with yourself, without judgement. How do I really feel in this situation? What is going on with me? What are my primary needs and how can I take care of them? What have I experienced being a support for myself in this situation? Whom could I ask for more support? What do I need to change? Observe and listen to yourself without judgement. Accept whatever realities are emerging.
Please, talk to other people! Your friends, relatives, colleagues and other leaders. You are not alone in your worries since there are quite a few people who are going through similar struggles. They, too, will be relieved to talk and share. These are not the times for perfectionists. Make the best choices you can at this moment. Investigate your thoughts – is there a catastrophic scenario going on?

If you find yourself in an acute state of “flight/fight/freeze” mode, seek help. As an emergency treatment, there are a couple of body exercises that can work:

• In a very tense situation, when triggered, angry or fearful, try 4×4 breathing. Breathe in deeply for 4 seconds, then hold your breath for 4 seconds, then exhale for 4 seconds, hold on your breath for 4 sec., then repeat until you feel your body relaxing and mind calming down. Try yoga or any other breathing exercises that are already familiar to you.
• In a situation where you feel “frozen, stuck” with something- a situation, or question – walk around the room for a good while, feeling movement throughout your body. As you walk – “speak” to your head. What thoughts are there? Just accept them and take them in. Then, as you continue walking, feel your heart. What is your heart telling you? What feelings are there? Again, take them in. As you continue walking – what your hips are expressing? What movement is there and/or what movement is absent? Feel the ground with your feet. Perhaps some new realities are starting to emerge for you…

Self -care, self- care and repeat: self – care.

2.Speak to your employees 1:1 regularly, using available online communication platforms. Express a genuine interest in how they feel. We are coming from different contexts, experiencing events differently. Go a step further than in your usual communication, and dare to ask “Tell me, how are you really?” People need to know that you care.

For many people this crisis has shaken the ground of professional identity. They might experience disorientation and decreased self -esteem. Am I still performing well enough for these changing times? Will I ever be able to use my previous skills? Am I losing my job?  Support your employees with clear, honest and encouraging feedback.

Be ready to hear and accept the person with a full-on set of emotions. During crisis and uncertainties, it is normal to feel fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, confusion and resentment. We really do not how another person feels unless we ask.  First and of the utmost importance is to accept your employees feelings for what they are. Only when the other person will experience an acceptance (not judgment or evaluation) from you, they will be able to “catch the second breath” and regain focus on what is possible, thus restoring energy and productivity.
Here is a link explaining empathic behaviour by Brene Brown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

It is worth knowing, that during a global crisis, we sometimes experience a form of collective sadness. It is helpful to clarify: am I experiencing grief, which is collective, or, perhaps, I am grieving my own situation? If we can name it, perhaps we can manage it.

Here is a wonderful article on this topic:
https://hbr-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/hbr.org/amp/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief

3. Speak with your team regularly online. Try to do so with all of the team being present, ensuring there are clear and congruent messages, keeping moods up as much as possible.

The key is to ensure honest, clear and congruent information flow. We only know that we do not know –when, how and if this “all will end, will transform, go back to normal”. Make sure you give the same consistent message to everyone.
Uncertainty activates our limbic- sympathetic, nervous system, which evokes Fight/Freeze/Fly modes. As a result, an overload of cortisol breeds anxiety and creates chronic stress, which shatters the ability to perform. Provide clear information, even if you affirm that you do not know, “when it’ll be back to normal”, by expressing the fact that you will deal with it together. This helps to diminish stress and regain positivity. This is especially important for your people who work with clients. When designing messages, remember, people hear, think and then feel, and finally react and act upon what they feel. The best strategy is honesty, pulling together and dealing with situation creatively also together.

4.Keeping up/or inventing “Normality rituals”

Perhaps you have heard or read your grandparents wartime stories? People were going about their daily lives in a manner that you would not expect them to. Performing in plays, getting married, having first communion, looking after garden, falling in love, educating children.
Rituals, traditions, daily chores- all of these provide s sense of “normality” during uncertain times and in that way help us to keep our mental and emotional wellbeing in balance, allowing life to flow wholeheartedly.

Life has not, and will not, be cancelled.

We are multiple faceted – intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual beings. Let us take care of ourselves and go on living!

“You can cut all the flowers, but you can’t stop the spring.” Pablo Neruda