Leaders, in a distance learning time, now is the time to decide how you will lead out this season. Whether you’re a leader in school, classroom, home, parent, marriage, company, etc., now, more than ever, eyes will fall on you as to how you navigate through these unchartered waters. This is a lot on you but you are strong enough and you can do it.
It feels like we are in the thick of things and it feels unending but now is the time to be resilient. The definition of resilient, is a person who is able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. We are in the eye of the storm right now with the pandemic with no real end in sight. Resiliency has to show up now. It has to reveal itself to you and your team. However, in order for it to surface, you have to invite it in, embrace it, and then do something with it.
Resiliency is like the man of many faces from Game of Thrones. You know who I am talking about if you have watched it. If you haven’t, well, he is a man who has the power to change his look, his behaviour, and his face in any type of situation. He shows strength, wisdom, and a sense of calm in any circumstance. Resiliency can be this man or woman of many faces and it can take on any face.
It can look like pivoting when we are forced to face an uncertain or unseen obstacle. Rather than stop, we pivot and look for an alternative way to figure it all out.
Resiliency can look like bouncing back after we have been hit with something really hard. We take it, we feel it, but then we get back up again and fight harder. Letting things go is another face of resiliency. There will be things that make us mad, angry, and so upset we feel like giving up. And we will give up…..if we don’t let it go and move forward. Resiliency does that for us. It allows us to let things go in order to generate the energy we need to focus on the positive and to learn from it.
Let’s face it. Leaders, or should I say, humans, do not have all the answers. We can only learn by trying things out. We usually fail or fall the first few times but being resilient allows us to look at why it didn’t work and then we move tasks around to try it another way. We reframe, reorganize, and reconfigure. We change faces according to our environment and learn to dodge the grenades thrown our way.
If we don’t take care of ourselves, we will not be able to take care of others. As leaders, we need to be strong enough for ourselves to be brave enough for others. This is a new face that resiliency has chosen to wear. We used to think that it was always about putting everyone else’s needs before ourselves that made us resilient but in fact, it just made us tired. Pour into yourself and crowd out the negative habits so you can take care of others and inspire them to do the same.
Holding onto hope is another face of resiliency. It might feel a little hard right now. I think that is the uncomfortable part that makes us grow. This is where miracles will happen. This is where things will grow. This is where we might cry or fall. This is the moment we will look back on some day and realize just how much we learned. Be present in that moment. Take a step back from it and admire the portrait through the three buckets as a leader.
Reframe you’re thinking and the way you lead out using the three bucket system and you will be amazed at how aware you will be of how you spend this time. You know that old children’s book about how everyone has their own imaginary bucket. They can pour into it to make themselves happier by taking really great care of themselves and filling their minds and bodies with healthy things. They can also pour into someone else’s buckets through contribution and kindness. However, they can also empty their buckets by not taking care of themselves or others. I feel like this world could learn a few things from these buckets.
I know myself included, wires are starting to touch. It is getting longer and harder. So that means we leaders have to have a plan so that we can lead with a collective grace. People will remember how you lead through this so take this challenge and embrace it.
The three buckets that will help you to streamline your leadership in an online world right now are wellness/mindset, family/friends and business. We are heading into the long haul and we have to keep our energy and hope up. Your community and your kids will watch how you handle this pandemic. What will they remember about how you lead through this time?
Build a plan each day so that you are pouring into each of these each day. Make this plan the night before. Keep in mind that nothing happens without mindset and the words that you speak. If the negative words are outweighing the positive, change what comes out of your mouth. Don’t give pain the voice. Pay attention to the words you speak and to what everyone speaks and change them.
The Wellness and Mindset bucket is the face of taking care of yourself so you can take care of others. In order to pour into this, you need to determine what that looks like. It might be that each month you choose one winning habit and layer it month after month with a new one. Model it and share strategies at every meeting.
Develop winning habits, routines and mindset daily. Another idea might be to use the GAM system that I got from JJ Virgin. The G stands for gratitude and appreciation for the miracles that happened that day. It is a massive mindset management that will have an impact on your immune system. The A represents appreciation. Send an appreciation note, text, email, etc. to someone each day. The M is for miracles. In the evening think of 3 wins/miracles that day that happened. How you do anything is how you do everything. Our thoughts have magnetic power.
Diet, exercise and supplements are so important. Look at foods that bless your body and crowd out the other ones. We have to stay healthy and so choose wisely. Hydrate and exercise as much as you can. You will change your mind the moment you move your body. So will your community if you work that into parts of your time together. In the wellness bucket, continuously think of ways you can contribute to your own life as well as others. Lastly, have fun again. Resiliency will allow us to see the silver lining, the positives, the lessons, and the fun. These faces will also show up if we invite them and work hard to become them.
The business bucket is the second bucket. Build your team and ask for help. Find people who will pour into you and speak life into you. Don’t stop until you get it. Asking for help does not make you weak, it keeps you strong. Take advantage of mentors, both virtually and physically. There are mentors across the hall from you or a phone call away and they will help to build you up when you need it the most. They will renew you and provide perspective, experience, and wisdom.
Now is the time to work on your passions and the things within your leadership that you have always said you never had time for. Find and bring value to the things that you are working on. Curate your pedagogy, you leadership, and your craft. There has never been a time like this for you to build on something. Inspire your community to do the same as well.
Set goals and deadlines and make them through taking action. It is not the event it is your response that matters. Streamline to find what pathway works for you and your community. You do have a choice. You can invite resiliency in to show it’s face, however, it shows up. Or you can shy away from support or things that push you to be uncomfortable. Resiliency forces you to embrace them and then all of a sudden, you rise.
The last bucket is the family and friends bucket. Know your audience and their stories. Check in with them and their families. Think about your own family and what you want to bring to the table as a family brand. What do you want to be know for? What does your family stand for? What does it mean to be a part of your family? Think about the culture that you want to create in your home, your business, and in your mind.
Schedule weekly checkins with your family and keep a daily schedule. Teach your kids the importance of filling a calendar with the three buckets and not just a schedule. Workout together and spend one on one time with your each of your kids. Go on a date with your spouse regularly. Spend time together and have fun. If you are alone, connect through zoom or by phone. Stay connected in any way that you can. Go easy on yourself but don’t make the couch your permanent home through this time. Find a collective grace between you and the members of your family and remember that you are not alone. In fact, your leadership matters even more in your own home. If you are not leading well at home, then it will affect how you lead out at work.
The three buckets will significantly improve your life, your leadership, and strengthen your resiliency if you are intentional about scheduling the buckets in every single day. The faces of resiliency will show up more and more as you invite and schedule them in. Stay strong by using this system, by staying close to people who feel like sunshine, and by creating sunshine for someone else. Grow your dream and you’re leadership now. Take on obstacles using the many faces of resiliency and become unstoppable.
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