Coping with Change
There’s a lot of change and uncertainty around right now. I won’t mention the C-word, but I’m sure you know the pandemic I’m talking about. Countries are all dealing with different situations in different ways and we don’t know how things will pan out. The chaos of change – have a look at the change curve.
We all know someone at each of these points. And we will all be that person at each of those points in the coming weeks. A change curve is more like a rollercoaster, you go round and round on it, not just one ride down and back up.
So how can you be a leader and help yourself and others thrive as much as you can? By being a Rebel, finding your passion and letting it build your resilience. By being Kindly to build community and gratitude. And being open to change so you can build relationships and creativity.
Be a Rebel.
You’re worrying – about yourself, your family, your colleagues, humans everywhere. It’s normal, it’s how we survived as a species. Most of us will worry and then do one of two things: either we tell ourselves to stop and distract ourselves with something else, or we fall into a pit of worrying until we can’t do anything else.
How about you try to squeeze some positive out of that worrying? Be curious about the things that are worrying you, as your passion may be hidden in there. Are you worried about your community? Maybe you want to spend more time building relationships and helping neighbours. Are you worried about how you will cope? Your passion could be supporting people to be strong and resilient. Are you worried about the world? It could be your passion for environmental issues, and you could see opportunities in the difficulties. Think of creative ways through problems – didn’t the singing Italians bring a smile to your face?
Be Kindly.
Be kindly to yourself, have compassion. Keep your body well fed and rested. Look after your mind and emotions – keep up with the news but make sure you do enjoyable things too. Speak to friends and family, read a good book, dance to cheesy tunes. It’s ok to find small pleasures in tough times, keep yourself resilient.
Be kindly to others and see how you can help them. A friendly wave or a note to a neighbour. A call to far away friends and family. Buying only what you need, and from local businesses if you can. Offer your time – to chat, or cook, or let someone who cares for others get a little breathing space. Donate what you can – to food banks, or to charities struggling to deliver in these challenging times.
Be Open to Change
One for all of us – try to judge others a little less. You’re maybe someone taking it all very calmly and getting irritated at the “over-reacters” and public health rules being imposed. Or maybe you are worried at the harm that may be caused and think others need to be more thoughtful and prepared. Those aren’t 2 different sides – I think they are opinions at each end of a spectrum – and being on the same side of “let’s all get through it” is what counts. So try to be more open to others, think about why they might be feeling different things and worrying about different things. And when you feel like judging, smile and offer to help instead.
At work especially if you are a leader, try to understand people’s worries. You may not be able to fix everything but listening and being open is often what people need. Part of being a good leader is being vulnerable, showing your human side. Years ago one of my team suffered a sudden bereavement, and I dealt with it very sympathetically, with the whole team getting support and time off. Where I failed was crying in my office and then showing a brave face to everyone – as a female leader I felt I needed to be calm and not emotional. Now, I would play it differently, be my true self and show others that leaders are humans. Be open to changing your behaviour and sharing your concerns too.
And remember that Kindly Rebels are rebels with a cause, to make the world better not to just make a noise. Let yourself be guided by good intentions and good information. Stay well Kindly Rebels.
