Leading From Home (We’re still doing this?)

As I mentioned in my last post, I was honored earlier this year to host a discussion series in partnership with The Female Quotient entitled? "Lift As We Climb." Named after the inspirational quote from Mary Church Terrell, the Black activist for civil rights and suffrage, the series took that theme into the realm of women’s leadership, featuring both established and emerging women executives sharing what they’ve learned along the way.

Across all four discussions, the subject of leading in these crazy times came up. And for good reason: here we are, on the verge of the fourth quarter of 2021, still remote. Still making risk-reward calculations left and right. Still living -- much less leading -- through a global pandemic. And it’s hard. (And also maybe has some silver linings.)

?Whatever your take, it’s clear that our work lives are in the midst of a transformation, with the lines between our personal and professional lives continuing to blur. Let’s be clear: I don’t have the answer to the perfect in-person/hybrid/remote blend! Of course, some flexibility from the 9-5 (or let’s be honest, 7-7?) bonds was overdue. And also, of course we seem to get something out of being physically together. I’ll leave that mix to some HR experts and clever takes, of which there are many at the moment.

?The part that interests me is how do we lead through this transformative moment? I thought some of the themes that came up in my conversation with Sharon Silverstein of Snap, Jill Toscano of Walmart, and Denise Bailey-Castro of BET Networks were really insightful.

?Of course there are the (valuable!) tips and tricks -- things like Sharon mentioned about starting meetings 5 mins after the hour to let people meet their basic needs between meetings, or Jill’s invention of creating meeting free “zones” for your team to define (instead of trying for full meeting-free days, which seem hard to protect) or Denise’s idea of letting people create their own rituals to make space for what energizes them, be it a workout or switching the video off to take the call while walking the dog. I’m guessing by this point, you and your organization have tried out a few things to see what works and what doesn’t, for you.

?What really struck me, though were some deeper themes that emerged beneath the surface of our chat that were ultimately about focus and self-awareness:

1. Focus on what we can control. The elusive idea of “balance” may be utterly unattainable at this moment. Accepting that things are “imbalanced” right now and shifting, instead, to something we can control seems wise. I think maybe the better question to live out is “how do we come out of this ok?” From listening more actively to our team and making time and space to really check in with people, it’s more important than ever to be deliberate about connecting. To me, that is the path to light on this front.
2. Notice how stress is acting on your and your team. Stress pushes us all in different directions, depending on our personalities, home life, lifestyle and other factors. It took me some time to realize how intensely I can push toward execution when I’m feeling the burn. I’ve had to learn to be really purposeful to listen, absorb what’s coming at me and not jump straight into what to do. Leading through these unprecedented times has been all about doubling-down on that effort, and the silver lining is that it’s helped me understand my team in a new way and be there for them and troubleshoot where possible.
3. Lean into what matters - and clear the decks on the rest. Cutting extraneous work. Recognizing someone on the team who’s really delivering (and being deliberate about saying so, since you aren’t going to bump into them in the hallway). Holding yourself accountable to things you commit to. Appreciating the diversity of ideas and backgrounds that make up your team, and recommitting to amplifying those voices further. These are the things I’m trying to focus on and protect my team from the clutter otherwise.

?Focus and attention seem to be my mainstays in this crazy time. I wonder: what’s working for you? Would love to hear in the comments.