A Sense of Stability

Often as leaders we find ourselves in the tricky space of needing to support the wellbeing of others and at the same time ensuring the work gets done. This has been especially true in the last few years as we navigated the pandemic and then the post-pandemic world.?

When Covid first hit, many predicted that the pandemic would irrevocably change the world which I think to some extent has happened. Post-covd we do have some new normals. Some of these are really beneficial. For example I love that people are so comfortable with learning and connecting online. This has resulted in so many opportunities and new relationships.?

Before Covid I would never have imagined offering online professional learning in 90 minute Masterclasses and I’m also not sure if there would have been many takers. But being able to offer relationship-based, bite-sized learning in a way that allows participants to think, go away, reflect, experiment, and then come back for more, really does result in deep meaningful change. Those with an understanding of the Science of Learning will not be surprised at the success of this approach.

A recent Masterclass participant reflected on how beneficial it had been to focus on herself as a leader for 90 minutes a week, over six weeks. It had helped her to really embed the changes she sought in her journey towards being a more authentic leader.

Other post-Covid norms are not so helpful. One of these is around people’s wellbeing. Before Covid, turning up to work when you were sick was for many a heroic act. We even had ads encouraging us to “‘soldier on’ through our sickness. I went 13 years without taking one sick day! It didn’t mean I was never sick, I was just never sick enough not to ‘soldier on’!?

I’m not for one minute suggesting this is okay, but the pendulum around wellbeing does swing with people often taking sick days when in actual fact, getting up and doing something might improve their wellbeing more than another day at home. Eek - I’m not sure if I am even allowed to write stuff like that!

As leaders we do need to show compassion to those we lead. This compassion is not necessarily about reducing workload, sometimes compassion is listening and daring to stay in the hard moments. Compassion is allowing conversations about doubt, discomfort and disbelief about the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Compassion is revealing our own humanness to those we lead.

As well as compassion we also need to exercise containment. Containment is:

“The ability to observe and absorb what is going on around you, but to provide a sense of stability.” Anand Narasimhan.

For many leaders today, life feels like being stuck in a perpetual game of Whac-a-Mole. No sooner have they come to grips with one change, than the next one arrives.? It is exhausting, and when the change is externally imposed, it can feel as though their professionalism is under attack.?

But an important role of leaders is to provide stability, giving those they lead the belief that we can do this. On page 79 of my first Leaders’ Suitcase book I wrote about the Stockdale Paradox. Named after Admiral Jim Stockdale, who survived eight years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, the Stockdale paradox is:

• An unwavering faith that you’ll prevail in the end

AND

• The discipline to confront the brutal facts of the situation in which you find yourself.?

This is the work of today’s leader. But in order to provide stability to those you lead, you need to be certain of who you are. We cannot offer stability, if inside we are full of self-doubt.?

Self-confidence, the antidote to self-doubt and the thing which kicks the imposter syndrome to touch, comes from a deep understanding of who we are, what our purpose is in life and how our personal values can help us to lead in a deeply authentic way. One recent Masterclass graduate put it this way:

“Going through this Masterclass has given me a whole range of strategies with which to reframe my imposter syndrome. It has been fantastic to get clarity on who I am and how I lead.”

Too often we focus our leadership development on how to help others. While this is important, investing in helping ourselves, especially if we suffer from Imposter Syndrome, is equally so.

This is the work of my Masterclass, Setting Yourself Up for Success. Over the course of six 90 minute sessions you will develop a deep understanding of who you are, which will equip you to offer stability to those that you lead.?

Registrations for my final Setting Yourself Up for Success Masterclass for 2024 are closing soon, so if this has been something you’ve been considering, then act now.

‘Til next Thursday,

Carolyn