Three great examples of leadership during lock downs -- including one that probably will surprise you

Here are three examples of leadership that can be seen during the lock downs. The third is a bit unusual but I'm sticking with it....What are you seeing that is inspiring and impressing you?

One: Business owners and leaders showing agility. It has been inspiring to talk with business owners and learn about how they are adapting during the crisis. The following examples might seem simple, but they show how a few small changes can make a big difference:

• The owner of a yoga studio offered online classes, something she had been wanting to do for a long time. Now she had no choice. We've seen the same with the music teachers that work with our kids. With a bit of technology, and an agile attitude, they are persevering and in some cases doing as well as they were before.
• Executive and leadership coaches continue to offer coaching to clients that are struggling, even at reduced or no cost, showing their commitment to service and also building good will that will likely last long past the crisis. Meanwhile, these same professionals have made the switch to offering online programs and provide virtual delivery of their services.
• The owner of a dog grooming business, with a customer base made up of an older population, created a mobile service. He started grooming pets in a converted truck, and created a process for retrieving and returning pets that didn't put his customers or himself at risk. Customers also appreciate having someone stop by to check in on them. Now he is thinking he can franchise his model, or grow to multiple trucks that he owns.
• A physician practice moved their waiting room to the parking lot of their building. The staff escorts each patient one at a time to the office when it is their turn, and they take time to clean thoroughly after each visit.

The above are simple examples, but show that business owners that are resilient and adaptable can reap rewards.

Two: Leadership through selfless service. Many business owners are somehow finding time to assist others in need by volunteering their time and services. Coaches have always been great at providing pro bono coaching, for instance to military veterans returning from service. They continue to offer their coaching skills to people who can benefit from a sounding board and support. Similarly, a number of business owners are distributing food to the elderly, checking in on people who are vulnerable, helping with home repairs, donating to food banks, and helping non-profits raise funds to help their constituents -- even as their own revenue sources are in question.

Three: How kids are learning/showing leadership. I'm not a fan of the video games Grand Theft Auto or Fortnite, or at least haven't been in the past. They have seemed to be time wasters, and please don't post about the obvious problems with the content. However, as I've seen my teens play more than their fair share of these games during lock down, I have to admit that they have developed some useful leadership skills through these games.

This is important, because kids have lost a lot of the ways they had before lock down to develop the critical soft skills. For instance, my oldest son was a leader on his JROTC competition team. My middle son was a leader on his school tennis team. These activities have been cancelled -- not to mention the everyday interaction with other kids. Our kids have to find other outlets.

To that end -- surprising as it may be -- it turns out that Grand Theft Auto is a more entertaining, and perhaps more effective, business and leadership simulator than you can get at many top business schools. First, you buy, sell, start, and run businesses. I know: these businesses might not be morally upstanding examples. But what Grand Theft Auto does is sort of what parents do when we pour melted cheese on broccoli to get our kids to eat vegetables. My son has learned the principles for building an organization to get leverage on his time. He now understands about profit and loss, and what it takes to keep a business going. He gets why making a profit is a good thing (something that many kids seem to not know). And he is having fun learning all of this. Whereas business was not an interest to him before playing all of this Grand Theft Auto, he now seems genuinely interested in learning more about business and building organizations.

Second. he is meeting people from all over the world and engaging in missions with them. He is also hiring people to do missions for him, which is a critical entrepreneurial skill that most adults lack. I hear him on his headset working with other players, and I am impressed -- and this wouldn't have happened if we weren't on lock down together and often hanging out in the same room together. He is demonstrating influence skills, teamwork, collaboration, and how to work with complete strangers to achieve goals. I didn't expect this from what I thought was a total time waster.

There are interesting, sometimes surprising and good things happening during this time, and the above merely scratches the surface. What are you seeing? Meanwhile, keep moving forward!