What is true Leadership in times of uncertainty?

I know the situation that we are currently in has come as a sudden shock and many things that we took for granted,  and were just used to, have come to an abrupt halt. 

So how do we manoeuvre through times of uncertainty? Do we retreat, do we “pretend” it is business as usual, and that all will return back to normal?

I would say – neither. It’s tragic enough that this disease takes lives and pulls families apart.

We need to stop and take a deep breath and become aware of what our true purpose is. Appreciate what we have and be grateful for all the things we have achieved and for the people around us.

Secondly, I believe that all of us have a certain level of leadership within us. We all can tap into our internal “heroe” if we allow ourselves to. This may not be easy as fear and uncertainty may “freak us out”, we may not know how to find the power and in which direction to go.

Obviously, everyone’s situation may vary, for me of course with children at home, I now need to negotiate with my husband and do some “shift work” – which means we are both more diligent with our working hours. At the same time, I actually like the new routine. I noticed that I am more efficient – getting more things done in less time or focussing on what is most important because of the constraints. 

At the same time consciously taking the time to spend “happy hours” with the kids and keeping the home schooling somewhat “light-hearted” helps to keep each other sane during this lock down.  

In the grand scheme of things though in my business, and in following my mission, not much has changed – in fact – I am ‘equipped’ and now even more so than ever to offer services that are  exactly what people need going forward.  

Why?

1. Flexible working. I personally have been working from home virtually for a number of years now – so the way I have work hasn’t changed – in fact the way others now work and understand my ways of working has brought us more closely together. The need for a Plan B and the need to be more flexible and innovative has occurred over night through the current outbreak.
    
2. Showing up. To me it’s about continuing to show up for yourself and for others. In these times community counts and it’s important to create aligned initiatives as opposed to being paralysed, standing still or even hide. Now more than ever we need to show innovation, creativity and inspire others! 
    
3. Leaders step up and create creative solutions to match the current climate. 
    
4. Community matters. When we act as a community, we have a much larger impact as opposed to when we act on our own. If we all do our 'bit' we will create positive lasting shifts in times of uncertainty as opposed to having a mindset of fear and panic.

I feel like I was equipped and have been working towards this exact point in time – rather ‘unconsciously’ though. 

My mission started about 18 months ago – when I had the idea to collect stories of inspirational women in leadership and entrepreneurship. 

Subsequently, I published 2 best-selling books – the first one (called Rise) last year and the second this year in February (called Joy). 

The most remarkable shift happened with the publication of the first book. I had the idea to create a larger community and increase my impact via an online portal – called “The Empowerment Portal”, which is a collection of a wide range of digital programmes in collaboration with over 30 experts.

“The Empowerment Portal” as it now turns out is in fact a timely innovation that will shift how people perceive their daily lives, their careers, their relationships and their health going forward.

The current pandemic has achieved exactly the need for this shift. At the same time, it will leave behind a lot of challenges and issues that will need to be resolved in months if not years to come.

However,  we are seeing a huge shift right in front of us. With this shift comes a new era where people will undoubtedly need more guidance than ever when it comes to their future or getting back to an altered new “normal”.

In summary, I would like to share 3 key pieces of advice that many of my co-authors of Rise and Joy have continuously talked about that made the biggest impact in their lives and which I believe is now even more so true are:

1. Find your purpose and follow it.
2. Look after yourself mentally and physically.
3. Build healthy relationships and networks around you

Who knows what the time frame will be?