This month on coaching duty I had the opportunity to meet a dozen different people for one-hour one-off sessions. An amazing experience for a coach who knows that you only see a person once and everything is to be done here and now, because nothing will carry over to the next meeting. Plus this variety of personalities, communication styles and challenges that people come with. Like a multi-colored palette. Like a sample of an entire large organization. In all this uniqueness and multicoloredness, however, I tried, as I do, to find a recurring pattern and noticed (not in everyone, fortunately) a great need for self-management.
A challenging time for leaders.
Times are challenging for everyone, but for leaders probably even more so, because others look up to them and sometimes they are waiting for support, sometimes they need encouragement, sometimes they need advice, sometimes they just need to be noticed and appreciated. On top of that, there are demands from the organization to do better or worse in times of pandemic, which requires a change in approach, new ideas, flexibility, agility, transformation and so on. A remote meeting chases a meeting, there is no time to switch, let alone go get water, open a window, move around, eat. A real black hole that will absorb any amount of energy. One of the participants on duty told me, “when I’m done, I’m so tired I can’t rest, I lie down, I don’t do anything, and I keep getting tired.”
So where does this energy come from?
In a world of having to choose priorities from priorities, it seemingly seems that there is simply no time to recharge the batteries, that you have to postpone it, postpone it, wait it out, get tired somehow, do it later, grit your teeth (I’ve always wondered how you can do that), tighten your claws… add your pushers, rushers and “procrastinators” (I think I just created a new word). I write seemingly, because yet everyone I talked to about it realized that it was a dead end, that it was impossible to function that way in the long run, and yet they were still in it. And either he couldn’t free himself from the agonizing thoughts, even after work, or he told himself that it could somehow be survived and that “it would get better.” Well, it WILL NOT happen if it is not addressed. To all those who need evidence as to where this certainty comes from, I can quote here the second law of thermodynamics, which states that if a thermodynamic system goes from one equilibrium state to another, its entropy (degree of disorder) always increases. Of course, here the physics, and here the man, with all his psychology, so you can say that it can not be translated so simply.
Take control.
But still, isn’t this a beautiful metaphor for how we often act? Also delightful in its simplicity is this description of change as a transition from one state to another… In turn, entropy, which according to the principle of thermodynamics always increases when moving from equilibrium to equilibrium, is for me a metaphor for the fact that in a situation of change, chaos is normal, but also that it builds up and that it will not disappear by itself. It may lead us to another state, which will be some new balance, but will it be the balance we want? However, I suggest that we take control and create conditions for ourselves so that things move in the direction we want.
Easy to say, but easy to do?
Apparently, if we believe it’s going to be hard, it will be, and if we believe it’s going to be easy, it will be… it can be, for example, like in some of the energy management stories described in this article I recommend. Still current https://hbr.org/2007/10/manage-your-energy-not-your-time and encouraging to look into the four areas of our operation:
- Associated with the body, providing physical energy
- Related to emotions, determining what quality of our energy is
- Associated with the mind, giving direction to this energy
- Associated with the spirit and energy of meaning and significance.
Build and strengthen your immunity.
This is what we have been doing with some coaching clients. We looked into the areas, checked what the situation was there, and even scored each aspect so that it would be measurable and so that we would have black and white which area needs the most care now. It turned out that just being aware of one’s own condition and related needs helped and motivated to design changes. And these were not some miraculous measures from outer space (Although everything is from outer space, right? Since we are part of it…), but simple resolutions about the amount of sleep, taking care of meals and water, taking walks, mental hygiene related to cutting off thinking about work after work, etc. And all this to build and strengthen your immunity. If not now, when?
If you want to know more contact us.
