5 Ways To Lead With Agility During Turbulent Times
Extraordinary times such as these require extraordinary leadership. The ground rules have shifted. The focus is no longer about scoring points or silos competing with each other for limited resources. Local authorities report executives, cabinet members, partners and stakeholders pulling together like never before as they strategise, share best practice and optimise resources. Those leading private organisations are finding teams pulling together cohesively as they re-orientate their enterprise to new challenges and opportunities. Covid 19 requires leaders to transcend their egos in the service of the greater good. Never has it been more important that leaders are able to get over their ego drives and adeptly navigate their enterprises for the benefit and wellbeing of multiple stakeholders, from front line staff, to the communities they serve.
I’m coaching senior executives in both the private and public sectors, all playing pivotal leadership roles. I’ve been encouraged by their optimism and resilience. This doesn’t mean that as leaders they are invulnerable, quite the opposite. Many are out of their comfort zone and stretched in ways they’ve not experienced before. Phrases such as “we’re having to make it up as we go along” feature, but so do comments such as “we’re really pulling together” and “my team have got it, they’ve really stepped up”. The leaders I’m working with are conscious that they and the organisations they lead are not used to dealing with this level of uncertainty. They have systems and processes in place, but it’s how they manage themselves that matters. Their ability to keep a calm head, be mindful of the impact they have on others, and remain compassionate has never been more pertinent.
The leaders I’m in contact with are keen to embrace strategies that help them manage their ego-based anxiety so they can respond in an increasingly agile way and help others do the same.
As part of being human, ego is activated by fear. It kicks in when we consciously, but more often unconsciously, need to protect ourselves. We all have many fear driven, ego based behaviours that are designed to help us survive. The current pressures make us all vulnerable to our fear-driven ego being activated, bringing to life our innate survival strategies which encourage “me, me, me” and “I’m alright Jack” types of behaviour. Just look at the recent emptying of supermarket shelves as people stockpile, to see this in action.
The five practices below can help leaders manage their fear and ego reactions, helping to navigate these unpredictable and challenging times with greater agility.
1) Create space to think
In times of crisis, it’s all too easy to get caught up in frenetic activity to address the potential threat. Yet purposeful and intentional action is what is needed now. Yes, a degree of pace is required, but not at the cost of ill thought through strategies that have negative consequences. Every leader I’ve worked with recently has valued how our coaching conversations create the time to step back, reflect, and think. Many are faced with video calls from 8am to 8pm addressing direct reports anxiety about the current and changing priorities. Placing time in your diary with a coach, colleague or just alone allows the chance to take stock, explore whether the strategy is working, and take a more objective view. We all need time to process and make sense of what is going on. This gives us the cognitive wherewithal to create the clarity from which better decisions are made. Making time and space to do this, deepens our insights and understanding of ours and others’ emotions, so we are better placed to make more effective choices.
2) Quieten your mind
This is more than allocating time to think. When our brains are in overdrive dealing with multiple situations, constantly receiving and being asked for information and updates, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Even allowing ourselves 5 minutes solitude, free of interruption, where we can focus on our breathing, let go of thinking, get physically grounded and in touch with our body, can have an immediate calming effect that builds resilience and makes us less prone to our ego being activated.
Taking it further, there are many Mindfulness apps that provide guided meditations designed to quieten the mind and calm our adrenal system. Putting in a daily practice of 10-20 minutes in the morning is a great way to set ourselves up for the day and has a cumulative effect that strengthens our ability to stay present and alert.
3) Choose to be open and curious
Whether it’s the result of an action we’ve taken, or direct communication from our colleagues, everything is an opportunity to learn. In times of great uncertainty maintaining an openness to learning helps us to keep moving forward.
When our ego is activated we can be defensive and maintain a self-righteous position which risks us getting stuck, repeating mistakes, and blaming others,. Being open to feedback means suspending our judgement, listening from a place of not knowing all the answers, and being genuinely curious about what is possible. Actively engaging with others and seeking their ideas will encourage them to come forward with innovative solutions that may have otherwise remained locked away.
4) Manage your energy
During times of urgent action we go into overdrive, utilising our personal energy reserves without paying any attention to how we replenish them. I’ve often heard leaders say “this is a marathon not a sprint”. Yet the term “marathon” in itself sounds exhausting, and when tired we are more vulnerable to reacting from ego. Breaking our day into a series of shorter “sprints” where we spend a burst of energy and then make sure we top it up can mean we have the physical, emotional and mental reserves to complete the marathon in an “ego-less” way. This means we need to make sure we have time between meetings to breathe, grab a drink, or even get some fresh air. Setting clear boundaries for the start and end of our day – even if our days are longer than usual allows adequate time to rest and recover. Doing this not only keeps our own resources topped up, but also models self-care for our teams to follow.
5) Be compassionate with yourself
A destructive part of our ego is our inner critic, which can hold us back and diminish our sense of confidence and well-being. This causes fear and anxiety skewing focus towards the negative, rather than noticing what we have achieved.
Practicing compassion towards yourself is invaluable in enabling you to keep moving forward and reduce stress. Be mindful of how you relate to yourself, the language and tone of your internal voice. Accept that things cannot always go right, mistakes will happen. Beating yourself up about this is unhelpful. By being compassionate and understanding with yourself and others, you are more likely to build trust and create a psychologically safe work environment that encourages people to step forward, share ideas, and take the courageous steps needed to tackle the challenges being faced.
In summary, to avoid your ego getting in the way of your leadership agility:
Create time to think
Quieten your mind
Choose to be curious
Manage your energy
Be compassionate with yourself
I explore how to succeed with these and other leadership challenges in my shortly to be published book, Ego – Get Over Yourself and Lead, published by @ReThink Press.