Ups and downs
Every day we are bombarded by new information pertaining to the ongoing pandemic and crisis, which may trigger a wide array of feelings and emotions. For some, it may conjure feelings of fear and panic. For others, dread and anxiety. Whatever it triggers for you or your team, remember that feelings and emotions are normal. Instead of burying them, let’s practice healthy ways of expressing them so they don’t take over our lives.
Emotional consideration
A crucial aspect of effectively leading our teams, regardless of the crisis, is to integrate emotional concern into how we interact with our teammates. Emotional care includes “active listening, appreciating and sharing the internal experiences…” By acknowledging what our teams are feeling, we can work with the reality of the situation, not some fantasy world where we are not affected by emotions.
One of our roles is to help our teams manage and channel their emotions into productive behaviors, which includes being patient in trying times, acknowledging the stress of the current situation, and finding ways to help gain a sense of control.
Today, emotions may be all over the place. We may focus on our work, leave a meeting, only to find ourselves stressed after a quick glance at the news or from a text message from a family member. Let’s be kind to our teams and help provide a way to buffer against the influx of ever-changing news and information.
Stronger together
In 2014, Simon Sinek shared a quote — attributed to Bob Chapman — that seems appropriate today: “It’s better that we should all suffer a little than any of us should have to suffer a lot.” Regardless of how different tomorrow may look, we can get through this together.
