Starting over again, again

I first heard this vital quote about disruption from Jim Collins and Bill Lazier’s book Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 on Brené Brown’s fantastic Unlocking Us podcast:

“If the first two decades of the 21st century have taught us anything, it’s that uncertainty is chronic; instability is permanent; disruption is common; and we can neither predict nor govern events. There will be no ‘new normal’; there will only be a continuous series of ‘not normal’ episodes, defying prediction and unforeseen by most of us until they happen.”

As a communicator, a leader, a human just trying to keep your nose above water as the waves keep coming, what can we do in this increasingly crazy world? Just speaking as a communications coach, I think there are two big things to think about.

First, take care of yourself. Managing through change requires physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual stamina. “Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others” is the rule for a reason. A tired, overwhelmed, stressed executive is not capable of being a great communicator.

Acknowledge your needs, protect the time and space you need to meet them. Encourage your senior team to do the same. This might mean booking a vacation you don’t think you have time to take, it might mean meditation, it might mean taking your 1:1s outside - walking and talking. You know what you need. Make sure you get it so that you’re as resourced as possible for whatever comes next.

Second, tell the truth. If you don’t know what to do with even more hard stuff coming, tell your team. “Look, this is going to be tough, we have to keep adjusting as we go. Let’s all help each other. I know that together we can find our way through.” That’s the kind of openness I’m talking about. “I have no idea what to do and I can’t take it anymore” is not. If you’re well-resourced (see above), you can face your fears and show courage to your team, modeling openness, modeling a learning mindset.

Speaking of which, it’s essential to show your team that you’re more invested in being a learner than a knower. In the same podcast episode (link below), Brené Brown says, “I need to choose to be the learner rather than setting up my value in life as being a knower.”

This is huge for me. I’ve always loved being a knower. It’s fun. I love sharing what I know to help people become great communicators. But last spring I scrambled. I had to learn as fast as I could to help my clients create and deliver content to connect with audiences remotely. Scrambling up that learning curve was both terrifying and exhilarating. It wasn’t the first one, it won’t be the last.

So, we’ve adjusted to a global pandemic. Now we’re creating new ways to live and work in the hybrid world. The next challenge/opportunity is around the corner . . .

Here’s hoping we can all take care of ourselves, no matter what comes. When we do this, we can become even stronger and more resilient truth tellers and learners. We’ll be prepared to lead our organizations through whatever comes next.