7 Ways To Be A Conscious Leader During COVID-19

How you lead during this time of crisis may be your most memorable legacy

The Covid-19 situation is putting our resilience to the test. Working has taken on a whole new meaning, whether we’re essential workers or working from home or furloughed. We’ve had to pivot as individuals, teams, organizations and in our personal lives as well. Good leadership has always been important, but now how we guide our people has become a central focus. It requires an increased level of awareness. It requires being a Conscious Leader — and breaking with the old patterns and habits so deeply embedded in what we do.
 

How can leaders overhaul their approach and better support their people? Start with mental health, and pay attention. People are under incredible mental strain — no matter the circumstances, and this won’t end when the initial crisis is over. Here are 7 ways to tend to the mental health of your workforce, and help you as well, as your people get through the Covid-19 crisis:

1. Remove some pressure. Your people still need to deliver results, but give them flexibility. Recognize the need to balance performance with down time and model that yourself. If people see that you’re constantly connected, they’ll take that as a sign of what’s expected. 

2. Provide clarity. Your people need to know how the crisis is affecting the organization, and its workflows, and what you’re doing to respond to it. Present a clear vision of your direction of travel and hopes for the future. No one knows exactly what is going to happen but keep people updated as the situation evolves, and show you are mobilizing towards a longer-term vision. 

3. Co-create the answers. No one expects you to have all the answers. Between all of you, you can figure them out together: how to support each other when working from home, pivoting your service offer to the current needs of the customer, or finding out what people need to support their mental health and wellbeing.  It just requires you to spend time asking more questions and listening to what others have to say.

4. Give people more than work. Your people may be under tremendous work and personal pressure — and they need to know you’re concerned with their lives and needs as well as their deliverables. Check in frequently, and ask them how they’re doing, and care about the answers. Discuss their personal development and wellbeing. Share some of your own thoughts and feelings as well - be open about your own experience of what’s going on. Show that you’re human too.

5. Check in with yourself. Don’t just click into hero mode: if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of everyone else. Make sure you take breaks and time outs, fuel your mind and body, get enough sleep, and keep the high intensity to short bursts. Model that, and model being calm and rational, for those on your team. Long stints of massive energy expenditures aren’t good for you, or those around you.   

6. Look at your buckets. These are the things that need your time and attention, such as relationships, kids, family, exercise, friends, home, spirituality, personal development, and self-care. How much attention are you paying to your buckets? Make sure each one is getting the attention it needs - and that will be unique to you. When we spend a lot of time filling up certain buckets, other buckets become depleted. What buckets do you have, and how much attention are you paying to them? What do you need?

7. Learn the language of emotions. Even those in touch with their feelings often find it difficult to articulate them. For leaders, it can be even harder. Try these two exercises with yourself and your team: 
 

 

We’re all under inordinate pressure right now. By becoming more aware of what is going on inside and around you, you become a better, more conscious leader. Create the space for people to speak up, maintain consistent direction, and work with your team to keep on top of what matters most. You will be respected for it. How you lead during this time of crisis may be your most memorable legacy. 

Natasha Wallace is founder and chief coach of Conscious Works, a coaching and leadership development company specializing in wellbeing. Having spent many years working in organizational and leadership development and as a former HR Director, Natasha left her job having reached burnout. It led her to recognize that there are two fundamental things getting in the way of people staying well at work — self knowledge and self care. She set up her company and wrote her book, The Conscious Effect: 50 Lessons for Better Organizational Wellbeing, to help fix that problem – to help people to become more conscious so they can optimize themselves and their teams. She now inspires a well world of work, coaching and advising leaders and their teams on how to create healthier and happier workplaces through a greater focus on wellbeing and its connection to high performance. Visit https://conscious-works.com/ Connect Natasha Wallace Follow @consciousworks0