Preparing for transit?
Something is starting to shift for me…
When lockdown began, I approached it like a long haul flight. Not necessarily something you want to do but it gets you to the destination that you want or need to be. There is a sense of resignation to your contained environment with a small variety of distractions available to you, knowing that the journey at some point will come to an end and you will be free to carry on with the purpose of your trip.
But as questions about ‘What is next?’ and thoughts about transition become more prominent in my mind, I find myself in what feels like the last two hours of that long haul flight, wriggling in my seat, watching the clock, not really hungry or wanting to watch yet another movie, but resigned to pick something simply to pass the time. Agitation has arrived, a restless yearn for change perhaps, for certainty, or simply something more than this. But unlike a flight, in this situation I am also wrestling other emotions; those of fear and anxiety, which should not be underestimated in my ability to move through future transition.
Covid-19 bought about a gargantuan imposed change, hurled at us hard and fast. Many people showed great resilience in the early stages of the crisis. Adrenalin ran high and much was achieved in an incredibly short period of time. Somethings may previously have been considered impossible.
Author: Lindsay Smith ACC &
ORSC Practitioner
But what resilience is required in this new phase now that we are out of immediate crisis? Things remain difficult for many people in many ways and yet we have to stand in what is without fully knowing what is next. Thoughts about endurance spring to mind,
‘the ability to endure an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.’
But this takes emotional and physical resilience and is considerably more challenging in uncertain times. So in the world of work, what do we know?
What certainty do we have?
• We know that things remain uncertain
• We know that at some point another transition will be required of us
• We know that fear and anxiety may play a role in how some people respond
With this in mind, what is it that we can do to help us cross future edges into once again new territory.
With the relative pause that many of us have been granted at this moment in time, it would be foolish not to take a moment to reflect on what has passed in order to better steer a course on the path ahead. In simple terms:
• What can we learn from how we responded to the first transition?
• What worked, what didn’t and what would we do differently if we had to do it all again?
• How can this inform what we choose to do at the next transition point?
As Leaders in this land yet to be occupied,
What will be required of you? What skill and capability will be called forth?
