I have been writing to you lately with advice to help you lead, survive and thrive in today’s difficult times. We’ve talked a lot about navigating change, pivoting your business, and driving confidence amid the deep disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, a host of natural disasters, and the constant swirl of the political and social environments.
So let me ask you something.
- How are you holding up?
- Are you and your loved ones healthy, safe and well?
- Are you drowning in Zoom meetings?
- Are you putting in more hours than ever, with less of a boundary between work and home life, now that you are working largely from home?
- Are you getting up from your desk regularly for some fresh air or a little exercise?
- Are you turning off your devices long enough to enjoy dinner and downtime with your family?
- Do you have someone to talk to as the pressure mounts?
- Are you giving yourself a reasonable break when things go wrong?
- Are you reading books for the pure enjoyment of it, finding a favorite TV show, or enjoying a hobby to take your mind off work demands, COVID, politics, etc.?
- Do you have a cohort of trusted colleagues and friends, an advisor, mentor, or coach to help you think things through without risk of unintended consequences?
- Are you periodically slowing down, taking strategic pauses to reflect, strategize, decompress and re-energize?
- Have you surrounded yourself with the right team to drive results?
- Have you equipped your team to lead with impact?
- Have you taken meaningful steps to eliminate areas of wasted time, effort and energy?
- Have you asked your employees, customers, business partners, and family: How are you are doing? What do you need, and how can I help?
The fact is, leading an organization is never an easy task. And leading through crisis can be outright exhausting. Don’t make the mistake of putting yourself at the bottom of your priority list. It’s not self-indulgent to focus on staying healthy, balanced and energized. In taking good care of yourself, you set the example for those who work for you, partner with you, buy from you, live with you, and care about you. Rising tides really do lift all boats.
Four Ways I Can Help You Right Away
If you’d like my help in navigating today’s challenges and setting course for tomorrow, send me an email or give me a call. Together, we can explore ways to improve and dramatically accelerate your results.
Some of my latest offerings include:
1.Strategic Advisor to the CEO and Executive Team. If you’d like an objective thought partner with whom you can discuss matters of leadership, strategy, team dynamics, and leading through change, you’ll want to consider this approach. You’ll have me on speed dial to discuss opportunities and challenges in real time—to make your best decisions today and thoughtfully strategize for tomorrow.
2.Slow Down to Speed Up® Toolkit. It’s never been more important to equip your team with the right tools for performance. I will work directly with your team, using my proprietary approach, and provide them with a pragmatic framework to enhance decision-making, collaboration, delegation, communication, and prioritization. With the Slow Down to Speed Up® toolkit at their disposal, your group will perform better, lead with confidence, and drive better business outcomes.
3.Sentient Strategy®. I will work closely with you and your team to develop the kind of strategy that meets today’s challenges head-on, while creating meaningful progress toward realizing your vision. Over the course of a full-day session (with a bit of targeted pre- and post-work), or two half-day remote sessions, we will pinpoint your top three growth drivers and put them to the test. Accountability for implementation is a key part of the process.
4.Slow Down to Speed Up® Briefings for New Leaders. I have to give credit to one of my favorite clients for this great idea. After I provided two keynote addresses for the Northrop Grumman Management Club, they told me they’d decided to host a five-week book club featuring Slow Down to Speed Up: Lead, Succeed, and Thrive in a 24/7 World. It was a creative, engaging, high impact way to provide their people with my SDTSU tools for success. I can help you do the same for your organization.
To your continued health, wellness, and steadfast leadership.
Dr. Liz
