One of the elements of living in this world of coronavirus and its knock on effects which has created most anxiety for me has been feeling disconnected from my family who live spread across the world. I can no longer say I can hop on a plane and be there in 24 hours.
At the same time, the progression of the coronavirus has clearly demonstrated how inter-connected we are across the world. It shows us that without a doubt everything we do has an impact on another person, and each impact has a ripple effect, and we can never know for sure exactly what that ripple effect might be.
Perhaps losing the everyday interactivity with other people we take for granted will highlight for us just how significant that ripple effect can be?
As we remain physically distant (NOT socially distant) from each other, our ability to Connect becomes more important than ever, and this is true in a number of ways:
Connect with our team
As one of my client’s reflected last week he is doing more check-ins with his staff members than ever before, and he has realised that perhaps when they were all in the office he took their presence for granted and now he has to be much more intentional about ensuring that they are travelling ok and that they know what is expected of them.
Connecting with our staff working from home also opens the door to learning more about them as individuals, and we need to understand that everyone will be experiencing different emotions and these will change from day to day. When we connect with them on a deeper level we can demonstrate more empathy and support them more effectively.
Connect for support
It is also important to connect with our own support network – as one CFO said to me “I’m looking after my family and my team but who’s looking after me?” If you belong to a group which can no longer meet then get everyone together online, and if you don’t have a peer network then now is the time to reach out to either find or create one! (send me a message if you are interested in joining one of my CFO Women's Circles). The ability to share how we are feeling is critical to how we manage our emotional responses, as well as practical tips on what is working and what is not.
Connect in small ways
And then there are also those tiny everyday connections we can make as we go out for our daily walks or runs, buying the groceries or picking up a takeaway coffee – how can you bring a smile to someone’s face? How can you connect with the human in front of you? I have finally got to know my local barista's name!
Connect in big ways
At the other end of the scale there has been the opportunity to connect across the world, who had ever thought of doing global family parties by Zoom before?! And the crisis has prompted many of us to reach out to those long-time friends who we rarely see, I have had Zoom calls with a group of women I lived with in London 30 years ago, and it must be 25 years since we had all been in a room together as we have scattered across the globe!
Connect with ourselves
The importance of how we show up in those interactions whether they are big or small is heightened now that they are so much less available to us in person and yet more available online.
For me that means that everything we do should be considered in the context of a bigger picture. We need to challenge ourselves to consider new perspectives, and I believe that starts with connecting with ourselves and bringing much greater awareness to who do I want to BE when I engage with the world. I am consciously building more time into my day for reflection, and loving that.
So I ask you:
How will you be connecting today?
Who do you want to BE when you make those connections?
One of the things which has brought me most joy over the last few weeks has been the ability to Connect despite the distance between us so if you would like to Connect I look forward to hearing from you.
Be kind to yourselves and each other.
with love
Sue
At the same time, the progression of the coronavirus has clearly demonstrated how inter-connected we are across the world. It shows us that without a doubt everything we do has an impact on another person, and each impact has a ripple effect, and we can never know for sure exactly what that ripple effect might be.
Perhaps losing the everyday interactivity with other people we take for granted will highlight for us just how significant that ripple effect can be?
As we remain physically distant (NOT socially distant) from each other, our ability to Connect becomes more important than ever, and this is true in a number of ways:
Connect with our team
As one of my client’s reflected last week he is doing more check-ins with his staff members than ever before, and he has realised that perhaps when they were all in the office he took their presence for granted and now he has to be much more intentional about ensuring that they are travelling ok and that they know what is expected of them.
Connecting with our staff working from home also opens the door to learning more about them as individuals, and we need to understand that everyone will be experiencing different emotions and these will change from day to day. When we connect with them on a deeper level we can demonstrate more empathy and support them more effectively.
Connect for support
It is also important to connect with our own support network – as one CFO said to me “I’m looking after my family and my team but who’s looking after me?” If you belong to a group which can no longer meet then get everyone together online, and if you don’t have a peer network then now is the time to reach out to either find or create one! (send me a message if you are interested in joining one of my CFO Women's Circles). The ability to share how we are feeling is critical to how we manage our emotional responses, as well as practical tips on what is working and what is not.
Connect in small ways
And then there are also those tiny everyday connections we can make as we go out for our daily walks or runs, buying the groceries or picking up a takeaway coffee – how can you bring a smile to someone’s face? How can you connect with the human in front of you? I have finally got to know my local barista's name!
Connect in big ways
At the other end of the scale there has been the opportunity to connect across the world, who had ever thought of doing global family parties by Zoom before?! And the crisis has prompted many of us to reach out to those long-time friends who we rarely see, I have had Zoom calls with a group of women I lived with in London 30 years ago, and it must be 25 years since we had all been in a room together as we have scattered across the globe!
Connect with ourselves
The importance of how we show up in those interactions whether they are big or small is heightened now that they are so much less available to us in person and yet more available online.
For me that means that everything we do should be considered in the context of a bigger picture. We need to challenge ourselves to consider new perspectives, and I believe that starts with connecting with ourselves and bringing much greater awareness to who do I want to BE when I engage with the world. I am consciously building more time into my day for reflection, and loving that.
So I ask you:
How will you be connecting today?
Who do you want to BE when you make those connections?
One of the things which has brought me most joy over the last few weeks has been the ability to Connect despite the distance between us so if you would like to Connect I look forward to hearing from you.
Be kind to yourselves and each other.
with love
Sue
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