Many of those who know me well will know that I started a new role on 16 March. Needless to say, it has been really tough to navigate separating from an organization and team that I loved, making sense of the reality of what’s happening in the world just now, living 6000 miles away from my family, and starting a new role in a new organization in an industry that’s also new to me. (and remembering to use American instead of British English!) But, so far so good…!
One of the wellness initiatives I’m leading within our Life Insurance business here at Chubb is a weekly webinar series where I interview experts in their field for 30 minutes on topics related to wellness. “Resilience” is a hot topic at the moment, both our personal resilience and the resilience of our organizations, and I’ve read many articles on the topic of late. I invited Trevor Smith, ICF qualified Professional Certified Coach and Insurance industry veteran, to join me this week to discuss some simple ways we can stay resilient in times of uncertainty. Here are my top ten key points that I took away.
1. The Chinese character for “Crisis” is made up from two symbols: “Danger” and “Opportunity”. Don’t let the fear and uncertainty of the “crisis” get in the way of the opportunities that it can bring. See uncertain times as an opportunity to shape the future for yourself, others and your organization.
2. You need to look after yourself before you can look after others. Remember on the aeroplane when the cabin crew tell you to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others? The same applies in life in general. We are no use to other people if we are running on empty! Caring for ourselves first is often the best thing we can do in order to be able to help others. Self care isn’t selfish, it’s just really good advice.
3. Make sure you have a structure to your day when working remotely. Dress for work, and set boundaries for looking after yourself, including taking breaks, eating, exercising, and ending your day by shutting down your equipment. If you have children, schedule time with them into your day. Personally I now use my “commute” time for exercise, buy taking a one-hour walk in the morning and then doing a personal training session via video call at 6pm. It helps me to separate my day and retain some normal structure. There is some brilliant content about working remotely on LinkedIn Learning that you may find helpful.
4. Focus on the now. Marathon runners don’t concern themselves with the end of the race but, instead, they focus on taking their “next best step”. At times when we can’t see the finish line, focus on the things we can control rather than the things we can’t control. What are the natural next steps and the next best thing that you can do to work towards your goal without worrying too much about the future? What small steps can you take now?
5. Maintain a positive mindset. Recognise that things are tough, but be hopeful that positive things will happen. It can be very easy to get caught up in reading news articles and social media posts which catastrophize, sensationalize, and cause unnecessary worry. Try not to get involved in this negative media by choosing your news sources wisely. Start your day positively by ensuring that, when you wake up, you do something for yourself like take a walk, do some yoga, or eat breakfast BEFORE you read the news or your chosen social media platform.
6. Focus on self-development. Never stop learning. Spend 1% of your day, every day, on self development. 1% equates to just 15 minutes. In one working month, that’s approximately 5 hours of learning. What new skill or behavior can you learn each month, and master within the year? There are loads of resources available on LinkedIn Learning, but also consider external sources or courses and seminars offered by your profession’s industry body.
7. Be clear about your motivators. Take your personal motivators and your personal goals in life, link them to your job goals, and then find the common ground. Consider what success looks like for your in life and what you want your legacy to be. If work goals and life goals can come together, you will find the success you’re looking for. If you’re approaching retirement, what do you want your legacy to be?
8. Give more than is expected of you. It’s really important to be clear on your goals and ensure that you’re clear on what’s expected of you from your line manager and stakeholders. Be clear on your purpose and how you can add value, and always give more than is expected of you. You will get recognized and, in turn, this will help you maintain your confidence, especially if you are physically disconnected from the team.
9. Stay connected to people. It’s really important in times of uncertainty that you don’t go “off radar”, especially as a leader. The key is to proactively over communicate. Plan time into your day to connect with colleagues to bounce ideas around or simply to say hello and ask how they’re doing. Also consider getting a mentor or coach. Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt recorded this short clip on YouTube called “Everyone Needs a Coach” because, in reality, you can’t see yourself as other people see you. And finally, connect with your professional body, using this time to continue to build your professional expertise and network.
10. Stay close to the market. Take time to understand where the value lies in our business right now. Times of change are the time to innovate and get ahead of the market. Put yourself in the shoes of your customers to better understand what they want, need and expect. Speak positively about your organization and the role it plays in improving people’s lives which is, ultimately, what we need in the world right now.
I appreciate that lots has been written on this topic of late but I hope I was able to offer some reinforcement to your current practices and/or some new ideas to try.
Take care and please do get in touch if you have any ideas to share.
Gabriella
Here is a link to Trevor’s LinkedIn profile if you would like to organize a similar initiative or discuss other organization development challenges or explore executive coaching opportunities. https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-smith-executive-coach
Big Thoughts, Little Thoughts and Everything In Between 