How can we best help managers and leaders get through the COVID 19 crisis?
Unchartered waters
With so much uncertainty and different ways of working, managers and leaders are having to make decisions quickly in unchartered waters which is stressful enough without having to ensure they operate as their ‘best selves’ to be able to communicate with their teams with empathy and clarity.
Isolation
We are also all working in isolation so there is less opportunity to bounce ideas against peers and colleagues informally. Most of the contact remotely is through Teams or other digital platforms in formal meeting to discuss immediate solutions, firefight and show evidence of accountability for their own productivity and that of their teachers.
Personal and professional challenges
Through working with several leaders and managers in colleges and schools at the moment I am hearing from them that they need somewhere now more than ever to have headspace for themselves to talk though professional and personal challenges and help them cope better and preserve their own wellbeing.
Coaching
1-1 coaching provides a listening ear with an opportunity to really feel heard and the headspace to reflect more broadly on the issues they are facing. Through questioning and a 2 way conversation they are enabled to think more widely about things in a non-pressurised environment where they can come up with different solutions, consider different options and gain perspective. It also enables them to think more creatively which they haven’t been able to before when in the ‘pressure cooker’ of day to day leadership. It can be just as effective done remotely when they are in the comfort of their own home and can even promote links to key skills from their personal life which can enhance their professional role.
Wellbeing and resilience
Having the opportunity for this preserves wellbeing so they feel supported and able to build up resilience which benefits themselves and their teams. They come away equipped with strategies to manage difficult conversations better, keep morale going and maintain a sense of values and being valued .