Let It Go!

Two weeks in to 2021 and we’ve already had 1 lockdown. Of course we’re lucky that it did not phase us at all and without skipping a beat we just stayed in on the weekend and worked from home Monday in the same way that we’ve done for most of the past year now without any service interruption. Not every team or organisation can say the same so we should be proud of how we’ve adapted and evolved our ways of working. I know I am.

Almost a year ago a joined a team that in many ways resisted change, and yet look at us now, not only accepting it but in many ways embracing, driving and leading it. Well done you 😊 On a personal note within the same 2 week period everyone in Team Morris has already been sick so across the board we are off with a bang haha! On the most part though my new years resolutions are working so far – managing boundaries better – the new dropoff/pickup roster seems to be working for now – I’ve done very little night time / weekend work – I’m sleeping more – limiting coffee – looking at the phone less – and mostly caring less about what others think. So of course everyone is different but for what it’s worth I’d highly recommend giving these a go. The workaholic tendencies will always be there, dormant, but I need to manage them better. They combine to form a toxic cocktail with always putting everyone else’s needs before my own so I’m trying to make ‘me’ a priority more.

I’d also like to share with you some thoughts that spawned from a chat I had with a friend of mine this week. Now this friend is a leadership coach, and we were talking about trends we were noticing across our leader networks (yes these are the nerdy chats I have with friends – you can keep your “did you see the news last night?” chats 😝). The chat turned to the trend of ‘letting go’ of the way things used to be from a reliance on going in to an office everyday, using timestamps and physical presence as performance indicators, now working from anywhere and focusing on outputs and outcomes, and how these were becoming the new normal in 2021. We also have both noticed a general exhaustion across our networks with most people coming back from a short break realising that a much longer break would ideally be needed because nearly everyone seems to be working harder and/or longer than they used to. So what’s the answer? We can’t all just take 3 months holiday unfortunately. We need to find a way to not need to take 3 months holiday. Surely exhaustion cannot also be part of the new normal?! It will only be if we let it. My friend noted from some of her recent coaching sessions that these are all very tangible, observable changes. What’s becoming more evident is the ‘letting go’ of psychological and emotional aspects of leading and managing that often prove more difficult than changing where you sit each day. For example, leaders and managers in many teams used to be able to see their teams each day, now they can’t, and for some this is a very uncomfortable space. It involves not knowing things you used to know. Not seeing things you used to see. But to know everything we used to know in addition to all the new things we need to know in this highly digitised way of working is too much, so somethings gotta give. Like we do with strategic and operational planning activities we need to challenge ourselves with what do we really need to know and see as opposed to what makes us comfortable. Can we afford the luxury of comfort? And these are the changes that are even harder, because they need to happen within, how we think and feel about the changes not just how we manage and implement them. We need to be mindful of being inclusive to the diverse ways in which different people like to work and can be their best, because the answers won’t be a 1-size fits all and we can’t project the way we like to work on to our team mates. She used a term when she spoke about peoples defiance to return to the way things were pre 2020; that they’ve “discovered balance”, which I also love, and can relate to this myself. And once you’ve figured out a way to balance your career and your wellbeing, well of course who would want to let that go?! Now of course we’re all at different stages of our own “discoveries”, and some people have less to balance than others, but we do need to challenge mental comfort, as it is often through discomfort where we best grow toward our better selves. We also need to get better at supporting each other because the big changes we’ve made in the past 12 months have been amazingly positive for some, and yet unprecedently difficult for others, because old habits – like my favourite xmas move – die hard, so your colleagues will need emotional and psychological space and support this year to refine the changes forced upon us last year into something that represents choice and sustainable balance. For my friend this means business will be booming this year, as managers and leaders will need support and guidance how to be their best so they can in turn help their teams be their best. So what does all this nerdy leadership chat translate to for some takeaway messages? Let me summarise with some of my favourite pop culture jargon; You do you boo, and let other’s be different to you; and let it go – thank you Frozen. Let go of what you think is important and make more room for what really is.

Only 1 share for you this week but it is well worth the 9 mins. “We spend more time looking after our cars, clothes, and hair than we do our minds, which in turn controls how we perform and interact with the world.” I love this and its right up there endorsing our weekly guided virtual meditation, but I will note I aim in 2021 to progress to taking time out daily for meditation or mindfulness and as Andy talks about it only takes 10 mins:

Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes | TED Talk

Turn the phone off, listen deeply, and prioritise that which matters most! 😊