We find ourselves in turbulent times with the outbreak of Covid-19 (Corona virus) and it has been fascinating to watch how the UK has responded to the crisis. 
 
I have a personal view that we are all leaders and it is how we choose to behave in these turbulent times that demonstrate the leadership skills we all have. 
 
There are days where I feel we are dammed if we do and dammed if we don’t. The opinions of others across the world over social media and journalists are impacting the decisions that individuals make, which cements my belief we are all leaders and have leadership traits which many will choose to follow.

• What would happen if our choices and decisions came from a place of love rather than fear?
• What would happen if we collaborated rather than competed?
• What if we all worked as a team rather than in silo?

 
These are questions that are relevant now, in the future and questions I’ve asked in the past as part of reflection.
 
What lessons am I taking away by leading through crisis?

• Challenge creates opportunity
• Our values drive behaviours
• Our beliefs drive behaviours
• Tough decisions must be made based on risk
• Fear and panic creates hysteria
• Communication is paramount for success
• Love and support creates harmony
• Collaboration is the only win/win situation

 
None of this is new, we just don’t consciously bring it to the forefront of our minds when we are busy. 
 
What opportunities does crisis bring?

• Learning & Growth
• Creative Thinking
• Strategic Thinking
• Implementation of new ways of working
• Teamwork
• Effective decision making
• Living life true to our family and company values and beliefs
• Challenge and conflict resolution
• Effective Communication

 
How is the current crisis affecting me & what am I doing about it?

• Home schooling – great opportunity to learn and connect with my boys to truly understand the challenges that they face in education and how things have changed or stayed the same within the education curriculum. 
• Effective Communication – being clear about the plan of action for the day. What the priorities are and valuing that we all give and receive information differently. Sometimes I must provide more information than I would normally like to receive and appreciate that others will process this information differently. They may want to be quiet and digest the information rather than talk about it aloud. 
• Getting creative – clients can still be coached over the phone and where they prefer face to face then embrace technology and utilise facetime and zoom. Explore what elements of my training programmes can be delivered online and learn the systems to educate myself and others
• Utilise my support groups – I’ve had more conversations with people over the phone, email or social media than ever before to seek to understand how I can help and support them as well as them helping and supporting me. A true example of collaboration over competition. 
• Remaining positive – I regularly talk about my emotional bank account and whether it is in credit or overdrawn. The more we give praise, support, words of encouragement and inspiration the more positive effect it will have on everyone’s mental health and wellbeing.
• Home working – whilst I am now used to home working, the dynamics at home will change so we will need to play to strengths in our family team and understand the roles that we all play throughout the day, respecting the fact that we will all have different priorities to achieve and how can we make sure the deadlines are achieved.
• Basic needs of survival – food, water, heat & security. I haven’t gone out panic buying, believing that if we all continued buying our weekly food as normal there will be enough for everyone. I have clean running cold water out of a tap as well as warm water for a shower. In other parts of the world, people would give anything to have that. I have a roof over my head that is safe, secure and warm whilst there are people still living out on the streets wondering when they will next have their basic needs of survival.

 
All in all, I have a lot to be grateful for. My health which is my wealth, a family who love and support me even when I’m not firing off all cylinders and being my best self as well as a fabulous support community that I can pull on in times of crisis. I’m living life true to my family and company values and beliefs.

• How is the current crisis affecting you?
• What help & support do you require?

 
Please feel free to reach out to see what solutions I may have at claire@accendocoaching.co.uk. Thank you for reading this blog and let’s lead the way

Influencing I leaders and coaches engage you with their story telling. They will create an impression as soon as they walk into the room. They will inspire you with the actions they take and always have others at the heart of all they do.

How to spot an Influential I in the room

• Outgoing
• People Orientated
• Life and soul of a party
• Interactive
• Persuading others
• Talkative
• Love praise and recognition
• Sells ideas to bring the team on board
• Inspirational
• Influential
• Impulsive
• Interested in people

Their greatest fear is loss of popularity so not unusual for them to talk their way out of any situation for fear of rejection. 

When faced with problems I style leaders and coaches become active, verbal and persuasive. They respond actively to challenges and may try to reach an agreement. Great when you are seeking a win/win solution for the team. 

The energy and enthusiasm that is created by an I leader and coach is infectious and it's not unusual for them to have their fingers in every pie and will be juggling the balls. Some people may refer to them as magpies, always going after the shiny objects, however they will always hit a deadline and perform at their best when everything is last minute. (Not a surprise as a high I and wanting to get this blog on my website before the day ends, I'm rapidly typing at the speed of light!)

Questions you may ask yourself when working with an I as a leader or coach

• How does this person make me feel?
• How might these people be an asset to my team?
• How might I have to adapt my communication to get the best out of these people?
• How do I keep these people on track?
• How do I manage their enthusiastic, infectious behaviour?

My top tip to engage with an influencing I is to INVOLVE THEM and MAKE THEM FEEL VALUED

For more information on the influencing I you can read "Do it or Ditch it" by Bev James or "Empowering Employee Engagement - How to ignite your team for peak performance" by Claire Cahill. Both available on Amazon

Inspirational, Fabulous and over 40 is also another great read of 12 women who decided to be brave and courageous to live their dreams by being influential. Also available on Amazon