*This post is by Katie Huey*
Dear No Handbook,
A few weeks ago, I participated in the virtual Mindfulness and Global Leadership Summit. Sky Jarrett, CEO of Transcend, LLC and Executive Coach, shared a profound conversation with one of her clients, which included a statement very similar to your question.
At one point during their weekly call, the leader was struggling with a particularly difficult issue and blurted out,
“I just don’t know what to do. There’s no guidebook for this!”
Here’s the good news for both you and them: no one else has a “How to lead through a pandemic” manual either. While the term “Pandemic leadership” seems to be developing, few classes on leading through global crisis have been taught in business schools. Unfortunately, the books have yet to be written on what to do when revenue and opportunities dry up in a matter of days, nor do the business lessons from the 1918 pandemic seem to apply in this digital age.
Jarret responded to her client with some wisdom:
“In the absence of a playbook, the answers must come from within.”
Shoot.
No Handbook, you probably are where you are because of your resourcefulness. You studied, got degrees, and applied a life long learning approach to how you run your business. You built partnerships and sought counsel to help you make the best decisions possible.
During a crisis, it’s normal to look outside of yourself for the answers. Knowing what’s worked for others can help us when we feel unsure or are fearful of the impacts of the tough decisions we have to make.
But when everyone feels unsure, what’s a leader to do?
In our experience, transformation and commitment to a new future has to first take place within the leader. This is scary because the responsibility lies solely on the one making the decision - you. If your plan of action doesn’t unfold as you hope, the failure points right back to you.
While there is truth in this responsibility, there are supportive ways to help you uncover what you already know to be true and move forward even amidst uncertainty. Social workers, counselors, and executive coaches know your power comes not from them providing advice, but rather in guiding your tricky work of uncovering your own next steps.
In coaching sessions with our own clients, when we get to this difficult place, we often ask:
I know you don’t know, but if you did, what would that be?
The question might even sound silly, yet it’s actually quite powerful.
I challenge you to take the next ten minutes and run a little thought experiment. You might be surprised by what you come up with.
First, ask yourself the “I know you don’t know...” question about your current business challenge.
Create a list of possibilities from what immediately starts swirling in your brain. Write down as many ideas as you wish.
Once you’ve built your list, after each possibility tack on the words “And then we could...” Again, write whatever pops up next.
Add “and then...” three or four times to each of the scenarios, following your initial thinking with more detail.
Then bring these draft possibilities to your team. Present your thinking and ask questions like:
How doable is this, really?
Which of these could help us out?
How could we make this happen?
What am I missing?
What could be better?
What could get in our way, and how could we get creative to make it happen anyway?
Giving yourself permission to not know can tap into what you actually know to be true yet is just under the surface. This process can be amazingly powerful - and you don’t have to do this work alone.
If you would like some support to uncover your own answers within, let’s have a conversation. I know you don’t know what’s possible, but if you did, what could that be?
