Hands up if you’ve had Covid lately?
I’m in the middle of my second bout … first time around was June 2022 and it hit me a bit harder the first time than this time around but that being said, it’s still able to pack a punch!
As I take a more relaxed approach to work while dealing with symptoms, it gave me the perfect opportunity to consider what I’ve learned about managing myself, as a business leader who doesn’t get paid if I don’t work.
I’m sharing two lessons as food for thought for those of you, like me, who like to push themselves, drive to achieve, and can have a tendency to feel guilty if they take their foot off the gas.
Two Self-leadership lessons from Covid
While neither of these may be ground breaking, and perhaps more of a useful reminder, why not consider how they might apply to you as you reflect on your self-management/leadership?
(1) Your stakeholders are human
When I tested positive on Friday morning, my thoughts went to ‘what have I got on next week? Am I going to be well enough to deliver against my commitments?’. Of course, at that point I didn’t know. So, I decided to manage expectations. I sent each of my clients for Monday an email explaining that I hoped to be able to meet with them but couldn’t be sure. Perhaps unsurprisingly, each of them told me to focus on recovery and we could reschedule if needed.
This morning, I knew that I’d be ok for a couple of sessions but not all four so rescheduled the afternoon ones. One person said that this was doing them a favour as she’d been away for the weekend so next week would be better.
Lesson? Despite thinking we are letting people down when we are ill, our stakeholders are human, and they get it – they’ve been there … and, especially if you are the sort of person that delivers 99% of the time, they are going to give you some grace.
(2) Slowing down to the speed of life
Ok, so I’m pinching the title of the book by Richard Carlson and Joseph Bailey for my second lesson. Slowing down while ill wasn’t something I consciously practiced more than I normally do (although my life is deliberately slower than it was when I was in a global Corporate role) – it was brought about by feeling unwell -but I have noticed what a difference it has made to how I feel.
In their book, Carlson and Bailey share that not knowing (being willing to admit that we don’t know) is one of the keys that opens the door to creative intelligence. Instead of pushing the analytical mind to come up with solutions, admitting that we don’t know something creates space, slows us down, and enables solutions to find us.
When held up from completing some work normally, I would be feeling a little agitated and want to solve the issue as quickly as possible to keep on top of things. Under the influence of Covid, there has been a peace around this because I don’t know when I am going to feel well enough but I do know myself well enough to trust that I will get to it as soon as I am physically able to.
This means that I am not starting my working day before 10.30am and if I need a nap, I’m taking a nap. I feel completely at ease with this and it is a good feeling.
So, these lessons may not be rocket science but they’ve helped me ‘go with the flow’ this week in a way that means I feel grounded and gently positive.. and as an INTJ planner that’s quite a feat
What tips would you have for self-management when feeling under the weather?
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