Let's not waste a crisis

"Never let a good crisis go to waste" - Winston Churchill

Thrown into lockdown feels to me surreal and unchartered. I don't know about you, but I'm trying to process and survive the restrictions cutting off my social circulation. Maybe you're juggling homeschool and new-found empowerment, bouncing between deadlines and at-home distractions. Or perhaps you're performing essential services, layered in PPE and maintaining a sanitized, polite distance. Or it's forced vacation time for you. Whatever your situation, the perfect storm presents the opportunity to reflect, learn, adjust, unlearn and relearn. It may feel too raw to do it right away but, when you're ready, why not challenge traditional norms and make some changes? Freshen things up. Figure out what is and isn't critical and put some "priorities" on ice. This is the time to relish the slowdown, breathe and recalibrate. 

Before the situation spiralled, I had lunch with dear friends, some of which I've known for over thirty years. We caught up like no time had passed, but at some point, the conversation turned to frustration in the workspace. My ears pricked up. Three of them are employed by listed corporates in the financial sector. One is with a marketing agency. They explained some of their struggles: 

I don't have time to expand my skills outside of daily work.

Work is stressful…way too stressful.

It bothers me that I don't have time to solve problems properly.

Everyone knows time is precious, but activities creep into our day that stealthily pinches capacity until we make an effort to banish them. This is a norm worth challenging. 

Time to grow skills

My company is really supportive of my personal development, and I have access to courses galore. They ask how they can help me grow in my role. But, I'm under so much pressure. I dash between meetings and deadlines. It's awesome having options to learn, but when exactly will I get the chance? They want me to learn new things to promote me, but I don't have the space to think and grow. It's a chicken and egg situation.

Companies set aside budgets for learning and development, but do they carve out the time in schedules to enable it? My friends say they don't. That it's just a plan peppered with talk and good intention rather than enablement. It's sad, as employees want to take up that Udemy perk, or attend that workshop, or follow that passion…but they resist taking on one more thing that breaks the camel's back. They're just too damned busy. I don't blame them for shying away and opting for self-preservation. 

It's during a global crisis that we should stand back and segregate the important from the urgent and make decisions about what to abandon. Be brutal. Put aside time for things that matter to YOU, that brings you joy, and that helps you grow both personally and professionally. If you're in a leadership role, what will you do to make this happen for your team?

As a general policy, Google is committed to supporting its employees' in doing what [they] love' — whether that's through on-site coding classes, degree programs, guitar lessons, or more. In the past, the company has also been known for its '20 % time' policy which reportedly encouraged Googlers to use 20% of their time to pursue passion projects on the side. - Insider

The Google policy may not be perfect according to some, but it's a step in the right direction and illustrates how we could make a space in our schedules for development. 

Curbing stress levels 

Excessive busy-ness not only interferes with the chance to learn new skills and follow dreams, but it could also be compounding stress, killing the potential for creative problem-solving. 

I walk into my office with such trepidation. My mind churning with all the stuff I have to get done. It's not great when this is every day.

Check out this article explaining how fear shrinks your brain and makes you less creative – essentially neuroscientists are telling us that long-term stress and fear can mould the brain like molten plastic. Or this one, that talks about how stress causes "brain freeze". This happened to me in my early twenties. I was presenting to the board of an automotive company, and I literally froze, overthrown by fear. I will never forget the experience - the dry mouth, the shakes, beads of sweat and the sheer trauma of it. It nearly broke me. I learned more about myself and my limits that day.

A little stress and anxiety can be a positive thing – it can help focus you. Too much can crush you. I like to call it the "anxiety sweet spot". And each person's scale is different. We have to protect ourselves from tipping over the edge. How? Be picky about priorities, discard the stress markers, make the work simpler to do (Lean) - liberating time and resources so that you can get through the workload without living on the hamster wheel. Slow down so you can make improvements and speed up. Once the workload is better matched to available capacity (with downtime built-in), and it is more focused and purposeful, we set ourselves up to succeed. Which leads me into the last point. 

Time for problem-solving

I am a dedicated and avid promoter of problem-solving but, it concerns me how often leaders enthusiastically pull teams into boardrooms and expect off-the-cuff brainstorming to solve the latest "smell-of-the-week". Total rush job. Can we really do the problem justice if we bolster through it? Can we really climb out of crisis mode in this way?

Quick, everyone, what are your ideas to fix this? Tick tock…tick tock...

Fair enough, if the crisis is life-threatening, it's hard to work it slowly, but I am talking about the everyday chronic 'crisis' here. In Africa, we've been known to suffer from "maak ‘n plan" syndrome. Never time to slow down enough to really understand the causes before rushing into the intuitive, fast-thinking solution. Always time to fix the same problem over and over. How much time does this waste and what's the effect on creativity and morale? It can leave staff feeling unfulfilled and frustrated. It could also lead to change initiatives being met with improvement fatigue and rolling eyes…and an undercurrent of avoidance. If we free our time and minds of the unnecessary, low priority, wasteful activities, we open up the space to solve problems with the depth they deserve. This is motivating.

Perhaps lockdown is crunch time and a good time to take stock, reflect and make some positive changes. Both for performance at work and for personal well-being. Let's not waste this opportunity. What will you do differently?