In normal times, sleep disorders affect 25 percent of Americans annually, according to the American Sleep Apnea Association. But these are not normal times. Indeed, the pandemic has created “…a perfect storm of sleep problems,” notes Donn Posner, president of Sleepwell Associates and a Stanford University School of Medicine professor.

Blame it on the state of the world, the isolation from friends and family, the burden of home and work threaded together or lost. The stress mounts and the outlets are few and so there you are, at 2 a.m., wide awake and wondering how you’ll cope.

But there is a way, if not to sleep, at least to understand why so you can find some meaning for the sleeplessness. As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietsche said, “He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how.”

That “why” is called social change, inextricably linked to personal changes in attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. And its calling card is “cognitive dissonance.”

What is Cognitive Dissonance?

Named by social psychologist Leon Festinger in the 1950s, cognitive dissonance is a mental state that creates discomfort when we face new information that contradicts our current beliefs or assumptions. The theory goes that you can’t hold two mental models—or cognitions—in your brain with ease. So after some discomfort, you accept the new model.

Cognitive dissonance is what we’re facing today, at every fractal level of our personal lives and our society. Those who have been marginalized are upsetting the power table. The cubicle has been replaced by the kitchen table. We’re getting to know the neighbors we’ve nodded at in passing for years.

The social cracks—in prisons and nursing homes and low wage jobs—have broken apart and the pain is searing. The world is upside down and we’re all holding on for dear life and some of us not so well. Yes, it is a difficult time, but it is also an exciting time.

What Your Sleeplessness is Heralding?

We are at the forefront of social change. A new social model, with a new set of priorities and beliefs about what is “right” and what is “true,” is emerging organically and without much effort on our part. We are watching it as it happens.

Our job is to bear witness to it, adapt to it and support it where and how we can. It is also to wrestle with the personal challenges that are a necessary part of it, challenges that demand we question often-deeply held assumptions—about how to work, what is important, and who we want to be in community with—and re-align our lives accordingly.

This is big work, 2 a.m. work, work that demands courage and resilience and, yes, admittedly, some sleepless nights.

What can you do?

Take heart. Embrace the cognitive dissonance that has you tossing and turning at 2 a.m. Put some practical structures in place, as Posner suggests. And if you still can’t sleep, find some peace in the knowledge that what you feel is a new world order settling into place, and your sleeplessness just may be a necessary part of it.

What To Do If You Still Can’t Sleep:

• Get out your colors. Draw what you feel, in symbols and colors. Then, write about what you draw to decode the message.
• Start writing. If your mind is dissing you, write a rebuttal. If your head is full of details, make a list. If you’re lost, ask for guidance and record what you “hear.”
• Meditate on “what if”: What if your life was exactly as you’d like it to be? What would it look like? Who would be in it? Who would you be in it?
• Go to the yoga mat. Get out of bed and onto the mat. Stretch. Hold a pose. Breathe.
• Accept. Sometimes, all you can do is accept what you cannot change. So love the darkness for what it is, and who you are becoming.

Carolyn Miller, MA, is a strategic partner with Continuum Consulting Services, LLC. An award-winning writer and senior instructional designer, Carolyn designs and develops creative learning experiences. www.cultureshape.com

The post Is Cognitive Dissonance Keeping You Up at Night? appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.

I am sitting on the back porch, drinking my morning coffee and listening to Bob Dylan’s “Times they are a Changing” play. The words could have been written to describe the times we are living in today. They also made me think about all of the work we have done with Continuum over the years, work that has supported clients going through rapid change. Then, and now, what comes to mind is one model that really resonates.

At Continuum, we are continually surprised at how much this simple Sigmoid Curve (S-Curve) illustration can help clients understand change and growth within their organizations. So many of the groups we work with are challenged about when to jump and catch the next curve. Now more than ever, as leaders navigate COVID 19 business impacts and things change at lightning speed, it is especially important to understand this model.

Here’s how it works.

Early Business

A company begins at the bottom of the S-Curve to vision, create and grow a program or organization. The organization experiences success and growth as it travels up the curve. The challenge is that what made you successful at the beginning of a venture may not be the same behaviors, tools, or strategies that you will need as you continue to grow. Sooner or later the company has to think and create differently. The old adage, “The things that got you here won’t get you there,” holds true.

For example, you have a visionary entrepreneur who leads a successful start-up organization. Everyone the company hires is a go-getter, ready to take on any project. Everyone works best when there are great challenges and little structure. Everyone is involved in decisions and forming the business.

Growth Business

Next, the business grows to 100 people or more. All of a sudden you need more specialized skillsets, standard operating procedures, common structures, and processes to continue to grow the business. It is time to begin a new growth curve.

This was especially evident with a large manufacturing client we were working with. We started working with the leaders before they even broke ground on the new site. We stayed consistently involved until seven years later when the site was up and running, and was successfully sold.

The beginning days for this manufacturing company were like the Wild Wild West. They hired really smart, Type-A, strong-headed, go-getters who loved the craziness, long hours, constant change, empowered decision making, and general chaos that comes with a start-up.

As the company grew, the next S Curve jump involved a shift from a start-up to an operational manufacturing site. Needless to say, the Wild West culture was not conducive to establishing a strong healthy operational manufacturing site. Organizational layers were established, and systems and procedures were put in place to standardize practices. The company also started hiring people with specific expertise who would focus on and grow one area. The culture also shifted in mindset—from an individual contributor mindset to a more team-based one.

For many who were part of the start-up stage, the new, more structured environment was not as much fun and many left to work for another startup. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, as organizations cycle through the curves, it is okay—and often expected—for some people to stay and adapt to the new curve, and some to move on.

Transform Business

This is where things get interesting. For organizational survival and growth, it is imperative that you begin the new curve (idea, product, way of doing business) before the one you are on crashes.

As we lead through current COVID 19 business impacts, transforming how companies do business to meet the challenges of a changing marketplace has never been truer. At the same time that leaders are attempting to deal with the challenges right in front them, they also must think ahead about how to position their companies to catch the next growth curve.

Gamini Hewawasam, CEO & Founder at INT Terminal / FineFinish Engineering, is a great example of a leader who saw the changes coming with COVID 19 and was able to quickly pivot and start a new curve. Hewanwasam, who is based outside of Chicago, runs two businesses, one of which is a machine parts manufacturing firm located in his home country of Sri Lanka. Realizing that people would be under lockdown for an extended amount of time, Hewawasam knew that access to food would become one of the most pressing issues.

What did he do? He transformed his business. Within two weeks, he and his team shifted their entire manufacturing plant operations and started a new company, Goiviyoo. They began manufacturing portable greenhouses that would enable people to grow food themselves year-round.

Adapt and Grow…or Die

The space in the middle of the S Curve is the most challenging to navigate, and it is where most of us are now. It is where transformation is needed, for us personally but also for companies if they want to stay viable and to thrive.

How do you manage through change and uncertainty? How do you encourage your people to change things that, in the past, made them successful but don’t work now? How do you keep up with the everyday challenges of your business and at the same time keep a visionary eye out for the best post COVID next wave? We created the COVID Leadership Model to help.

Remember: Although jumping the curve can mean challenging times for your organization, it is also exciting. It means you have been successfully growing your business.

Now, to succeed as you enter the middle of the curve, two things are critical. Don’t hold onto the past too tightly…and don’t forget to enjoy the ride!

The post Can You Catch the Curve? appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.

We are living and working in a world that is constantly changing, unstable, reactionary and often divisive. Welcome to the  VUCA World.

What does it take to lead in such tumultuous times?  

Human beings are dynamic and messy, and we bring that complex diversity with us wherever we go, including the workplace. We are also filled with potential and the changes ahead hold many possibilities. The leaders of today must have what I refer to as, “a balance between a clear head, a compassionate heart, and a firm backbone.” That means they are visionary and strategic, can express compassion and empathy, and have the ability to be firm, direct and decisive.

In addition to innovating and executing strategy, leaders must embrace differences—in personality styles and perspectives, be outstanding communicators, and manage the interpersonal conflicts and dramas that inevitably erupt. In other words, the workplace demands leaders to have a high level of Emotional Intelligence so they can fully engage and empower their people.

One leader’s story

As a leadership development coach and consultant, I’ve had the opportunity to know hundreds of leaders around the globe. One who stood out recently is Michael Hughes, the President and CEO of Elevation Labs, LLC, a progressive manufacturer in the beauty and personal care sector.

When the protests began across the world in response to the killing of George Floyd, Hughes sent out a social media post explaining where Elevation Labs stood on the matter. He told me it was important to him that people knew where he and the company stand even if some people disagreed.

Hughes expressed to the company, “I am a true believer that everyone should be given the opportunity to bring their full self to work….that means not being worried about being singled out for being different, not worrying about people talking behind your back, not worrying about promotion opportunities because of who you are.”

His actions exemplified a clear head and strategic mindset, a compassionate heart and a firm moral backbone.

Business is all about the people

Business success has everything to do with its people. How we treat each other in the workplace determines the business culture; it reveals whether or not a company’s values are being lived every day or collecting dust in a frame hanging in the hallway.

Great companies know this. Indeed, Procter and Gamble (P&G), a multinational consumer goods corporation, has boasted for decades about the power of its people. It was Richard Redwood Deupree, P&G’s CEO in the 1950s who said, “If you leave us our money, buildings and brands, and take away our people, the Company will fail. But if you take all of that away and leave us our people, we can rebuild the whole thing and be successful within a decade.”

Father knows best

My Dad is a mechanical engineer, who retired as the Vice President of Real Estate for Prudential Financial^®. He knew the job required more than engineering expertise and contracts. As an advisor to the Engineering School at Penn State University, he convinced them to improve their program by replacing some of the high-level engineering courses with leadership and interpersonal relationship skills courses.

My Dad’s wisdom is inherent in the work I do with leaders. Client testimonies have confirmed when a leader balances a strategic mind and tactical expertise with empathy and compassion, focusing on the relational side of the business, performance and productivity are better. But the most rewarding outcome is when leaders transfer this wisdom home, enriching relationships with their loved ones and transforming their home life. That’s the ultimate payoff.

Happy Father’s Day!

The post What Does It Take to Lead in a Volatile World? appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.

In the era of coronavirus, social distancing, and working from home, one industry is doing quite well, thank you: games. In fact, board games and online games that were trending upward before the new normal have suddenly moved to the top of the charts.

Thank the Millennials.

Born between roughly 1980 and 1994, and the largest generation in the U.S. labor force today, per the Pew Research Center, MillennIals are the first generation of “digital natives,” that is, people who grew up with digital technology. They are also the first generation of gamers.

For those who lead them, support them, and want to hire and retain them, a game may be the key that opens that door.

What Motivates Gamers (And All of Us, Really)

In Exodus to the Virtual World: How Online Fun is Changing Reality, Edward Castronova, Ph.D., and Professor of Media at Indiana University Bloomington, shares with his readers the two domains a gamer lives in—the real world and the virtual world.

Castronova also makes a prediction: that the real world will have to offer similar experiences if it is to prevail. It will, in fact, have to become more fun.

Jane McGonigal, game designer and author of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, would agree.

Games make us happy, McGonigal writes. We get to play at the edge of our skills, collaborate and compete, go on epic missions, fight the bad guys, and, in the best of games, be part of something greater. In fact, we get to be heroes. When, in real life, do you get to do that?

Maybe more often than you think. Indeed, if you can see the work environment with a gamer’s lens, possibilities are everywhere.

How to “See” a Game Layer

Many years ago, as part of target audience research for a client’s training project, I interviewed a member of a hospital cleaning staff. This woman’s job was to spend her day on one floor, continuously cleaning the bathrooms, in an endless loop.

I’ll always remember what she said at the end of the interview, “I feel like my job never ends and that I never accomplish anything.”

I left disheartened by her situation. How easy it would have been to change it and motivate this employee by adding a game layer to her work. By assigning points for bathrooms cleaned and cycles completed and competition with others in similar positions, she might actually find her work rewarding or, at the least, fun.

The Facts about Fun

“Accelerated learning” (AL) is a niche in the instructional design field. Its premise is, in a nutshell, that we remember what is emotionally charged. (If you don’t believe that, think of the last scary movie you saw, or compelling book you read.)

Developed in 1947 by Georgi Lozanov, MD, a Bulgarian scientist, neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, and educator, AL is based on the belief that stories, games, music, art, role-playing and other creative training methods relax learners. Once relaxed, learning occurs naturally. (Indeed, learners often forget they are learning!)

Discoveries in the field of neuroscience have deepened and expanded AL since the 1940s. Since then, researchers at The Maritz Institute, a research and design organization, in The Neuroscience of Learning: A New Paradigm for Corporate Education, noted that:

• Emotion (feeling) is as important as thought (information and content)
• Learners want both novelty and familiarization
• For maximum learning, engage the senses.

All of this occurs in games, regardless of the type. Art and graphics anchor the learning visually. Stories in the form of business cases, simulation narratives, and/or the path on a game board, enroll the learner emotionally and masquerade activities in plots, characters, challenges and competition.

Additionally, the game environment itself is rich with subtle outcomes. Games are social. They enable players to build relationships and learn from each other. They set the stage for strategizing and collaboration. Finally, the humor and fun that is part of the game experience reduces the stress of a crazy work schedule (and, today, a crazy world).

Today, in our now-remote work universe, games and game-based learning may be the perfect delivery method. Not only can they be used to introduce and/or reinforce new knowledge and processes. They can also act as team-building and stress reduction tools. Today, both are needed desperately.

Carolyn Miller, MA, is a strategic partner with Continuum Consulting Services, LLC. An award-winning writer and senior instructional designer, Carolyn design and develops creative learning experiences. www.cultureshape.com

The post Are You Aware of the Millennial Lens? appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.

Since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, protestors have marched in at least 140 cities across the U.S., speaking out against systemic racism and police brutality noted The New York Times on June 2.

The officers involved were immediately fired, and subsequent charges are being brought. Will this change the outcome of future events related to police brutality? Probably not.

That’s because the action taken against the officers addressed the symptom, not the cause, of the larger problem: implicit bias.

What is Implicit Bias?

Shane Bauer is an investigative journalist for The Atlantic who went undercover to research the American prison system. He took a job as a prison guard at a maximum-security prison. In his book, American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment, he documents his slow, mental breakdown and definition of what is “right” and what is “good,” in part for self-preservation.

Luckily, Bauer was self-aware enough to realize what was happening and was able to remove himself from the situation. Most of us don’t have that luxury or the awareness required to halt the cultural conditioning before it is complete.

This is how implicit bias works. It happens over years and centuries, put in place by those in power to create fear and self-perpetuating oppression.

How Bias Works

The brain receives 11 million bits of information per second, but it can only consciously process 50 bits of information. But the brain is smart. It divides and conquers. It puts all that extra information into categories for quick retrieval during decision-making.

Alas, the mind is a faulty processer, brain researchers have learned. The categories it assigns information to so that you can handle simple tasks such as making coffee or checking email don’t work well when it comes to human interactions and our judgments of others.

In fact, the brain stitches together a story based on incomplete and often inaccurate information that includes your personal experiences, your assumptions, and what you perceive as “normal.”

It then produces a false narrative, and unconscious bias, often called a “gut feeling,” note authors Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald in Blind Spot: The Hidden Biases of Good People.

Is It a Prejudice or a Bias?

People often confuse prejudices with bias. In fact, prejudice and bias are two different creatures. Prejudices are conscious and often articulated, such as your stand on gender fluidity or the best presidential nominee.

Biases are “implicit,” that is, you’re not consciously aware of them. They also may be in direct opposition to what you say you believe.

Common biases are around age, race, religion, gender, class, sexual orientation, body size, and more. But there are a lot of smaller biases such as the tendency to hire others just like you, called the “like me” or “similar-to-me” bias as one Forbes author wrote.

The Brain’s Schema

Your brain is divided into two parts. The conscious, rational part of your brain is based on facts and logical conclusions. It holds the 50 bits of information that allow you to draw logical conclusions. For instance, “I should go for a walk instead of watching TV, based on the health data I have.”

But the majority of our decision-making is based on emotion and impulses, and that’s where we get in trouble. That’s also where we hold the 11 million bits of information we can’t process consciously.

To overcome this challenge of too much data to process, the brain assigns social group categories to people you come in contact with. It makes processing information efficient. It also produces stereotypes and false narratives about the people you meet.

For instance, “She won’t be able to work late because she has kids,” or, as a white person, “If I see a black person when I walk down a dark street, I better cross to the other side of the street to be safe.” These are assumptions people make that may or may not be true.

How to Change the Game

Banaji and Greenwald believe that our perceptions of others are not ours at all; they are a product of the cultural beliefs we grew up with. They developed the Implicit Aptitude Test (IAT), available online, to show that. And they did.

Once you are aware of your biases, the next step is to change the narrative and bust the bias. That is what Michigan Sheriff Christopher R. Swanson of Genesee County did when confronted with protestors, reported The New York Times.

Swanson removed his helmet and other officers put down their batons to walk with the crowds of protestors. In that act, Swanson, and other police officers in other cities who took similar actions, began to change the story—and the game.

But busting a bias can take years and, in some cases, generations. It also demands self-awareness—in our leaders, and in oneself—and a willingness to confront and do the often-difficult work of revising the story by changing the personal attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that underpin it.

M. Carolyn Miller, MA, is a strategic partner with Continuum Consulting Services, LLC. She designs and develops creative learning experiences, from simple how-to articles with infographics to immersive, story- and game-driven simulations. www.cultureshape.com

The post Are We Pawns in a Larger Social Game? appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.

How many times have you left a meeting discouraged by the time spent mired in a problem and far from reaching a solution? This is what almost happened with the executive leadership team of a multi-billion-dollar consumer goods company I had the privilege to coach. And then, one of its members remembered her Superpower.

It Started With Looking Back

The meeting began with the President sharing the company’s annual employee survey results. The results were not good. More so, the most coveted category, “Confidence in Leadership,” had dropped 14 points. That hurt, given that the team prided itself on creating an empowered and engaged culture.

As the reality of the results sunk in, old habits took over. The group focused on what caused the drop, and who or what could be blamed. The more the group focused on what they didn’t like about the score, the more defeated and deflated the energy in the room became.

“This is unacceptable,” the President said with frustration. “Without confidence, engagement scores go down, and performance and productivity follow. We must move the needle forward in the next three months before the next pulse survey.”

A Shift Forward

After 30 minutes of watching the energy spiral down, I asked, “Where’s your focus?”

“We’re focused on the drop of our score and what to blame and that’s dragging us down,” offered the female Human Resources leader. “We need to flip our focus toward how to regain confidence so we score 85 or better next time.”

Immediately, the conversation shifted. So did the energy in the room. Team members started brainstorming ideas. Ideas took shape in action plans. Roles and deadlines were assigned. The positive energy in the room was almost palpable, and it paid off.

Within three months, this company’s pulse survey results were in. Its “Confidence in Leadership” score had risen to 87.

The Power of Focus is Not Confined to the Board Room

Last February, I escaped from the Colorado snow to cycle in the Florida Keys with a friend who was preparing for a 500-mile bike ride. We were halfway through our third day’s ride, with 25 more miles to go. I was assessing how to navigate the space between two three-foot metal posts on the trail ahead when I shifted my focus to a poster on my right.

It wasn’t until I was on the ground after colliding with one of the posts that I realized the shift in my focus had caused the accident. My friend proclaimed, “I don’t ever want to see your head hit the pavement like that again!” Some bumps and bruises and a few broken ribs made for an uncomfortable ride home.

It’s In the Data

According to Lindsay Thornton, a senior psychophysiologist at the U.S. Olympic Committee, our bodies move in the direction our eyes are focused, a fact made real when I cycled in the Florida Keys. The highest-performing athletes know this—it’s literally a game-changer.

I first learned about the power of focus when I studied and facilitated Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a collaborative and strengths-based approach to solving problems in teams and organizations.

Pioneered in the 1980s by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva, two professors at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, AI posits, among other things, that:

• What you focus on grows, and
• Where you put your attention, action (and related results) follow.

How to Harness Your Superpower

To harness your Superpower be attentive to what your mind is focused on:

• For yourself: Eliminate negative self-messages and shift your focus from fear to gratitude to uplift your spirit and generate energy to forge forward.
• For your team: Have team huddles to:
  • Keep what is most important front and center in meetings
  • During COVID-19 especially, hold daily check-ins to dispel myths
  • Acknowledge team members regularly for the value they bring.
• For your company: When problems arise, limit the time spent focused on what’s not working and who to blame, and then quickly shift the focus to what is needed, what’s working, and what solutions are possible.
• For your family: Focus on the 80 percent of what you love about your partner, your “family” however you define them, the furry creatures that make life nurturing, and celebrate that regularly.

The post Are You Leveraging Your Superpower? appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.

My kids were raised in a somewhat-unconventional household. When they came home from school, large sheets of flip chart paper would greet them, hung on all the walls in the living room.

I was in the middle of it all, furiously typing notes from the previous day’s event, or meeting with coworkers around the dining room table to brainstorm creative solutions. In our household, I had more Koosh Balls, Hula-Hoops, and miscellaneous toys and puzzles than my kids did. This was my life as an outdoor, adventure-based leadership and team development consultant.  This scene was unusual back then. It is commonplace in today’s COVID work world.

Family Team-Building

Over the years, here at Continuum, we realized that many of the concepts used to form and build teams and develop leaders in the workplace are transferable to the family unit.

For instance, from my knowledge of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and personality tests, I knew that if my introverted son was acting up, he needed space to be by himself and not be bothered. My daughter, an extrovert, would bring home her latest boyfriend and ask me to “personality type” him so that he would know how to better interact with her.

As I implemented team-building concepts such as communication agreements, conflict resolution, decision-making, and diversity appreciation to build my family team, it made home more harmonious and strengthened our relationship. This bond has continued when my kids moved away and our home team became a “virtual” team.

Family IS the Ultimate Team

After years of taking teams through ropes courses and other adventures, we began to realize something else. Your family, however you define them, is in fact, the ultimate team—the team you love the best, the team you are the most embedded and invested in, and the team that will, in the end, be the last team left standing.

As we all learn how to balance life and work in the COVID Era, we wanted to share some tips and tools we found especially valuable for managing the home team.

How to Build the Family Team

• Honor the “Platinum Rule.” Treat others the way they want to be treated,  not as you want to treat them or as you feel they should be treated.
• Respect Differences. Just like in work teams, every family member has unique needs and personality preferences. Honor them.
• Develop Family Community Agreements. Just as you would with a project team, set agreements for how to operate. Discuss who needs what to be able to live and play (and work) in the same space together amicably. For instance:
  • We will all have dinner together at the table 4 times a week.
  • For a half-hour each day, there will be personal quiet time.
  • If you are angry, you will speak up respectfully; others will listen fully before responding.
• Define Roles and Responsibilities. Running a household is everyone’s responsibility. That said, divide chores, rotate responsibilities, say, “Thank you.”
• Institute Family Check-Ins. Conduct regular team huddles to share what’s going on emotionally, how you’re coping (or not), and what support you need.
• Have Fun Together. Play is powerful medicine. One night a week, or more, host a family game night, a dance-off, popcorn and a movie, and more.

Do You Need More Ideas?

• Learn how to build a cohesive (family) team during COVID by reading and transferring some of the key concepts presented in this Forbes article.
• Learn about an alternative to “command and control” leadership to use with the family team from Steven Vannoy, author of The 10 Greatest Gifts I Give My Children.

The post How to Strengthen the Family Team appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.

When COVID-19 hit, overnight our consulting business contracts dropped 50 percent. We were shaken. It was hard to concentrate, get our bearings, and stay focused on the next steps and solutions. We have been in business for over 25 years, and we knew we were in unchartered territory, like our clients.

After a few sleepless nights and lots of internal conversations, we regrouped. We realized we needed to understand the different phases we would cycle through, and then adapt and innovate along the way if we were to survive. So we set to work.

We Started With What We Knew

Drawing on our experience with leaders and organizations over the past decades, and referring to the myriad disaster relief models available, we began to map the journey. We knew that journey could last months, or years. We also knew that by the time this was over, all of the plans we made prior to shelter-at-home orders would likely be invalid given the world that awaited us on the other side of this crisis.

But something else happened. As we defined the phases, we were shocked at how understanding where we are on the journey, and where things are probably heading, eased our anxiety. It also enabled us to get clear about our focus, decisions, and next steps.

We Asked Leaders for Input

Once we had the first draft of what we now called our “COVID-19 Leadership Model,” we began to share it with executive clients and colleagues. They resonated. They were also relieved to see that what they were feeling, and where they were organizationally and as leaders, was “normal.”

For instance, when clients reviewed the first phase, “OhSh#t!” the response was, “Yes! That is exactly what is happening and where we are.” As we walked our clients through the model, they had the same experience we had when we applied it to our business. There was an affirmation. There was clarity about the path forward. Ideas began to flow. Calm about the next steps—and what we face collectively—emerged.

We Now Have a Map…and a Model

Do crises make the leader? It appears so if U.S. Governor Andrew Cuomo is any example. Cuomo’s job ratings have soared, and leaders everywhere are paying attention to Cuomo’s ability to be, “…assertive and reassuring, calming and urgent,” as one Forbes senior contributor wrote in a March 19 column.

Yes, it is a challenging time. But it is also an exciting time, when new maps, models, and ways of leading are emerging that challenge organizational assumptions. Each of us has a role to play: to share what we learn, and the best practices that result, to ensure our collective success.

With that spirit of intention:

• You can see the COVID-19 Leadership Model and its phases here.
• You can understand how to apply the model to your organization by signing up for a complimentary coaching session here.
• You can cultivate four qualities that create compassionate leadership during times of crisis, outlined in this article by McKinsey & Co.

The post Do You Need a Leadership Map for COVID-19? appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.

Recently, I was facilitating a client video conference on Zoom. The speaker, a young woman charged with leading an organizational initiative, began to outline her project update. As she did, serious and focused on the audience, her toddler, dressed in blue pajamas with brown curly hair, climbed a wooden cabinet in the background. I gasped, anticipating a fall and loud wailing.

The client turned, saw the toddler, grabbed her, and returned to the call with the little girl plopped on her lap. “Now,” she said, “Where was I?”

Welcome to the Pandemic Workplace

Welcome to the workplace created by COVID-19, where the line between work and home has blurred or disappeared altogether. This new workplace is challenging assumptions about the parent-worker identity, as noted in The Upshot’s April 20 New York Times article, “Three Things Lockdowns Have Exposed About Working and Parenting.”

This new workplace is also demanding a different kind of playbook, one that does not differentiate between work and life, or personal and professional, but integrates and leverages both. It’s unknown territory for many leaders but oh so familiar for Wendy and me.

Our Story

The year was 1995. We were single moms with toddlers in tow when we abandoned the security of our full-time jobs to become entrepreneurs and launch RETREATS, Inc., an adventure-based leadership and team development company. We had twin goals: to make a significant difference in the world by working with leaders and teams who would do the same and to raise our children so that they, too, would create meaningful lives for themselves.

Like the client on the Zoom call, in those early days, we juggled conference calls from kitchen tables with kids underfoot. We begged favors from friends and neighbors when meetings ran over and kids needed school rides. We learned how to read financial spreadsheets in between helping with math homework assignments.

Facing the Unknown

Like many women-leaders today, we often faced the unknown. We were clumsy. We sometimes didn’t do it right (and we often didn’t know what “right” was). But over time, we learned to embrace the unknown for the possibilities it triggered and the sixth sense we acquired for what to do and when to do it, even if we couldn’t name it.

We were coaching before it ever became a profession. We focused not on problems but on the possibilities that were emerging from them, using Appreciative Inquiry. We showed leaders how to “see” the hidden patterns and dynamics that govern an organization using Organizational Systemic Constellations. And because we are outdoor enthusiasts, we continued to facilitate team-building using white-water rafting, ropes courses, sailing adventures, and more.

Our intentions and intuitions guided us, and often, we were graced with openings that hinted that we were on the right path, including early on.

The Right Path Emerges

It was a multi-day adventure retreat for an all-male team of Campbell Soup executives. After a day of orienteering through the forest to find parts to build rafts for crossing a large lake, we were to meet for dinner. Because I was breast-feeding at the time, I had brought my daughter with me and hired a babysitter for the day. When evening came, I had no choice but to bring my daughter to dinner, despite my concerns about appearing unprofessional.

Imagine my surprise when this team of high-level leaders embraced not only my daughter, but also me as a leader and mother, and as a parent like themselves. We were connected by our shared humanity and a wall disappeared. Some pulled photos from wallets (this was before cell phones) to proudly show me their kids. We reached a new level of connection and transparency, much like today.

Over the years, RETREATS Inc. evolved into Continuum, a growing global consulting firm and it all began with two moms and a mission. On this Mother’s Day, as we celebrate 25 years in business, we thought we’d share our lessons learned for all mothers (and all parents) leading in the world today.

How to “Pandemic Parent” as a Leader

• When things get hot, cool down. Put yourself in a time-out and in that time-out, take 10 deep breaths before you return to the hot situation. You may also want to listen to this podcast.
• Focus on the positive. It’s trite but true that focusing on the positive uplifts us. It also demands that we focus on possibilities, not problems. To focus on what’s good in your life, listen to this podcast. You can also ask yourself three simple questions:
  • What was the best thing that happened to me today?
  • What did I do well or learn today?
  • What am I most grateful for today?
• Live true to what’s most important to you. Our core values drive our actions. Leaders and mothers make tough decisions every day, and sometimes, you have to stand up for what you believe despite the contradictions. What are your core values? Now is a good time to clarify your values, and align your actions to them.

Happy Mother’s Day!

The post The Mother of All Leadership Challenges appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.

And, there is nothing more jarring than reading the headlines about the “Unite the Right” rally on Saturday, in Charlottesville, VA.  The escalated violence and subsequent death of an anti-right protester is yet another example of the widening divide within the United States.

How can we begin to hold space for Appreciative Conversations between people with such opposing world views?  How can we even begin to bridge those divides?

Also on Saturday, nearly 40 Appreciative Inquiry (AI) enthusiasts gathered in the lakeside city of Burlington, VT, on the campus of Champlain College.  The David Cooperrider AI Center and The Taos Institute for Social Constructionism were our generous hosts.

Knowing, “what we focus on grows”, we were very deliberate in our conversation topics.  So what can we do in turbulent times that can make a difference?  Here are some highlights from the gathering, intended to inspire action:

1. Stay grounded
2. Seek to understand – listen generously
3. See past the rhetoric and strive to identify the need behind the behaviors
4. Be aware of the power struggles at play
5. Stop demonizing the “other” – we are all human
6. Express what’s important to you and why
7. Acknowledge the needs and find common ground
8. Set a super ordinate goal to bring people together on higher ground

When emotions are high, this is easier said than done.  Starting the conversation with the extremes may not be realistic, but most of us fall closer to the middle, let’s begin the conversation there.  How can you lead with your Appreciative Voice today?

The post Appreciative Voice in Turbulent Times appeared first on Continuum Consulting Services LLC.