As you’re adjusting to the new reality in the coronavirus situation, you may be feeling some fatigue. That’s natural. Living in uncertainty, taking in new circumstances each day, worrying about loved ones, and the future – these things all take their toll. As a result, it can be easy to feel like you’re slogging through your days — just going through the motions in your work, without much energy.
Assuming you’ve handled the basics of good self-care: making time for exercise, sleep, and healthy eating, it’s time to start looking beyond the day-to-day. It’s time to focus on your purpose.
Your personal purpose includes answers to questions like:
- Why do you do the work you do?
- Why are you in the career you’re in?
- Why have you taken up leadership in your organization?
When you have compelling answers for these questions, motivation comes more easily.
Chances are something drew you to your current career – some interest you had, or some need you saw in the world that you wanted to help fill. When you can focus on THAT, getting out of bed, or off your phone, and back to work can be a lot easier.
As a leader, a piece of your purpose is to provide direction, guidance, and support for the people around you. They need you now more than ever.
They need direction. They need you to help them refocus on their purpose, both individually and as a team. They need reminders about why the work you do together is important. They need to understand how each of their pieces fits in and contributes to the overall direction of the team and the organization. They need to know why their work matters – what does it make possible in the organization and in the world?
They also need clear guidance around priorities. What matters now? What’s the focus today? This week? This month? This becomes especially important as the situation around us is rapidly changing and uncertain. They need you, as the leader, to provide them with certainty wherever you can.
And, they need your support. They need to know that you are there for them as they work out how to juggle their work with home responsibilities and as they cope with the anxiety and stress of this period of flux.
Being a leader in a period of deep uncertainty is very challenging. Keeping yourself and everyone around you focused on your purpose helps.
If you’d like some help thinking through your purpose, or how to apply these ideas in your leadership, let’s talk.
