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Leading Through Adversity
May 27, 2021
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First, From the Heart
What does it take to lead the ship through the most terrifying conditions? How do you feel once you get to still water and blue skies? What have you learned that prepares you to face the next storm and all thereafter that continue to make the journey a challenge?
Often we have to be intentional to carefully examine how things are right now. Our role as leaders is not to judge or blame, but to evaluate the reality of what has changed in the wake of the storm. This applies to our internal landscape as well as all of our external circumstances in life and work. While the nature of change is that there will always be another challenge, as compassionate leaders we learn and grow with each obstacle, treat ourselves and others with kindness, and do the best we can in every moment.
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Best of the Blog
Gifts of Adversity
The disruptions from COVID-19 have been enormous, and the loss of life has been tragic. Yet, as a collective, we have still found ways to adapt with remarkable resilience. Many colleagues tell us that some of their life and work changes have been unexpectedly positive. If we stop and reframe our experience, we may be able to find learning and growth amid the suffering. Read more.
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Research Worth Sharing
Mental Strategies of Elite High Altitude Climbers: Overcoming Adversity on Mount Everest
by Shaunna M. Burke and Terry Orlick
in Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments, Vol. 7, Issue 2, Article 4
We have all been climbing our own metaphorical Mt. Everest the last year. This timeless study of successful climbers on the real Mt. Everest reveals the fundamental strategies they use for success. They are all core strategies for compassionate leaders as well. The seven strategies include focus, support in community, embodiment, and mental toughness (what we would call resilience.) Which of the seven strategies is most important in your leadership? Read the research.
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Practice Matters
What’s Worth Keeping
When life turns upside down, and nothing is the same as it was, how do we navigate the road ahead? The only way to return to wholeness is to honor what has shifted and to intentionally chart a new course.
Look courageously at what has changed in your life. Imagine stepping out of yourself and taking inventory of how you live in each moment – both what you are doing/not doing and how you are being. Dig into how the rhythm of your day flows. What no longer serves you or your family? Have you lost boundaries? Do you feel more or less pressure? Have you been kind to yourself, attending to your own self-sustainability, or taking care of everyone around you?
Take stock of your needs and desires right now. Name what sparks joy and contentment. What feels natural and easeful? If you lived out a day that contained only your wish list, what and who would it include? Keep everyone and everything that matters, allows you to grow, and thrive. Let go of the rest. Toss out old habits, limiting beliefs, patterns, attachments, stuff, and even some relationships. Feel into the space you can create. Enjoy filling it with love.
When can we practice? Always!
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Upcoming Events
Compassionate Selves for a Compassionate World
Saturday, June 12
9am PT | 10am MT | 11am CT | 12pm ET
Join our compassionate colleague and friend Jennifer Bloom, advisor to the Garrison Institute Fellows, along with four inspirational fellows for this highly recommended program. The half-day retreat will begin with self-compassion as a doorway into our interconnected nature, expand into our relationships, our work, and how we move into compassionate action in the world. Enjoy the weaving of meditation, gentle movement, sound, spoken word, personal reflection, and community conversation into this unique experience. Learn more and register.
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