Why two heads are better than one

We’re living through very important, uncertain, tumultuous times. What with Brexit, the climate crisis, economic turmoil, the Black Lives Matter movement and a global pandemic, it’s safe to say there’s a lot for us to process right now. I know from the conversations I’ve been having – particularly during recent weeks – that many of us have been riding one heck of an emotional rollercoaster.

And in my experience, it’s impossible for us to separate all these huge events from our business.

How easy do you find it to think straight when you’re feeling uncertainty, fear, anxiety, [insert other strong emotions you're experiencing here]? It’s been (and still is) intense. I’m sure I can’t be the only one who’s put the milk in the washing machine and the keys in the fridge.

Take coronavirus. It’s not as if we had time to prepare. Things ramped up pretty quickly back in March. All of a sudden we were in lockdown and business owners were trying to figure out what on earth to do next. And for many, that meant trying to figure it out on their own.

The events of this year are making me believe with even more conviction that sometimes we need help.

Take Katie, who signed up for my In It Together package in February. We had a great couple of session before coronavirus hit with full force. In those blissful pre-virus times we created a list of goals and a lovely, clear, doable action plan to move things forward in her business. It was all going so well, and then… lockdown.

As for most people, those first few weeks hit Katie hard. Her coaching sessions were usually delivered offline over coffee. She had speaking gigs in the diary, and dates booked for her in-person networking event, Leaders Who Brunch. Everything she knew and loved about her business was impacted.

The rollercoaster of emotions at that time was intense for many of us. Uncertainty, exhaustion, gratitude, fear, anxiety. Katie knew she needed to recalibrate, but it was a struggle. How could she possibly think clearly with all that going on internally? Not to mention the barrage of ‘PIVOT, PIVOT, PIVOT!’ and ‘learn a new skill! write a book! feng shui your home!’ messages that were flying at us from all directions for those first few weeks.

Katie was reeling.

Our next call was in mid-April. We began as we always do - checking in with her goals to see if they still felt exciting and in alignment. Not surprisingly, Katie was deflated. She thought her goals were now a lost cause. How could she possibly make them happen in this new locked down world? (I should also mention that Katie’s clients – non-profit leaders – have also been badly affected by coronavirus. The charitable sector has been hit hard.)

But the more we spoke, the more we could see that her goals were still relevant and still achievable. We just needed to think differently about how she’d get there.

Take her goal for Leaders Who Brunch, her London-based networking event. Katie wanted to grow her community so she could reach and support more people. When coronavirus struck, she thought that was no longer possible. She thought she’d have to put the whole thing on hold. This was a very big deal for Katie. She’s an extrovert and gets so much energy and motivation from being in community. She adored the buzz of her in-person events and the sense of purpose they gave her. The thought of letting that go was painful.

So we talked it through. Accepting that in-person meet-ups weren’t going to be possible for a while, we explored how Katie might be able to provide support and grow her community in a different way. By the end of our call, she’d decided to take Leaders Who Brunch online and has been running it as a virtual café ever since.

As you can see from this social media post earlier this month it’s been a roaring success!

“I’d like to celebrate something and share some learning with you. One of my goals for 2020/21 was to reach a total of 80 attendees to my Leaders Who Brunch meet-ups. At the time, we met quarterly in London.

Louise tells me I’ve now got 97 attendees on the book – with 9 months to go! I’d taken for granted that this wouldn’t happen…but it has, and it’s because, not in spite ofCOVID-19. After flapping about in the first few weeks of the crisis on how to support my tribe of non-profit leaders, I created the LWB Virtual Café and now hold a free ‘brunch’ every two weeks. It’s such a lesson to me in letting go of what I imagined for my business at the beginning of the year and allowing myself to just go with ‘what is’.”

Of course we’ll never know for certain whether this would have happened if Katie had been going it alone. But I know (because she told me) that being able to bounce ideas around with me expanded her sense of what’s possible.

It’s difficult to see things clearly when you’re in the thick of an emotional response to what’s going on around you. We can easily lose perspective and get lost in the weeds. Having an objective person at your side – someone who cares about your business as much as you do – can help clear a path to progress.

I know I’ve needed that support in my own business. Do you need it in yours?

If you’re fed up of going it alone and would like someone in your corner to cheer you on and help you focus on your next steps, let’s chat! You can book your free, no obligation Productivity Breakthrough Call here.

Find out more about Katie’s work here. And if you or anyone you know is a non-profit leader, here’s where you can find out more about the Leaders Who Brunch Virtual Café. I know Katie would love to welcome you!

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