Seeing beyond the crisis

One of the faculties of a leader is their capability to see beyond any negative situation.

In the case of a small situation, such as an employee's resignation or the loss of a big client, a leader is capable of finding a solution very quick. With their training, whatever she or he has learnt and their experience, leaders are able to solve problems and move on.

But when the situation is big, that is, when it turns into a crisis, responses are not so fast. In fact, the key for solving any crisis is patience and perseverance; patience, as crisis has its own development and we do have to wait until the right moment comes, and perseverance for the leader's insistence and courage to change circumstances. To solve a crisis you need time...

A crisis blinds people, making them incapable to see beyond the present moment. The leader is probably the only one who can still see the future of the organization.

However, it is not that difficult... Even though in terms of position you are not a leader, it is good and healthy to keep that vision in the background whilst you do whatever you have to do to deal with the present crisis.

• First thing is to remind the self of the meaning of working. When you remember its significance, it is easier to remember the future implications of any action and, although remaining in the present, visualizing the possible future.
• Change hope into reality. Once someone told me hope is only for weak people. That is not true; hope is good, it is healthy and it can keep you fighting for your life, if that is the case. The issue is some people use hope as an excuse for not acting. Do you have any hope amidst the crisis? Do something! Anything, even a small one will impact your life.
• Motivate yourself. When there is a crisis, it seems as dementors are everywhere, taking dreams out of your own breath. And, really, nobody will motivate you... It is the moment to look for motivation. Read. Listen to music. Watch something. Do things that make you believe you can overcome this, and you will do it.
• Support each other. Crisis sends people into conflict. I have seen as families can be broken because money is not there. Learn how to support each other, love each other even more and if you have to leave other people for some reason, keep in touch.
• DO SOMETHING... for others! Crisis can generate a kind of laziness in the soul. Yes, with crisis you lose your job or you are under pressure, too busy to do anything else, but it is one of the valuable things you can do is to help others. Being a volunteer keeps your mind clean and you can see a much brighter future as an effect of your work.

That inner voice

Ethics is taught at schools, churches and temples all over the world. However, within us there is something there that helps us to watch our own behavior and follow those ethics.

It is kind of an inner voice that tells you "Don't do it!" Probably it was that inner voice that warned corrupt politicians to not accept a bribe or a mother to not lie to her children.

But because it is a very soft voice, we normally don't pay much attention to it and when we do listen to it, we don't care. And when we do care, we still have problems to follow what that voice is saying. Years later, when you revise your life, that voice often comes back to you but when there is no time and no energy to put its instructions into practice.

Because even though many people affirm humans are the only animals born without a sense of direction, which is completely false. We do have a sense of direction, a natural sense of what is right and what is wrong and in the crossroads we meet in our lives, that inner voice comes and tells you the truth...

More than a morality that judges other people, that inner voice's duty is to show you the right path. So, my suggestion is that when that voice talks to you, note down what it says. Even though you can't use it right now, it can be useful later. Sometimes, it comes through others' arts; embrace it, because that is part of the compass you will use in your journey, your long journey.

Nehru, the first prime-minister of India and Gandhi's companion in their struggle for liberty used the last stanza of a poem that reminded him even though sometimes he was tired, there were still a few miles more to go...

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep. 

Robert Frost

What your past can teach you...

Some animals can migrate for generations from and to the same places, keeping an astonishing record. This is the case of some whales, geese and even elephants... Their past teaches them how to live better, as there are some conditions in those places they would take too long looking for in other places.

How much does our past teach us?

As a whole species, reading the headlines and seeing what is happening today, I would dare to say we didn't learn much. We still see nations invading nations, people killing people and humanity destroying nature, and it has been like that for centuries.

But, at least in the last 50 years, our learning has been better. With information technology, stories travel faster and people also react faster. For instance, issues against gender... From one country to the other, it seems people protest for the same reasons. Sometimes, I am not sure to which country this news belongs as they all look the same.

That is what makes past valuable: when we are able to learn. First stage is to have the information and to start to create a new paradigm around that idea. Second stage is when we start to avoid those situations. But the last stage is the main one. It is when we replace habits and customs that we have learnt as wrong with something more elevated and dignified.

I will give you an example. Several women have been affected by acid thrown into their faces. The first stage works quite well and the information starts to travel around very fast. There is however some doubts in relation to its effectiveness as by spreading the news, other people learn about that and they can use it too against their own former wives or girl-friends...

The second stage is needed: laws that enforce the negativity of that behavior. However, that is when things start to get tricky... After a few weeks of acid-throwing acid, news came that a woman threw acid against another woman. What to do in this case, as it is not a gender issue? Later, a young man was also affected. When we restricted our vision to the negative side of the situations, we give power to that and people learn on how to avoid the new laws or the new hate it generates (up to this moment, I did not see comments against the neighbor who threw acid against her neighbor or the affected young man).

The third and last stage so that our past is really valuable is when we start to create a new model of society, where people are entitled to decide on their own destiny, where people who would be attacked feel secure because society approved their decision and those who would be the attackers have a support group or someplace where they can find treatment. In this way, that violence won't happen again?

A dreamer? Let's remember the case of slaves and how we took so long to get into the third stage of equality and normality. Let's also remember the economic effects on the mistakes we make...

But, don't wait for the collective starting to change. Start from your own life. Learn from your past. Avoid the mistakes you have made. Start to create a new life for you; in such a way not only your past won't repeat, but new opportunities emerge.

I am sure you will feel very happy by doing that!

Gentleness makes bitter things sweeter

When we enter into an organization, we have some functions that we have to comply, but the trickiest part is the link with other people. After all, we didn't choose them to be our partners, to be with us sometimes more than our own families, and still we have to relate to them and get the job done.

A few years ago, a friend told me a story. She was working in an office and one of her co-workers used to collect money for celebrating each other's birthdays. After a while she started to get upset with him as he was very persistent with the task. At some point, he approached her and even before talking to her, she reacted saying she was too busy. He said he was just coming to her because the day before it was his birthday and he had a piece of cake for her...

There are many ways to deal with other people in an organizational environment, but no matter the technique you chose, be aware of a simple recipe that will make you way towards others easier:

• When you see someone for the first time, greet the person before asking something or ordering something... Greetings open others' hearts and enable them to comply with your requirements easily.
• Keep a memory of other people's circumstances: their families, last time they were sick or some course they are taken. Ask them about it, enjoy their success, and be empathic with their failures.
• If someone has made something bad for you, you feel hurt and yet you have to work with them, look for a mediator who helps you to deal with that. Don't keep grudges, they are bad for you.
• If you have to talk to someone in an environment of anger or restlessness, by being gentle you can decrease the resistance of the other person and facilitate the talk.
• "Please"'s and "thank you"'s can help to make the work environment even lighter. Try and use them as many times as you want.
• Smile, and don't get tired of smiling at others. Appreciate what they have done, forgive and respect their mistakes. Celebrate their conquests as if they are your own.

And the wonderful thing is when that small recipe becomes part of you, part of your personality, your own ethics. It is then when you will be able to change your environment and transform your life.