This morning I met my good friend Martin Anderson, Director of Learning Services at KPMG for a virtual catch-up. As always, our conversation roamed freely, touching on many topics of mutual interest.
When I mentioned that I was surprised that my resilience coaching hadn’t attracted as much attention as I’d hoped over the last 10 months, he suggested that perhaps I’d been a little too quick off the mark and that now might be a better time for reflection.
As the jungle drums encourage us to believe that we are making progress against coronavirus, employers can now review their budgets and priorities and give real consideration to the future shape of their workforce.
Furlough and income support initiatives have perhaps delayed employers having to confront the difficult decisions and employees haven’t felt a need to take a longer-term view. Will this change as these schemes come to an end?
It would be naïve to think that COVID 19 has not already impacted millions of us in many ways, but I think that the choppier waters have yet to reach us. The first lockdown felt in some ways exciting, it was uncharted territory, we had never collectively experienced such a phenomenon, and the weather was fantastic!
The novelty of unrestricted family time born out of the inability to move round freely encouraged us all to turn to our wish lists. Whether these were manic gardening, cooking or DIY, or reading that book there never seemed to be time to pick up, or subscribing to online TV and binge watching, there was an excuse to be indulgent.
‘Lockdown 3.0’ as it has come to be known, has definitely proved to be more of a wake-up call. There are few I have spoken to who have not admitted to finding things much more challenging. Inclement weather and fewer hours of daylight have not helped.
My survival technique has been to find something small that I could control and own it. Dry January and a decision to diet gave me a central focus, and though not fun in the moment, created a feeling of achievement and the thought that I was doing something that would benefit me in the future. This in itself widened the aperture and made it easier for me to apply myself to the bigger questions.
New opportunities
What has brought you through lockdown and have you started to address those questions that you might have avoided up until now, considering them to be in the ‘too hard place?’
Are you now beginning to consider personal implications and what to focus your attention on in the future?
Whether you are facing an uncertain future workwise or using the current situation to look at other options, I would love to help you think these things through. My coaching service offers a safe and confidential, empathic and creative ‘two heads are better than one’ solution seeking approach. Whether from a personal or corporate perspective, I would be delighted to have an initial conversation with you to find out how I could help.
You can find out more about what I do and how we would work together here.