Leadership: The Decisions We Make Define Us
by Amber Kossak
The unexpected events of these past several months have certainly taken us by surprise, especially the speed at which it all happened. The challenges we have all faced and disruptions to our everyday lives have been trying to say the least. To some extent, it’s been like we are in a fog moving very slowly but at the same time making decisions we never thought we would make living min to min.
One of the first challenges in a crisis is trying to get a handle on what is really happening. How can we be certain which way to go when we’re uncertain as to where we stand? When being a leader, these moments define us, who we are as a leader, and our character. What do we do? How do you react? How do you treat others? Are you calm, kind, understanding, and patient?
If you are an entrepreneur and or business owner during these times to say you were put to the test is an understatement! Business owners were facing decisions, they never thought they would ever have to make. I don’t believe anyone in our industry could have anticipated the degree to which a virus could so quickly impact nearly every aspect of our personal and business lives.
The Decisions We Make Define Us!
Our aim at the end of this is not simply to survive but to thrive. Therefore, those who prepare, pull together and do not overreact fare much better. We have all been affected one way or another and one major way is emotionally. Yes, we may be functioning and making it through day to day but our family’s and those we care about have struggled. All of our lives have been turned upside down and everything is different. We are human, we do not like change. So please stop and take a minute! Take time to think about each other, what is the other person going through, how are they feeling, how can I help them. This might be difficult because we have personally been affected, or are feeling emotional ourselves but take a minute, listen to each other and we will all become stronger together.
One of the reasons we perform fire drills is because a real fire will shoot so much adrenaline into our veins that we might not be able to think straight. Unfortunately, most of us did not have a blueprint for this current situation. There has been a lot of misinformation and speculation which caused challenges when trying to make a solid decision. When we are a leader, we have to make decisions. This does not mean we have all the answers but remember; if we fail to act when a decision is required is itself a decision.
“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”
– Rikki Rogers
Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Overcoming these obstacles, we have all been through has made us stronger, helped us analyze what is important and what is not. One of our focuses through all of this has been to recover quickly and survive. It has been said a true test of our character is not how we are on our best day but how we act on our worst day. Well, some of us have had our worst day. How did we react, how did we treat others, were we patient, did we listen, were we kind?