When There Is No Playbook
Taking action to lower the temperature or de-escalate is often, a new leadership skill that requires balancing many factors.
- Your presence and actions matter as much as words.
- You need to find, and seize, the right moment amid uncertainty.
- You need to speak authentically.
There is no playbook for this kind of leadership. So how do you do all this? Intentional practices can help establish your goals, find the right action and protect yourself and your community. That is where rituals come in.
Practices for You
Drawing from experts in sports psychology, leadership, faith and the science of social norms, we offer three types of practices keyed to different moments. Each of these sections is meant to give you quick and actionable insights you can use.
Before
- Remember, this matters. Noting and setting a simple reminder that your work matters and that your decision was rooted in your values and mission can help when the moment arises. (more on this later).
- Tap into your community. One of the most important elements of cooling temperatures is the social. People respond well to seeing people they identify with and respect. Use this moment to tap into your community, especially people who you could build stronger relationships with both to support you and extend impact. You can help prevent the feeling of doing this alone by identifying 5 people who you trust and who have influence in other communities. If you’re a faith leader, consider the small business leader or the advocate. Think about what you can share with them. Reach out in advance. Not to ask something but to check in and deepen your connection.
- Set your intention. Success for this kind of work often looks different. You don’t have total control of the situation, so setting an appropriate intention matters. Whatever works for you to have clarity. For example We’ll disagree, but well. Don’t hide from the issue but don’t focus on the bad outcome. Remember, the best-case scenario is always possible; it may just take some work.
During
- Visualization. Not the wealth gospel type. You have people you admire, bring them with you. Famous or not, real or imaginary, as long as they model grace under pressure. Picture someone whose courage you admire, this gives you something to aspire to. It should be someone who showed real grace under fire. It could be someone famous like Muhammed Ali, Neil Armstong, MLK or Malala Yousafzai, or you can visualize someone who would be proud of you for taking action. It could be a relative, that person who can wade in when the family is about to go at it and redirect.
- Align mind and body. Drawing from the rich science of sports psychology, there are powerful methods you can use to keep control of your body. Progressive relaxation and grounding techniques can help manage the jitters and bring you back to earth after.
- Music. Sometimes you may need to do more. We know that music activates different parts of the brain and can help transform your mood. Leverage this if you still need more.
Let Us Help You
The difference between finding your moment and missing the boat can be moments or days. But you don’t have to do this alone. Coming soon, we will help you build your own ritual. We’ll send you practices and recommendations from our group of experts just in time for you to make a difference.