Transcripts:
Ashley Ryan: Hi everyone, it’s Ashley Ryan and Michaela Keeley from Envolta accounting and bookkeeping and this topic applies to any business watching,
Ashley Ryan: Because right now, when there’s times of change or fluctuation in the world. There’s a lot of external pressure on your business and yourself.
Ashley Ryan: So before when we talk about leadership skills and what it is to be a leader, there’s not always that external pressure to make it real. It’s like saying, I’m going to meditate in the mountains for 20 years.
Ashley Ryan: And I’m totally okay and then you go to your family gathering and then you get triggered and go crazy right.
Ashley Ryan: So it’s kind of comparative in that sense, where now there’s something actually happening. The world it’s putting all this pressure on us. So how do we handle that, how do we proceed Michaela
Michaela Kealey: Yeah, and I think it really is this time to to see how you’re going to show up recognize what’s showing up for you as a person and and to really assess how your leadership skills are in this crazy time
Ashley Ryan: Absolutely. I love that. So let’s start we’re giving you some tips on how to lead. During this time, this intense time and leading through crisis, basically.
Ashley Ryan: Number one, and these tips are awesome. This isn’t a bunch of willy nilly nonsense. These are tried and true methods. Many you probably haven’t heard but
Ashley Ryan: Number one is I went to a mindset mindset mindset.
Ashley Ryan: Are there things you could work on right now when things are slower because there’s often business areas of business we neglect right
Ashley Ryan: So right now it’s more important than ever to assess certain areas and work on those areas.
Michaela Kealey: Yeah, and I think it’s this really counter intuitive approach to where you might be noticing yourself really wanting to try and fix this problem or
Michaela Kealey: You know, try to get more sales like trying to get blood from a stone and all of these things that you
Michaela Kealey: You’re pulled towards acting on something that really isn’t there for us at the moment, there’s a possibility that your, you know, your traditional sales funnel is not going to exist in the same way that it did. Previous to this crisis.
Ashley Ryan: Like your genius.
Michaela Kealey: So I’m just thinking, yeah. Like, can you take that step back and really focus on what didn’t work before this, what have I been putting off.
Michaela Kealey: And and then it helps you get into this creative space of maybe finding some finding a new solution to a sales process or something that you may
Michaela Kealey: Be wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.
Ashley Ryan: Awesome. I love it. So you take your downtime work on the things that need to be worked on. Okay, so building your own support system. So what do you need, and I’m gonna let Michaela talk about this. What do you need in order to support yourself?
Ashley Ryan: Let’s talk about that.
Michaela Kealey: It right and I think
Michaela Kealey: When it comes to inspiring any sort of action and any one be at our family members, friends, people that we love if we’re not personally adopting those skills. We are not going to see them reflected in the people around us most likely isn’t the right way to say that.
Michaela Kealey: Totally, yeah. Yeah. We’re also
Ashley Ryan: What do you need in order to support yourself during this trying time Michaela
Michaela Kealey: Right, because it’s so important that if we’re expecting the people that we work with, to show up in a certain way, be calm and creative solution oriented.
Michaela Kealey: It’s so important that we ourselves are also showing up that way as leaders and in order to do that in order for you to get your headspace in a calm creative solution oriented mindset. What do you need
Michaela Kealey: In order to be able to get there, especially knowing that we’re in this crazy time right now. Do you need to
Michaela Kealey: Do you need to wake up a little earlier and meditate or do you need to sleep a little more, maybe because your brain is moving so fast or
Michaela Kealey: You know, do you need to take special quiet time with your family or make sure to connect with friends or reach out to a coach therapist counselor.
Michaela Kealey: At this point in time so that you can make sure that when you’re showing up as a leader you are modeling the behavior that you weren’t going to ask your team for
Ashley Ryan: I love that absolutely there. Okay, I’ll use an analogy. So I’m dating right now and somebody’s always
Ashley Ryan: It and I’m saying, okay, I want this guy who’s this and that and this and that. And all these great qualities and the friend said to me one day. Well, actually.
Ashley Ryan: Are you all those great qualities. If that amazing person came along, would they want to be with you. And I was thinking maybe I need to work on a few things here so important that if you want something from somebody, you need to be that
Ashley Ryan: Yeah so. Okay. So next is, this is mine Michaela might roll her eyes because she knows me, but basically keeping your shit together.
Ashley Ryan: This is not the time to freak out and lose it. You are the leader of the company or manager or whatever you are, you’re the pioneer, you need to hold your stuff together, my friend.
Michaela Kealey: Mm hmm. And, and so, Ashley likes throwing it back to you, knowing that it’s yours. What, what, how would you recommend a leader do that if they really are. Maybe spinning right now. What’s the best thing that they can go
Ashley Ryan: Out to other colleagues and venting please vent, but do not vent to your team. I see a lot of business owners venting to their team.
Ashley Ryan: And that backfires so do not talk about your personal life in this depth like don’t get into your problems.
Ashley Ryan: With your, your team who aren’t like on an executive level, you need to talk to your therapist or your coach or your colleagues or your friends, whatever. Don’t go there with your team, even if it’s tempting. Do not go there.
Ashley Ryan: Also just even if you’re panicking. You have to just pull up your big person pants like it’s like it’s just a decision. It’s like
Ashley Ryan: zipit stop it like stop the mind and just deal with what’s in front of you, one foot in front of the other.
Ashley Ryan: Any better suggestion.
Michaela Kealey: No, I think I it’s it’s tough right because it’s one of those things that’s easier said than done, but it really is a decision to say
Michaela Kealey: To ourselves that no I’m not gonna, I’m not going to lose it. Right now I’m going to show up in a different way and
Michaela Kealey: Like going back to I think our first point is really like preempting the losing of the shit by, you know, taking care of ourselves in the way that we know we need to right now. Right.
Michaela Kealey: Totally
Ashley Ryan: I’m on board with that. So, okay. Then next is another tip for being an amazing leader during this time is being directive, having a plan and communicating that on a regular basis over communicating
Michaela Kealey: Uh huh. Yeah, it’s so important. As you know, I think we can all relate to the
Michaela Kealey: To the uncertainty that the world really is facing but that we’re all internalizing at this point in time. And so
Michaela Kealey: When it comes to working and bringing your team back together and bringing them back to a common focus, it’s really important that you’re holding them.
Michaela Kealey: With clear direction, an understanding of what needs to get done based on, you know, similar to like a hospital triage.
Michaela Kealey: Format like what’s the most important thing that we’re doing right now, how can you get your team.
Michaela Kealey: On board with it and holding strong and then and then how can you continually communicate that message so that they’re hearing it over and over again knowing that that uncertainty is going to come up
Michaela Kealey: So something that we’re doing is we’re holding regular meetings throughout the week. So we have had two solid meetings with our management team.
Michaela Kealey: To give updates on the business updates on you know the situation and then we’re wrapping that in the on Tuesdays are in our week with our full team and just continually providing them updates any changes or
Ashley Ryan: This is a new direction to do business as usual. This is like you need to make adjustments.
Ashley Ryan: So it’s like if you were meeting once a month. Okay, now let’s meet every week or whatever. So keeping people in the loop and having that transparency.
Ashley Ryan: That’s another thing is really having transparency with your team people are smart people pick up on stuff they know what’s going on. But if you don’t say it. It’s like, you know, don’t treat your employees as fools. Do you have any
Ashley Ryan: Having that transparency.
Michaela Kealey: Mm hmm. Yeah. And if you know what the business needs right now as you would as the leader that that you can expect to every employee to just assume
Michaela Kealey: What’s newer, what’s different. That should be happening right now. So they really do need that outside. Okay, this is what I’m going to prioritize now etc and so on.
Ashley Ryan: And love it. Now, there was another one we have which is
Ashley Ryan: This is a good one, making tough decisions around what’s not working in your business that you can like shave down
Ashley Ryan: And get rid of right
Michaela Kealey: Yeah, I think, I think that goes back to our earlier point to have like the counter intuitive approach to want to
Michaela Kealey: Dive into what has normally worked for us and double down in that area versus this is really the time to take a step back and look at what isn’t working and and make changes because
Michaela Kealey: Because change management is that you know the unicorn of organizational behavior that is so difficult to figure out. And this is really
Michaela Kealey: A time when changes are thrust upon everybody. So if you’re going to make changes or make tough decisions or you know reassess what isn’t working now really is the time to be doing that and to look at things from a more bird’s eye view approach.
Ashley Ryan: Absolutely. Okay. I made a note of a couple others. But you know what, I think I’m going to record. We’re going to do another video on that. So I hope this was helpful as to kind of how get kick started on
Ashley Ryan: Your journey in this direction, because we all have the capacity to be amazing leaders just now’s not the time to freak out and crumble.
Ashley Ryan: I would do these things that I suggested. If you need support in this area. We do consulting and advisory services around this. You can go click on the URL and you can get in touch with us. I’m Ashley. I do.
Ashley Ryan: Chief Innovation Officer Michaela is our leader of people she’s HR and and and Volta. We really, we really care about our team and we care about our clients. So please subscribe to our videos and make comments, let us know how you like them.