The sky is blue one moment and the next the sky is pink
How to navigate redirection while staying nimble
Being in a leadership position is a lot of responsibility. Pile on leading in the hospitality industry.
There are so many moving parts, people, emotions, sounds, noises and more. And at any moment, the tides shift, the sky color changes and your entire plan for that day or service has to adapt and rather quickly. This is extremely stressful to the mind and adrenal system. Before sharing practices and tools to help you find your footing again, I first want to name the thing and acknowledge how difficult it is to efficiently switch gears when there is so much happening around you and within you.
For some of these moments, you can predict you may have to have a plan a, plan b and plan c - but there will be other moments where you have to complete 180 with confidence and grace so your team will follow your lead without question.
**the quick shift to a rainbow of colors in the sky just as a storm is coming over from the mountains.
Think about sports team coaches, they always have multiple plans ready to put into play depending on how the game and their players are performing. Or farmers, as they are tracking weather, they have game time decisions and then a “what if the weather pattern shifts” plan. Having multiple action items available at your fingertips will help you stay grounded in the moment when the sky color shifts.
Be careful to not overly communicate this to your team, or to put a plan into action preemptively. You will know when it’s time and if you aren’t confident and fully connected to your intuition yet - that’s ok, your colleagues are your sparring partners and all decisions should be made together always.
Here are 4 practices you can have in your back pocket when these moments arrive - because let’s stay honest - they will happen as often as once a day.
“We have been here before and we navigated through it - this time it’s just a different sky color.” - write this down somewhere. The truth is, you have already navigated a situation similar to this before and you have the tools, resources and knowledge on how to pivot.
Take a deep breath or 3 rounds of box breathing to get your body calmed down somatically so you can think strategically and be quick to adapt.
Take 5 -15min step away in an undisrupted area to gather your thoughts, take notes, and put together your action plan. If this is a collaborative process, have your colleague join you in this planning session. Come back to your colleagues and communicate the plan with them and begin to delegate.
Notice if you are getting nervous or reactive. If you feel it coming, pause and get grounded. Next up, ask to speak with your colleague so you can get out of your head and directly into collaborative conversation.