Disruption

 Disruption. This can be and feel different to everyone. Disruption can be anything that steers your balance or the balance of a situation in a different direction. When I think of disruption, it feels like a negative word. Yet in times of great disruption, expected or the unexpected kind, great things can happen.

How you seize the disruption is what matters. Unexpected disruption such as a school closed on a snow day, or an unexpected situation at work, can often initially send us into a panic. The rush to problem solve the disruption and the impending panic that can ensue, can often lead us down a path of uncertainty. Fight or flight mode kicks in and slowly but surely we find a solution. 

The peaks and troughs of expectation, solution and achievement fluctuate greatly in times of disruption and we can often feel like we are riding a rollercoaster! 

How can we overcome those feelings of panic, what tactics can we draw on that enable us to focus on a solution and feel proud of overcoming the initial hurdle? 

The first step is to recognise our own capacity to cope with disruption. What is it that is particularly anxiety inducing about the situation? It could be you are on your own, it could be that it will mean diverting a whole days plans, it could be that you question your own ability and worry about adding to another person's workload to help you find a solution. All these things, and there are many more, are valid feelings. Recognising our own strengths is the first step. Recognising that in the height of panic our ability to find solutions can be inhibited. Recognising what helps you to overcome that feeling in the first instance is important

 Take a few minutes to process the situation fully. Thinking about and weighing up all your options and working through them all, one at a time, is more efficiently done once we have taken stock of the disruption in hand. 

Once you have come up with a plan of action,you can begin to work through the solution  strategically. Taking each step at a time, breaking the situation down to manageable tasks and reaching the solution calmly. 

Any disruption will infuse our very being and can often blur our thinking across different levels as the physical response to the situation can feel like it is taking it's hold. 

On a personal level, some of my strategies include taking my shoes off and grounding myself by pushing my socked feet on the floor. I am also partial to a 'Thinking wee'  (by the time I've been to the bathroom and back, the little brain break can often result in more logical thinking!). If all else fails, I go and put the kettle on! There aren't many problems that can't be thought through over a brew. Now, I realise not everyone can use those particular strategies in real-life, but using them as metaphors for your own tactics will help. The key point here, is the small amount of time to allow for a deep breath and thinking time. 

Above all, and it is hard to see this in the midst, but what disruption often does, is to re-affirm our strategic thinking skills with a sense of achievement when we have coped well with what has been disrupted. Being proud of ourselves even when the disruption changed the focus of the day. 

Of course there are always disruptions that we welcome just as there are ones we don't welcome. It is our reactions to them that make us leaders of ourselves and others, as well as how we encourage thought processes within ourselves and those around us. Remaining calm and as logical as possible,  being diverse in drawing on the suggestions and tactics of others. Leaders don't  have all the answers, leaders enable their team to weigh up situations and arrive at solutions together, with substance and shared learning.