It’s an interesting ride as our world continues into the global crisis that is both a health crisis and for many an economic crisis. From my perspective, I like to focus on the positive things and want to share some insights I’ve gained in the last couple of weeks. I’ve connected to people in Sweden, Norway, Italy, US, UK, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Belgium, Singapore, Poland, Croatia, Austria and many other countries.
I’m very grateful for Zoom as I focus on getting more of Evoloshen’s trainings online. By the way, Zoom has gone from 10M daily users in December to over 200M daily users in March! So not all companies are going down.
I’m grateful for the online leadership training I’ve been running with 65+ leaders in 11 European countries. Already many of the participants have said this trust training couldn’t have come at a better time!
I’ve also been connecting people via various groups I coordinate, from my executive women’s network to a CEO Virtual Round Table to an entrepreneur’s group and to my own team members. All of these calls have been on Zoom and everyone feels really good to connect, to talk, and to see each other.
We were able to move a speech I was supposed to give live to the Zoom platform as well and it worked great! Being flexible and adaptable is the key to success right now! Being able to virtually connect to over 100 people in a week has been amazing!
And I know of many families who are having virtual dinners over Skype, FaceTime or Zoom since they can’t see each other in person. I’ve even seen some virtual weddings happening as well!
With all these examples, it’s been interesting to see how people just NEED to connect to others right now. We give each other energy. We share stories. We learn from each other. We realize that there isn’t a single location on this planet that isn’t being impacted right now. As human beings, we are social creatures and we feel better when we have connected.
Our energy is passed on through conversations. When we can genuinely connect openly and from the heart, we activate oxytocin in our body. That’s why we feel inspired and energized after a good conversation. It’s been said that only 7% of our communication is verbal, 38% is tone of voice and 55% is non-verbal such as our body language. This is why using video helps so much when connecting virtually.
We have a choice right now in how we want to be during this time. I came across this graphic online (don’t know where it originated otherwise I’d give it credit). Who do you want to be during the COVID-19 crisis?
When you can put some space between your emotions, you can then choose how you want to respond. It is a way of taking back your power, to tap into your inner core, and it helps to eliminate the victim mentality.
If you choose to be of service to others, to help by sharing your talents (whatever they may be), to be a leader who cares, and to spread some hope and love by connecting authentically, and by being kind to others, you will put yourself into the growth zone. You will be a force for good. Because one thing is certain, this situation isn’t going to last forever. It’s going to end and by building closer relationships now through connecting deeply, you—and your company—will be able to bounce back faster and stronger than ever!
