Award-winning CEO Coach, Behavioural Scientist and Transformation Facilitator Shweta Handa Gupta helps you manage change. So when it comes to managing a crisis, she has quite a few tips. Shweta is also the co-founder and Chief Innovator at Quadra-Brain.
She talked to our Editor, Nishtha Shukla Anand on the various challenges that she finds individual struggling with amidst the pandemic and also some practical tips to survive the COVID-19 crisis.
Here are some of the major highlights from the interview:
- It is a crisis not downtime.
Shweta points out that contrary to popular perception across social media, pandemic is indeed a stressful time for most ordinary people. Perceived fee time is simply a myth for many as they try to balance home and work from the confines of a house. Furthermore, due to the online trends, individuals feel an intense (and largely unnecessary) pressure to learn new skills and be more productive.
- Challenges and Pressures of the 30s.
She shares that professionals in the age group of 30-40 year olds are usually the ones who feel the most amount of pressure for achieving milestones and professional success. She also adds that unlike the 20s, experimentation during this phase usually become more difficult because of the many variables and liabilities people tend to have accumulated by the time they turn 30.
- Acceptability is the key.
Shweta shares that uncertainty and losing predictability can create a sense of grief among individuals. She also talks about the five stages model of humans dealing with a crisis or grief. The first response of most people to a crisis is usually denial. Subsequently, we move to anger, depression, and bargaining. Lastly, we get to the stage of acceptance which finally helps us in dealing with our grief or the crisis.
- Have a Schedule.
The CEO Coach says that losing the sense of a structure and routine to our day to day lives has also led to additional stress to our lives. It can cause a sense of mental fatigue having to make too many decisions in a day. Thus, she emphasises on setting a schedule and allotting time for work, chores and family as well as breaks to relax ourselves. She further went on to suggest that it is a great time to experiment with various times of the day as working hours and explore.
- Managing Cash Flows.
Shweta notes that cash flows are probably the biggest challenge for small businesses during the current crisis. She advises businesses to minimise their fixed expenses and to better utilise low cost online solutions to digitise their businesses. She also place emphasis on the need to stay connected to both employees and customers in the current times.
- Envision the long term.
Shweta says that we need to primarily focus on first creating our own balance. She adds that it isn’t the best time to take huge risks and make bold career choices. Getting through the pandemic in itself is learning and we need to take off the pressure to create breakthroughs and find opportunities in the pandemic. She particularly cautions against investing too much in opportunities that would not be relevant in the long run post the pandemic.