My qualitative research study has just been approved by Hood College and I have begun sending out my online survey link to find women executive leaders to participate in the survey and study. I have created a new Research webpage to communicate my progress.
Please share this flyer, email or post on social media to get the word out. If you know of any places that I could post my request for women executive leaders, please let me know.
I have written in my blog about adaptive leadership in the past, but it seems especially relevant this year. Many leaders are discussing how to lead during a crisis/pandemic, so I think it helps to revisit the concept of growth mindset and the power of framing challenges toward learning and growing as a team. 2020 is the time to embrace different ideas to expand our options for a new normal in which all of the team can develop individually and collectively.
During a crisis, we naturally focus on what has been forced upon us, such as, working remotely from home, figuring out the new normal of work and socialization, and struggling to work productively without physical team connection. Many leaders are focusing on how to best manage instead of leading their teams in the "new normal." Adaptive leaders realize that when faced with change it is best to focus on learning from the whole team how to lead them toward their best working conditions and discuss solutions that work inside and outside your organization, especially with your customers.
I'll give a recent personal example from this final year of my doctoral classes. Since the beginning of my cohort program two years ago, I have asked if our cohort team could choose digital books instead of paper books so that I could always have my school books with me while traveling for work. Our leader told me that digital are more expensive than paper and not feasible for the whole team, so that would not be an option. Having digital books was vital to my productivity, so I paid for an Audible account to listen to my text books while on the road. Since the pandemic shutdown started in the U.S. in March, we have not received a paper book for any class because our text book providers have not been able to meet their mailing demand due to the shutdown. We have been given digital books until the paper books can be mailed -- an upside to the pandemic is that our team now has an option for my best learning and productivity. One resource strategy for all did not work well in our team before the pandemic.
What did the pandemic force you to consider as a leader that you hadn't considered before? Should you have been looking at more diverse options for/from your team before the pandemic? How do you listen to team members now? We have a growth opportunity to learn how to listen to our teams for their best productivity, personally and collectively. Actually, we have always had this opportunity to adapt our leadership to help our teams during change.

It's my birthday today and I am offering my blog followers a present!
Since moving most of my contract training business online in March, I have been working on a list of e-books from Pryor to help my students find additional learning resources after attending our live online classes in leadership and communications skill development.
Here is my Pryor Trainer web page where anyone can order these professional development e-books. These e-books are a deal because they have an unlimited timeframe to download and share with others! My packs offer the cheapest bulk prices, but you can order memberships (new, renewal and others') and each e-book individually for its discounted list price too.
I hope everyone is staying safe and that this helps you to keep developing your marketable skills for a brighter future! If you would like more reading suggestions, please feel free to ask me.
All the best,
Amy
