How can I step up as a leader during massive uncertainty?

Despite all of negative emotions that I've been feeling since the beginning of this global pandemic, there is one thing that continues to brighten my day each and every time I see it.

People, friends and strangers alike, are coming together to comfort and support each other.

It's inspiring to see this virus bring out the best in people. While the knee-jerk fear reaction may initially be one of scarcity, selfishness or individualism, there are more and more stories emerging of people choosing to lead with compassion, support and unity.

Global stories like Jack Ma, the richest man in China, donating 500,000 testing kits and 1,000,000 face masks to the US. Stories of neighborhoods singing to each other. Stories about international cooperation where a team of health experts left China to head to Italy to lend a hand. Crowd funding stories that spontaneously happen on Twitter to support those less fortunate.

This type of compassion and support is happening at the local level too. Countless stories of people helping their elderly neighbors buy supplies. Stories of helping friends and family understand the severity of our situation and prepare properly. And stories of supporting local businesses and providing extra tips and payments to service workers.

We need more of these stories during the coming weeks and months.

One question I continue to ask to all of my coaching clients is:

"How can you show up as a leader even more during these times of uncertainty?

I ask myself this every day.

For me, the answer is typically:

• connect with friends and loved ones
• help people to be as prepared and safe as possible
• express gratitude
• offer to help support others wherever the opportunity presents itself
• ensure that I'm taking proper care of myself and keeping my immune system as ready as possible

Am I going to be as productive during these times as I would be under normal circumstances? Absolutely not, and that is 100% fine with me. I've broken almost all of my personal, self-care and social routines. I'm doing my best with what I've got, and that's really all I can do for now.

It's important to remember what we are optimizing for in any given moment. I am not trying to minimize disruptions to my personal life, business world or daily routines. I'm optimizing to stay healthy for as long as I can to flatten the curve and at the same time show up as a leader for everyone I can.

If there's any way I can help, even if it's just a 15 minute virtual coffee, I am here for you.

We are all in this together.

What if we were more supportive of each other?

I think about this concept a lot. Like, a lot a lot.

From where I sit, the most important thing we can do to help create a more beautiful world is to support the things we believe in.

I try to be extremely conscious of every dollar I spend to ensure it is going to things I believe in. I briefly wrote about this in another lifetime: Intentional Currency Flow.

Intentional currency flow and conscious spending is one of oh-so-many ways to be supportive.

The path of the Creator is seldom an easy journey that is always up-and-to-the-right explosive growth. There are many battles, struggles, obstacles and roadblocks behind the scenes that go unnoticed.

This is a call for more compassion, more support, more love for the things we want to exist in the world. If we see someone doing something that we believe in:

• Let them know you believe in them and what they are building
• Buy their product or financially support their vision
• Ask them questions to learn more of their story
• Refer a friend or make a connection for them to someone that they should meet
• Send them a random message to let them know that you are thinking about them
• Share their message on social media or with friends and family

There's so many ways we can be more support of those taking bold leaps to bring their creations into existence. Sometimes a few nice worlds will mean more than you'll ever know.

I had two opportunties today to support people building things I believe in, and it made me more aware of how a little bit can go a long way.

When we support more of the things we want to see in the world, their chance of survival increases. That leads to better products, services and innovation in the marketplace. Whether you are the creator or supporting the creators or both, remember that we are all in this together and we have the ability, moment to moment, to make things just a little better than they were.