Stressed out by the unprecedented uncertainty unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic? You are not alone says Desiree Perez, Leadership Coach & Aviation Consultant, but there is a way you can bring back your sense of control and composure…

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new” – Socrates

We are experiencing some very challenging days as a global community, individuals and especially as employees of the aviation industry. I believe that most of us are in this industry because we love what we do. We are passionate about our purpose of getting passengers and cargo to their destinations and feel empowered by making even the toughest of logistical challenges work.

Quite different now. We can feel the pressure ‘in the air’; However, this one is different from the one that we are so used to. Instead of striving for on-time departures and superior customer service, we are now concerned with our lives, our livelihood, our people, and the existence of our businesses.

Feeling as if nothing is within our control at the moment, it is absolutely understandable to feel stressed and under immense pressure. I want to use this opportunity to create a different perspective filled with opportunity and hope when almost everything else is uncertain at the moment. This global pandemic is an opportunity for us as individuals and as an industry to come together and emerge from this situation even stronger. In the midst of our current circumstances, the first thing that comes to mind is: ‘How?’, when practically everything is in shambles at the moment.

It starts with us as individuals. When we feel out of control, we need to focus on the things that are within our control and on the things that matter the most. Some of the things that come to mind here are:

• Our attitude
• Our communication
• Our willingness to help
• How we care for our family and our employees
• What we think about
• How we make use of the time that we have
• Looking for opportunities

I am sure you can add a wide array of other things to the list. What happens when you shift your perspective from what is outside of your control to the things that are within your control? It will most likely make you want to act on those.

Our thoughts are very powerful as they create our emotions and our actions. When we feel defeated, frustrated, and out of control, it is our actions that will reflect this – often times in not being able to act at all. This too serves its purpose of protection by our brain, but it is something that can become daunting very quickly.

I want to encourage you to make a choice to use this situation as an opportunity to create a win-win situation and to actively create the future of your organisations for when this pandemic is over; Because we know it will be over.

Some questions you can ask yourself are:

• How can I help my employees, friends, family, and other industry stakeholders in this situation with the means I have available?
• What win-win opportunities can I create with my partners and stakeholders inside and outside the business?
• What vision do I want to create for myself and my organisation when this is all over?
• What products or services can I create upon the post-pandemic phase?

We all have a choice in acting on these things and how we want to be remembered as leaders and individuals in this situation.

Not sure how to tackle this? I am standing side by side with you and if you do want to discuss individual challenges that you are facing, please reach out to me at [email protected] and I’ll be happy to support you in any way I can.