Hello, everyone, it’s Michele Curry from Commerce Bank, Chair of the Women’s Network. Can you believe it? It’s already September! So, this is the September Chair’s Corner. And this one is going to be a little more off-the-cuff than normal.

I just had a conversation with someone this morning about leadership and leading through the times of COVID. I’ll be honest, being the Chair at this exact moment in the world landscape is not what I had in mind. I had big plans and big ideas of how this was going to go, and it’s completely different now.

But in talking to them I was able to realize how I’m not upset about that—at all. I know a lot of people are really worried about what’s happening: with their businesses; with the Women’s Network. How are we going to keep moving forward if we have to stay virtual? And how do we stay relevant?

I realized in that moment that I’m not nervous…at all. I understand that things are going to be hard. They’re going to be different. But the biggest thing I think people struggle with right now is feeling incredibly uncomfortable with the fact that, “we can’t do the things we want to do”, or, “we’re going to be losing a lot of revenue this year.” And that is something to keep people up at night! But there is a certain point where you have to evaluate:

1. What’s in your control?
2. What’s gravity?
3. How can you start preparing for that right now?

What we’re able to do in the Women’s Network, since we’ve switched to virtual, is we’re not anticipating the big revenues from our monthly programs like we used to, but we know that in advance. So, what we can do right now is prepare for it. I think that’s what a lot of business owners are facing as well.

So, my recommendation is to embrace the uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel good to be where we are right now, and nobody’s feeling good about it. But—I’m feeling HOPEFUL. Because I can take a look at what exactly is going on, figure out what we can control, and make sure we have the best outcomes as possible instead of sitting in the past and worrying about the negativity that’s coming our way, and instead, look towards a brighter future of, “I did everything I could in that moment to prepare for what’s coming next.” So that’s my advice for September—get comfortable being uncomfortable.

And that’s a perfect segue into—Don’t miss our Spotlight Luncheon!! September 17^th, Second City is going to be joining us virtually from Chicago to teach us how to Boldly Confront our Comfort Zones. This is going to be world-class professional development, and its’ going to help with everything I’ve talked about so far: it’s not a happy place to be uncomfortable, but it’s a growth place. All of us are learning, and as long as we can accept it with an optimistic outlook, I think you’re all going to grow a little bit more than you think you can. And that’s what being BOLD is about.

We’ll see you at the Spotlight Luncheon, and happy September! Until next month, everybody.

~Michele