Last week the ground shifted below our feet.  As the coronavirus pandemic emerges, our lives at every level are impacted.

We know that you, as a leader, have to think about how to support the health, safety and well-being of yourself, your families, your organization, and your communities.  And, you have probably started thinking about those things among your various teams – your board, your staff and your partners.

ICL’s intention is to be proactive and responsive to your emerging needs. To do that we will:

• Seek your input. Click Here to respond to a 3-question feedback form
• Offer tip-sheets for virtual meetings and trainings
• Offer high-level webinars and hands-on virtual learning to strengthen your approaches and skills for virtual meetings and trainings
• Offer one-on-one coaching packages to help you effectively shift your meetings and conference agendas to online platforms

In the interim, we offer the following to support your leadership:

1. Stay informed about the coronavirus — We suggest this podcast from CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta:  https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/corona-virus

2. Support your organization in creating and continually adapting your response — The Chronicle of Philanthropy created this comprehensive set of resources to help nonprofits respond to the impact of the coronavirus:
https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Responding-to-the-Coronavirus/248231

3. Manage the transition to remote work —

• This article provides advice for managing the transition from an office-based to a remote-based work environment: https://www.fastcompany.com/3007638/tips-transitioning-office-based-company-remote-work
• TechSoup’s webinar, Resources for Remote Work, includes suggestions for non-profits: https://blog.techsoup.org/posts/nonprofit-resources-for-remote-work-during-the-covid-19-outbreak
• This guide will help you sort through the range of videoconferencing tools:
  https://blog.techsoup.org/posts/understanding-the-videoconferencing-tools-available-to-your-nonprofit
• Here’s a blog from one of our regular consultants, Andy Robinson, about virtual meetings: https://trainyourboard.com/mastering-virtual-meetings/

4. Take care of yourself — If your adrenaline levels have been as high as mine have, I’m reminding myself (and you) that to be good leaders of others we have to prioritize taking care of ourselves:

• Remember to breathe– Even three deep breaths at the top of the hour will help to calm your nervous system. Longer periods of deep breathing are even more helpful — Click Here for an exercise called 16 Breaths and other strategies for calming your parasympathetic nervous system.
• Focus on the basics of physical self-care — Drink lots of water. Prioritize sleep and rest. Get regular exercise. Eat healthy.
• Get outside!! Nature and fresh air will feed and heal us as we continue to work for our human and natural communities.

Stay tuned.  ICL will share more resources and details about our offerings later this week. We appreciate the energy and commitment that you bring to your work.  We are all in this together — and ICL stands ready as a resource for you.

Dianne

on behalf of the ICL staff