I still remember the very first time I was thrown into the deep end to lead a fully virtual team, it was in January 2011, during the Brisbane floods. To provide some context, I was already leading a team in a ‘flexible work’ environment. Put simply, a flexible work environment is a mix of team members working co-located in the office and work from home on a rotation. So, when we were required to pack up our things and all head home to work remotely, honestly, I thought it wouldn’t be very different to how the team already operated.

We are certainly living through unprecedented times and with that comes uncertainty, fear and anxiety. Over the last two decades we’ve become accustomed to things changing and changing quickly, but never this rapidly. We find ourselves living and working in a very unfamiliar environment; self-isolation, social distancing, working from home, leading virtual teams.

Exceptional Leaders are conscious leaders who understand the KNOWING-DOING Gap; the difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it.

It was Sunday week ago, on Mother’s Day, I was one of those ten excited women at Brisbane Airport discussing what awaited us on our holiday kayaking and camping in the Whitsunday Islands. Tranquil waters, spectacular views, white pristine beaches, accessing secluded beaches, being at one with nature and, of course, wine. What we didn’t talk about, nor did it even cross my mind, was a lesson in the importance of leadership in a VUCA world. Confused?