Lessons in Leadership from a Natural Disaster
I live in Townsville - nicknamed Brownsville by the locals due to its lack of rainfall and consequent constant brown grass. Water restrictions are a normal part of life for us in Townsville.
The start of 2019 was promising for a good wet season. We were very excited and hopeful that the Ross River Dam would go from below 50% to 100% which would mean the end of water restrictions. We were excited for green grass and flourishing gardens.
The rain started with storms and quickly progressed to heavy rain all day. It was amazing! The mood around town was exuberant. Everyone was happy and so excited for the rain.
Pretty soon the roads were cut out of the city. No big deal - it is a normal wet season. There were more and more cancellations as clients couldn’t make it to the clinic - and most people wanted to stay home and simply enjoy the rain - Lord knows we’d waited long enough for it. Again, annoying and a bit costly for the clinic but no big deal.
Thursday 7 Feb the flooding became widespread. This was the first day I was not able to make it into the clinic as my driveway was flooded. We also made the call that 3 of our team had to leave at lunchtime to make sure that they could make it home. I completed zoom meetings with my team from home.
A bit annoying to have the routine disrupted and a bit of a financial hit for the clinic but still not a big deal. It was still exciting! As there was no sign of the rain easing we made the call that anyone who had to leave early Thursday wouldn’t come to work on Friday and all clients were rescheduled.
With record breaking falls things had deteriorated from excitement to concern. Mind you - it was only mild concern. The sewage systems started to back up and cause concerns in some areas of the city (including my home unfortunately ;)). By Friday I - along with half the city - had to sandbag my house and evacuate to higher ground. Sandbagging is hard work! We joked that it was a real life boot camp! Sand is dumped by the council in car parks around the city and you go with your shovel and fill 20 L hessian bags with sand. In the rain. Read: wet sand everywhere; raw hands; not one bit of dry clean skin and wet sand is hella heavy!
Lesson 1: The human spirit is phenomenal.
At the sand drop off the spirit was positive. Most people were combining their efforts and not only filling their own sandbags but also each other. The amazing thing was that there were people there who did not even need to sandbag their own homes who came to stand in the rain and fill sandbags just for other people. This kindness and selflessness warmed my heart and still makes me want to be a better person.
We then had to carry the sandbags 100 metres from the cars to my house and carry them through knee high flood water to get them into position. My neighbours and 3 of our friends worked together to drop 40 sandbags at each home, then tarp and tape up the doors, and lift up what we could inside. Mind you - every single one of us thought it was a waste of time as we couldn’t imagine the amount of water it would take to even get to our homes.
Lesson 2: When The Disaster Management Team Tell You to Sandbag - Do It!
This is also about when the anxiety levels started to rise. Splitting my decision making skills across home, business and 5 team members was very challenging! There were suburbs in the city that had already been inundated and people who were already homeless - we now no longer revelled in the sound of rain on the roof. We now actively wished for it to stop. We were constantly wet and it was getting very frustrating. By Friday lunchtime we closed the whole clinic and sent the 2 remaining team members home and rescheduled all the clients. Again - a bit more costly for the clinic but it would only be for Friday...right?
Lesson 3: Mother Nature Does Not Care About Your Cash Flow.
The army began the arduous task of door knocking on Friday to strongly urge people to evacuate and move to higher ground - they didn’t need to tell me twice!
With record breaking falls continuing throughout the weekend by Saturday the situation was life threatening. There were genuine fears that the Ross River Dam would fail - meaning the dam wall would break. There were maps released from the council that showed the devastation if that happened. A minimum of 20 000 homes would be completely swallowed by water and anyone in its path would be as well. The army, police and other emergency services kicked up the door knocking and evacuation centres were full.
On Sunday, it became clear that this was not simply a passing shower! I had a moment of true panic where I wondered how we would survive if the clinic was flooded and we were closed indefinitely. How could I pay wages with no incoming cash? Did I have to pay my employees for the time or did they use their leave? Did I have business insurance to cover loss of income? I had a strong vision of the children of one of my therapists - the responsibility of being a business owner had never weighed so heavy nor been so terrifying.
This is where the next lesson comes in - and it is a big one so listen up:
Lesson 4: BREATHE. You Cannot Control Mother Nature. What Can You Control?
I had access to technology! We already complete online assessment and treatment so why not utilise this now?
I made the decision to close the clinic on Monday and Tuesday and all clients and team members were contacted on the Sunday afternoon. The goal was to allow therapists to work from wherever they were by doing Zoom or telephone consultations. Two therapists were able to do this so when I contacted each client on Monday and Tuesday I offered this type of appointment to them. About 5% took us up on the offer - but more than that they were so grateful for the effort we were putting into their recovery. I spent some time on Canva setting it up and BOOM social media announcements done and panic attack averted!
Sunday was an awful night. Thousands of people did not heed the advice to evacuate and when the dam gates fully opened and gushed 1888 cubic metres of water per second - they panicked. To give clarity that is 79 OLYMPIC SWIMMING POOLS OF WATER PER MINUTE flooding the city.
Living in a Garrison City has never been so good! The army, SES and heaps of civilians in their fishing tinnies boated up streets rescuing people. I was thankfully safely dry but felt completely helpless reading the cries for help on social media.
Lesson 5: If the Army and Police Tell You to Evacuate...EVACUATE.
Better it be a waste of time and you have an uncomfortable night in a friends house then have to be boated out with the crocodiles and snakes (not actually kidding).
Monday saw the water levels too high to move about and I still didn’t know for sure about my house - nor the homes of my team. Most of the city was without power.
By Tuesday lunchtime I could make it to the clinic and bless! We had power! I immediately put it out to our community to come into the clinic and use our washing machine, dryer, charge their phones, use the microwave, hang out! We did have clients who gratefully took us up on it and our washer and dryer was tested. I also put it out to nearby medical centres and massage therapists that they could consult out of our clinic while the repairs went on to their own spaces. No one took me up on it but the desire to help was so strong. There were so many people so much worse off than me! On Tuesday I was also able to make it to my sodden home.
Lesson 6: Flood Water Stinks And The Mud Is Sticky And All Round Gross!
This stage of the journey further reinforced Lesson 1. My brother, mother and father travelled to Townsville armed with gumboots, disinfectant and mould killer. They arrived and got in the mud with me and my neighbours to throw away most of my belongings, furniture and sentimental items. They kept my spirits high and gave me good perspective - my brother had lost his house in Cyclone Yasi years ago and understood the unique vulnerability and exposure you feel watching all of your precious things loaded onto a trailer for the dump.
On each of the many trips to the dump my brother and father made they helped other people unload. They also met some remarkable humans. There were a group of men who stayed at the dump all day just helping anyone who came in to dump their loads. One of these men had lost everything himself and still devoted his energy to helping. Some of the men hadn’t been affected by the floods and wanted to show support and help. Words cannot describe how amazing it is that people could be so selfless and generous of heart to do one of the most disgusting jobs simply to help. I get teary thinking about it and I aspire to be as selfless as these men.
Wednesday saw the rest of the clinic up and running with only a few client cancellations. Thankfully my home was the only one totally flooded, with 2 of our teams having the underneath of their house inundated. I was so grateful to leave the clinic in the hands of my team for a couple of days during this clean up.
The next few months were a test. The city had been rocked. Many businesses and thousands of homes were destroyed. People were emotionally exhausted. Tension was high - you could feel it with every conversation, every phone call was touched with just a bit of tension. As a leader I needed to recognise this and worked hard to empower my team to live our values and ‘smother people with kindness’. There were so many more people being ‘rude’ that it was super hard but our team reminded each other daily that we don’t know their circumstances.
Lesson 7: It Is Much Harder For Someone To Be Nasty To You When You Are Really Sweet To Them.
I doubled down with my team on our values. There wasn’t a day of work during February or March or even April where there wasn’t tears from me or someone or all of the team. We were acting as the confidants and supports for our clients and we were at an all time emotional low. I tried many things to remind my team of our values and to empower them to live our values. I paid for lots of morning teas, lunches away from the clinic, bonuses, gave lots of positive feedback and spelled out what our values mean. As a team we wrote cards to those out west who also endured heartbreaking flooding. This activity really helped us to live our values which topped up our own emotional energy cups. My team filled mine by giving me a new toaster and jug. Cue the tears again!
Lesson 8: A Catastrophe Will Amplify Your Existing Values - But Buyer Beware: It Will Escalate Both The Good And Bad.
Things weren’t all rosy in the clinic though. Tensions that had been present prior to the floods escalated. Performance issues that were present before the floods also escalated. I gave myself and my team a by for February. In that I treated everyone with kindness and I encouraged and modelled and rewarded good behaviour but I admit I let some concerns slide. As Brene Brown taught me - braving leadership requires vulnerability and openness. I was very vulnerable with my team during this time and it taught me the strength that takes and also the power of being a vulnerable leader.
Lesson 9: You Can Only Do What You Can Do And Sometimes Just Getting Out Of Bed Is Enough.
Sadly 6 weeks after the flood the escalated behaviour resulted in a team member being asked to leave. This took what was left of my emotional reserve - even though it was the right business move. The floods made the situation very clear and it was clear that there was a significant mismatch in values with this team member. This was a situation we had been working through for 12 months prior but the escalation made the decision clear - but it did not make it easy.
Lesson 10: Heavy Is The Head Of The One In Charge.
We had lots of offers of support throughout the worst months - which were so appreciated. These offers came in the ‘Please let me know if I can do anything to help.’ I am absolutely sure these offers were legitimate and that those making them really wanted to help us. This didn’t mean that I was able to accept them. Not because I didn’t think we needed it help - I felt like we were drowning. I just couldn’t bear the extra pressure of deciding how someone could help us.
Asking an open question like that puts pressure onto the recipient to decide what help you will give. This is an emotional burden for the recipient. In times of trauma this extra burden becomes too heavy.
My answer was ‘Yes I really need help; but I don’t know what to ask for.’ This worked in some instances - a friend of mine went through her old plastic containers and turned up with all her extras and said keep what you want (cue the tears...are you getting the pattern?). Another turned up with coffee and cake and a chat. Mostly this answer was met with ‘well you let me know when you figure out what specific help you want.’
Lesson 11: An Open, General Offer Of Support; However Genuine, Is Actually Not Helpful.
When someone is so far down after any significant emotional event, coming up with the solution is too much for them. What I found worked for us and others is specific offers of support, that only required us to accept or decline. Such as ‘I would like to help by doing this/giving this; would that help you?’ These offers were a relief and I was able to absorb them and actually receive the help I so needed.
Recap of the lessons:
Lesson 1: The human spirit is phenomenal.
Lesson 2: When the disaster management team tell you to sandbag - do it!
Lesson 3: Mother Nature does not care about your cash flow.
Lesson 4: BREATHE.
Lesson 5: If the army and police tell you to evacuate...EVACUATE.
Lesson 6: Flood water stinks and the mud is sticky and all round gross!
Lesson 7: It is much harder for someone to be nasty to you when you are really sweet to them.
Lesson 8: A catastrophe will amplify your existing values - but buyer beware: it will escalate both the good and bad.
Lesson 9: You can only do what you can do and sometimes just getting out of bed is enough.
Lesson 10: Heavy is the head of the one in charge.
Lesson 11: An open, general offer of support; however genuine, is actually not helpful.
I believe that I am a better leader because of these lessons. I believe that the flood accelerated my growth as a leader and therefore the growth and strength of our team. We are so strong and clear on our core values now. Not just what they are on pretty paper but what do they look like in real life. I wouldn’t wish this year on anyone - I am writing this 7 months after the flood still in my temporary accommodation as the insurance fight continues to rage on. Personally I feel as though I went through the ringer and it dragged every last bit of joy out of my heart for a few months.
In full vulnerability mode I will share that I was diagnosed with depression during this time. I required medication to help me to get through. I put so much emotional energy into my team and the community and I forgot to give some to me. The lack of a place that felt like home, the loss of the security home provides and the complete loss of routine were big challenges for me. The medication numbed the worst of the pain and enabled me to start to see the joy in life again and to be able to flip my focus from what I couldn’t do (eg. play with my dog in our garden) to what I could do (eg. go to a park with my dog’s toy and play there instead).
For the past 2 months my joy has been seeping back in. My business is more profitable than it has ever been and our referral partnerships are more solid. We now have genuine friendships with many of our referrers and this is evidenced by social media interaction, coffee catch ups, random wine and chocolate deliveries and funny, kind, personal emails.
We have been able to give back to the community more. We have recently run a fundraising raffle for a client of ours with a terminal cancer diagnosis. We had many doctors from our referral network go out of their way to come into the clinic to buy tickets from us. They did this after seeing our social media posts. They did this to support us. This warms my heart and is further evidence of the community we have built.
Separate from that is the genuine, powerful connection that the AHHT Family holds with each other. We are living and breathing our values: respect, empathy, integrity and kindness. My goal as a business owner to empower all who are connected with AHHT is closer than ever.
We have hired a team member who did not make it through their trial - the whole team had complete clarity on the mismatch of values with this person almost immediately. We have now hired again and we have enjoyed welcoming someone who demonstrates our values consistently. Recruitment is one of the biggest decision areas for a business owner and this clarity has made that job so much easier!
So maybe on second thought I do wish this on other business owners. This journey has been huge but my goodness the current destination is pretty great.