COVID-19 Toolkit
"Insights and support for managing this novel unknown.”
Need support navigating the new COVID World of Work?
Continuum offers tools and resources to support your journey through and beyond the pandemic.
Continuum's COVID-19 Leadership Model is your map to navigating this novel unknown.
The Continuum team can be your guide.
Check out our COVID-19 Targeted Executive Coaching program for insights and support navigating the predictable phases this crisis will bring.
Existing client? We're committed to partnering with you through times of transition. Contact us today for a complimentary COVID consultation.
Continuum Insights
Our weekly blog posts provide actionable insights for leaders, teams and organizations during these challenging times.
Resources for Leading Self, Team and Organization
Featured Article: Week of June 8, 2020
Harvard Business Review
Historically, how have leaders inspired others and managed their own anxiety in the face of social challenges similar to todays?
This interview offers some insights.
Leading the Self
Articles
The Atlantic
Instead of an all-or-nothing approach to risk prevention, Americans need a manual on how to have a life in a pandemic.
The Most Powerful Leadership Principle Aboard the Corona-Coaster
Compassion and self-compassion are the most important elements of leadership during this rapidly shifting time.
Why Our Brains are Hardwired to Focus on the Negative
verywellmind.com
Negative events abound and have a greater impact on your brain than positive ones, and impact your behavior (and not in a good way). But you can change that. This article shows you how.
Leaders Are Crying on the Job: Maybe That’s a Good Thing
The New York Times
Crying on the job, especially in politics, used to be considered a liability. Now, not so much.
7 Ways To Be Resilient in the Face of Fear
Medium.com
What does it mean to be resilient? Daily ways to build our resilient selves.
Quillette
“Excessive pessimism is in no one’s interest. We have evolved to prioritize bad news. What can we do about that?
Podcasts
Freakonomics Radio
Humans have a built-in “negativity bias,” which means we give bad news much more power than good. Would the Covid-19 crisis be an opportune time to reverse this tendency?
Dear HBR: Challenging the Boss
Harvard Business Review Do you fear to speak frankly with your supervisor? Dan and Alison answer your questions with the help of Liz Kislik, a management consultant and executive coach. They talk through what to do when your boss micromanages your output, you want to set boundaries for better work-life balance, or your new supervisor is eagerly volunteering your team for too many projects.
Leading the Team
Articles
How to Work with a Multigenerational Team
Ideas.Ted.com
For the first time in modern history, five generations are interacting at work.
‘Zoom fatigue’ is taxing the brain. Here’s why that happens.
National Geographic
Video calls seemed an elegant solution to remote work, but they wear on the psyche in complicated ways.
How To Host Virtual Meetings That Truly Engage Participants
Forbes
To keep people engaged during an online meeting, you have to take an active approach and really think through the content you’ll be sharing and the ways in which you’ll share it.
How Technology Can Humanize Workdays and Why That Matters
readwrite
In the weeks following the explosion of COVID-19 cases and work-from-home orders, employment engagement issues have become more critical.
Why Video Calls Are Surprisingly Exhausting
Smithsonian Magazine
People reporting “Zoom fatigue” find themselves mentally exhausted after what can be hours of staring at a grid of close-up portraits of friends or colleagues.
Are We Coping with Social Distancing? Psychologists Are Watching Warily
National Geographic
We’re attempting to stay in touch while alone. Social scientists are concerned that there will be a toll on mental health.
Calm Is Contagious And Other Tenets for Effective Communication in a Crisis
Forbes
In a crisis, clear, calm communication is key. Your calm will be contagious.
Leading the Organization
Articles
To Emerge from the COVID-19 Crisis, Companies Should Start Reskilling Their Workforces Now
McKinsey & Company
The toughest leadership challenge is already looming: how to bring a business back in an environment where a vaccine has yet to be found and economies are still reeling.
Medium.com
The concept of what an employee should be has been evolving. This change has been quite slow but COVID-19 has made this evolution a present-day reality.
Why Do Women Make Such Good Leaders during COVID-19?
Forbes
“We are accustomed to hearing that women are more other-directed and emotionally intelligent, which is actually proven in research. But, it turns out women are just as good and sometimes better at some of what we think of as male qualities, like being decisive and making tough calls.”
Tuning In, Turning Outward: Cultivating Compassionate Leadership in a Crisis
McKinsey & Company
Four qualities–awareness, vulnerability, empathy, and compassion–are critical for business leaders to care for people in crisis and set the stage for business.
s+b
Will your company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic create institutional pride or destroy it?
COVID-19 Proves It: Unity is the Only Remedy for 21st Century Global Crises
The Guardian
The problems of this century will be global and they will be intimate. Our culture of division cannot stand.
Responding-to-Corona Virus-The-Minimum-Viable-Nerve-Center
McKinsey & Company
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, companies need a crisis response coordinated by top management that gives experts and managers the autonomy to implement creative, pragmatic solutions.
COVID-19-Facts-and-Insights-March-16
McKinsey & Company
This In-depth document is meant to help senior leaders understand the COVID-19 situation and how it may unfold, and take steps to protect their employees, customers, supply chains, and financial results.
The future is not what it used to be: Thoughts on the shape of the next normal
McKinsey & Company The coronavirus crisis is a world-changing event. Here are seven elements for business leaders to consider as they plan for the next normal.
Podcasts
COVID-19: Strategies for Getting Ahead of the Pandemic Crisis
McKinsey & Company
Even as organizations focus on the immediate business shocks, they need to plan for the postcrisis world. Here is how to respond to a disruption for which there are no playbooks.
Family as the Ultimate Team
Articles
“This is What Happens to Couples under Stress” An Interview with Esther Perel
The New Yorker
The therapist, author, and podcast host offers wisdom on navigating romantic relationships under quarantine.
Keeping Children Fit While Stuck Inside
National Geographic
Ideas for making exercise fun for kids—and maybe even yourself as part of sheltering at home.
Podcasts
Helping Kids Think About the Good, Episode 25
The Science of Happiness
Sheltering at home with kids? These questions can help them, and us, reflect on the good things in life. A great exercise and conversation starter at home.
Remembering to Breathe, Episode 24
The Science of Happiness
How a Doctor uses very easy, in-the-moment breathing exercises to stay calm and centered during times of uncertainty, one breath at a time. They’re great for the family as well.