This economic downturn is affecting us all. There is fear and uncertainty in the Zeitgeist, in the media, in our organizations, and in our homes.

We spoke to Cathy Wasserman, a Support Center volunteer facilitator, who through her business Self-Leadership Strategies, provides career, executive, and personal depth coaching to individuals seeking to get more of what they seek in life and work.

Cathy brings over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and has served as a community organizer, recruiter, youth program director, and organizational development specialist. She was recently featured as a career-coaching expert in The Washington Post.

We asked her:

• How do you keep staff morale up in this economic downturn?
• What is the best way to deal with your own stress and feeling overwhelmed?
• How can you find your focus and make the best decisions?

Click Here for Part II with advice about What to do when you are out of work?

How do you keep staff morale up in this economic downturn?

• Prioritize morale more than ever and positively acknowledge your staff on a regular basis.
  Remember that your staff are your greatest resource -- happy, engaged staff do better work. Developing and nurturing your team is not only the right thing to do, but it is also one of the best ways to invest in your organization's success. It is a necessity, not a luxury, especially when times are tough. Fortunately, there are plenty of inexpensive options. Give a day or afternoon off from time to time, go out for a celebratory coffee after a job well done, or simply authentically say, "Great job!" Be careful not to let foundational sources of staff support slip through the cracks. Continue or institute regular supervision - 30 minutes at least every two weeks, where you not only check in on projects and work plans, but also provide professional development, mentoring and coaching. This goes a long way to boost staff morale and impact.
• Acknowledge the panic and uncertainty in the air.
  Not acknowledging fear only makes it grow. Periodically provide your staff with a place to share how they're feeling, whether in supervision or staff meetings. Let them talk about anxieties, normalizing them while not getting lost in them.
• Help your staff transform fear and use its energy for new ideas, changes, and innovation.
  Look at the opportunities that come with all the change happening now -- there is the possibility to make impacts like never before because so many paradigms are being turned upside down. For example, there is a big shift occurring for nonprofit funding that invites restructuring and rethinking. Not an easy opportunity, no doubt, but an opportunity nonetheless. Encourage your staff to step back, reassess, and innovate; to develop programs and ideas that creatively conserve resources. Reward and reinforce them for their new ideas.
• Encourage staff to prioritize their sustainability and take good care of themselves.
  Educate yourself and your staff about burnout -- how overwork leads to less output in the medium and long-term, not more. Model as much work/life balance as you possibly can, even when you think you cannot afford to. Help your staff define what their own work/life balance is and assist them in setting goals around it. Remind them not to stay late all of the time, to do those things outside of work that give them energy and relieve stress like exercise or meditation. This may seem beyond the scope of your job as manager, but it actually isn't because it is about helping your employees maximize their potential and the quality of their work.
• Encourage staff to continuously discover their strengths and gifts.
  Be observant of your staff's talents and provide as much space as you can for them to call on these strengths each day. People that are really engaging their gifts are more satisfied and contribute more. Additionally, it may be useful to regularly note the new skills that employees are building as a result of doing more with less.

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What is the best way to deal with your own stress and feeling overwhelmed?

• Be as vigilant (or more!) about your own morale as you are for your staff.
  Don't let your own morale and work/life balance fall by the wayside. It is very easy for most of us to work ourselves silly, but that is the last thing that you can afford to do, especially when times are tough. The more you let yourself get run-down and overwork, the harder it is to get back to working smarter and functioning at your highest capacity. Moreover, if your own morale is low and you are burned out, then you can be sure it will affect your staff.
• Take some time and space each day to take stock, get centered, and de-stress.
  It may feel impossible to find the time to do this, but if you cannot take a couple of minutes out of each day for yourself, then that is something to look at seriously. Find a ritual or exercise that gives you energy -- perhaps you just want to sit quietly and breathe, letting go of stressful thoughts or read an inspiring paragraph from a favorite book. Or ask yourself some focusing questions such as: What is one thing you can do to let go of some worry or stress? What is working in your organization? What do you have to be grateful for? What do you love to do? What are you proud of that you and your staff have done?
• Acknowledge your intrinsic worth � your value outside of your professional role.
  Remind yourself that you are more than just your work. If you do not regularly do this, it is difficult to maintain your morale or not be seriously affected by external circumstances that you cannot control. We live in a culture that places great value on doing, which has some great consequences, but we tend to place less value than we should on just being -- that is, acknowledging and reveling in who we all are underneath all the different roles we play. Intrinsic worth can be a wonderful anchor when everything else seems to be falling apart.
• Get support.
  This may sound simple, but for many people, it is actually not an easy thing to do at all. Our culture tends to put a premium on rugged individualism -- doing things by one's self -- and sees it as a sign of weakness to reach out to people for help. Actually, I think it is a sign of strength, maturity and leadership to recognize that you need support and to ask for it. Leadership is about receiving and collaborating as much as it is about directing. Create a support team that focuses on your growth and wellness. It may include friends, a mentor, coach, therapist, religious leaders, etc. -- whoever you determine can help you get grounded, remind you of your intrinsic worth, and help you live and work in a sustainable manner. Also, increase your collaboration at work -- consider partnering with organizations and individuals that you might not have before. Explore how you can all maximize your outcomes by sharing responsibilities and even challenges.
• Be mindful of the skills you are building.
  You are developing new critical change management skills during this time. Acknowledge the upside of the crisis and take note of your skills; update your resume.

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How can you find your focus and make the best decisions?

• Figure out what is getting in the way of your focus and work through it.
  Our concentration strays for some very good reasons. Discover what they are for you. Recognize that when you are focused, more of you is available for yourself, others and your work. None of us can be focused all the time, but we live in a culture that more and more is out of focus on a large scale. Most of us have what I call 'split focus': we are "plugged in," to lots of technology, but not necessarily fully present for any of the things we are doing. It can be quite difficult to unplug, but increasing your awareness of how technology may at times be negatively impacting your focus is a good start.
  
  Our emotions are also common blocks to focus. Imagine yours as students in a classroom -- they are raising their hands to get your attention and their favorite time to do so is when you have something else to do! Instead of resisting them, accept them and give them space, ask them what they want you to look at. Fear, anxiety, annoyance or even anger are common culprits. You can pop your "emotional balloon" either with your own self-reflection or with the help of someone on your support team. Often even just taking a minute or two to let your emotions talk to you will allow you to get back to the task at hand.
• Train yourself to focus.
  Focus is a discipline and a muscle. It needs to be nurtured and developed. Practicing meditation, prayer, playing an instrument, or even a sport where you regularly are in a focused state can be quite useful. Allow yourself to sit in silence a few times a day, even if only for a few seconds without planning or working on your to do list. You will probably notice that your thoughts are all over the place -- that is totally normal, just keep bringing them back to the focus point, your breath, a color, or a calming object. Spend time in nature when you can and take a few moments to focus on what you see -- nature is one of the most brilliant teachers of focus.
• Recognize when you are out of focus.
  If you can be conscious of when you are out of focus, you have won more than half the battle. Ask yourself: Am I grounded? Am I in my body? Often, when we are out of focus, we're spinning in our minds. Take a five minute walk around the building or even to the water fountain. Just notice what it feels like in your body when you walk. These exercises are also not a luxury. Being out of focus in the workplace has very real, negative consequences. Bad decisions usually occur when we are out of alignment with what is actually happening in a given moment and we miss important information and cues. Given all the turbulence in our world right now, we all need to be as awake and focused as possible for ourselves, our organizations, and our staff. Doing so not only results in better decisions, but often more fulfillment.

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Click Here for Part II with advice about What to do when you are out of work?