When you live in paradise, aka by the coast, every now and then you have to deal with your fair share of storms and last night we lived up to our name of Cape of Storms. We even had lightening – quite rare, but definitely happening more often, in Cape Town.
I must commend the City of Cape Town, they mobilized early, becoming visible and timeously warning locals to prepare for the storm, stay off the roads if able, and be safe.
We are very well known for strong winds in the Cape Metropol, sadly some areas were hit REALLY hard. Today there are too many videos of corrugated roofs coming off and flying dangerously around in crazy winds, on the socials.
I was conversely, a little [read a lot] frustrated by an inability to make a decision around weather or not [correct spelling intended] our schools & learning institutions would be open today in the wake of the storm. One district, which was highly affected over the weekend, were decisive and put the word out early on Saturday already, that schools in that district would be closed on Monday … but we didn’t hear a word, either way from our local district’s schools or learning institutions. The lack of decision making meant there were a lot of people asking, uncertain and confused about what to expect for learning institutions today.
Now I know, this doesn’t even effective child-free families, so what is the big deal. This is one example of a larger challenge and these three points stood out to me:
- One – We [our physical location] were incredibly lucky this time and very fortunate to be safe.
- Two – Leadership is not needed for the strong, leadership is needed for the most vulnerable in our communities. For the person who counts every kilometre of petrol to the penny and needs to decide about a potential wasted trip to a possibly closed school.
- Three – Good Leaders, never leave anyone feeling uncertain, particularly in a crisis!
Many more storms will come and go, but strong, vocal leadership who are thinking about the most vulnerable among us, drives us all in one direction, that of coming out of the event stronger and safe together!
So, I ask you … where are you leading by being decisive and clearer in what is needed? And where can you leave someone feeling certain in the storm?
Be Safe Cape Town
Much Love
Collette Merritt
Thrivalist Life Coaching where we focus on Mindset, Behaviour & Personal Leadership