Have you really accepted the current reality we are living through if you have not started a dialogue with a friend or colleague in the past four weeks that includes the phrase “…in these unprecedented times”?
Because we are in fact living through an unprecedented moment in human history – a moment none of us will forget and one that will change the world forever.
In moments of dramatic change or trauma, leadership lessons appear all around us. Some are positive leadership experiences that are driven by the collective good of humanity when we come together. We can see evidence of this through the gratitude expressed worldwide to our Health Care and essential workers. While other leadership lessons may still exist but may become clouded by the anxiety and stress that surrounds us.
A couple of days ago I was out walking my dogs when I saw a bizarre exchange involving a health care worker chasing after 3 young people who were jogging together along the bike path. The health care worker ran along beside them and berated them for not keeping their distance from each other and others on the path.
As you can probably imagine the dialogue devolved into a shouting match until the group ran off. Here is a well-intended Health Care professional trying to encourage social distancing and doing our part not to overwhelm the healthcare system – but having their well-intentioned communication fall on deaf ears based on a poor delivery.
A fundamental leadership skill that can be derived from the above story is that effective communication, now more than ever, is key.
Additionally – pretending we are in business as usual or simply working from home ignores the reality that we are all thinking first and foremost about our health and safety (see Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). Not only can people not work when they are concerned about their health (or health of loved ones) but we may also struggle with effective communication between our loved ones, colleagues, or peers in our community.
Take a step back to understand that this IS an unprecedented time and we’re all doing out best to navigate these waters. Take care of yourselves. Return to your habits when everything feels out of control.
We will get through this, together.
Written by Andrew Steen and Christine Pimiskern
