Tag: COVID19

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Keep People in the Light

Change is tough. Change is hard enough when it is a change that you know others have been through before. But when it is like this…this thing we are all making up as we go…this thing that makes us lose track of what day or month it is or when was the last time life was “normal”…change is something we don’t even have a word for. I don’t know about you, but it churns my stomach and makes me feel like I have zero control over anything in my life.

I have been watching the news way more than I used to. I’m probably watching it more than I should. All they show is about COVID19 because it is the center of everyone’s existence right now. This isn’t like anything we have ever experienced as a world society. No one really has answers because we are all trying to figure things out (and making a lot of things up) as we go along.

Perceptions are so evil! They eat away at our imaginations and fill in the gaps between the facts. The greater the distance between facts, the more perceptions can be fabricated and woven throughout the gaps. As a leader who has introverted tendencies, it can be exhausting to be consistently keeping up with information and making sure I pass it along to my team. But what fuels my motivation and energy to make sure I keep people in the light about everything I know as soon as I know it is how much I care about these individuals! That care for their well-being and their livelihood and human value overrides any of my selfish tendencies to close myself off.

I’m not going to lie, some aspects of having to telework are dreamy for introverts. So when I had to begin teleworking a few days ago, I was initially relieved to be able to stay home while I worked. But it didn’t take long before I realized how difficult it was going to be to communicate with my team. I have now become the person left a little in the dark. I am learning very quickly that we all have the ability to shine a little light on information for each other…and we should.

We are living in unprecedented times. Let’s do everything we can to keep each other enlightened to as much truth as possible during this time of uncertainty and keep perceptions from weaving too much of their tapestry into our minds. On the other side of these days, my hope is that we come back together and compare notes…and find out they are pretty darn close.

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We Are All On The Same Team

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

As a military officer, I lead a group of people and other officers (my colleagues) lead other groups of people. We all belong to a larger group and this cycle repeats until you trace our collective all the way up to the President of the United States. Every single one of us must find a way to determine our place in this collective and move the mission forward…because we are all on the same team.
There is likely to be nothing in my lifetime that will prove our “one team, one fight” more than COVID19. As entire families are isolating at home, many of my coworkers and I are still going to work, making sure people can be tested and those who are tested are tracked. Everyone, no matter what their personality type or feelings about each other, has gotten down to business and focused solely on taking care of our patients. And something unexpected has happened as a result…
Our team has become more energized, happier, and morale and spirits are actually higher. I’ve seen crises bring people together, but this is different. What is happening to people is transforming my team. The irony of this is how we have to practice “social distancing”, and it is bringing us closer together in ways we needed all along. When you can’t rely on the typical customs and courtesies of handshakes, fist bumps, and high fives, you strangely begin to lean on the unprecedented alternative of asking each other, “how are you doing?” And not casually in passing, like we used to just a few months ago. You ask, and you really listen. And people really tell you. We are connecting for the first time on a level that humanity should always be connecting.
You know someone, nearby or far away…what does that matter now? Call, text, FaceTime, them, and ask them how they’re doing. And then listen. And connect. It’s the way we can all take this tragic time and restore the human team.