Reflect on your leadership moment (a vision going forward).
What can you do going forward to take control over your own life to provide some safety, perhaps even some security, as these unprecedented events unfold daily all around us?
Embedded Files
"Think, Communicate and Decide" - Wharton School of Business
It's interesting to review your past actions, equipped with insights of best practices from a top institution (Wharton happens to be our neighbor three miles away). My partner Jacqueline and I didn't read this article when it was published amid the pandemic's early days. Instead, we relied on a core competency of our relationship, communication. This helped keep us "safe and secure" amid an unprecedented time.
It's important to share that we both work in healthcare- Jacqueline as a nurse in an assisted living facility, while I introduce and implement medical device technologies into operating rooms.
Through our early communications, we believed that our individual actions affected more than ourselves. This lead to our strategy to strictly follow the guidelines provided by health organizations (CDC and WHO). When there was ambiguity, we decided to ere on the side of caution. We knew this would keep us safe as well as our stakeholders.
We communicated in the same manner with our loved ones. We shared our findings (providing them links if they chose to research for themselves) and fears. We began to have these genuine dialogues that brought us closer together. We realized that our goals were aligned, and we just wanted to get through this moment in time, preserving our own lives and not hurting anyone else in the process. Our older relatives have, and still are, relying on Jacqueline and me to help schedule their vaccine appointments. We continue to remind our circle that the race isn't over. While the end is in sight, we aren't finished with COVID-19. To keep up morale, we make a big deal about celebrating the wins, like sharing meals together around a table- instead of in separate rooms or through FaceTime.
While that story focuses on the positive impact of communication during this pandemic, it's not the whole story. I've been a contributing factor to communication deficits within a close friend group. A lot has happened in the past 12 months, not all related to COVID-19. Each member of the group is currently going through significant life events. This is my next leadership moment. I can build on the lesson I learned concerning the importance of open communication and sharing feelings. I will bring that same level of passion, concern, and directness to my friends in a (virtual) group setting. I hope to inspire an environment where we feel uninhibited and comfortable discussing the problems we're going through—a space to be our authentic selves.
Wharton School of Business, "It's Your Leadership Moment" (2020)
Posted 4/6/2021
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse