I took last week off because I needed a break. I love to write, but I was getting into my own head a little too much and needed a little space to clear it.
But this is not going to be a post about preserving your mental health or practicing resilience. That was so March 2020. What I am thinking now is this :
What got you here, won’t get you there.
And “there” is whatever arbitrary moment you’d like to pick— but it’s probably not the end of 2020 and it might not even be the end of this global pandemic.
Leaders, especially those to leading larger teams— would always share their musings to me, as their HR person, “why do I spend so much time in your office?”
And the answer was always in that quote.
What got you here, won’t get you there.
Employees get to leadership positions through their work ethic, domain expertise, and their ability to solve problems. Managers become leaders once they learn to draw the best out of their team members individually and collectively.
So what does this have to do with covid, or the various things going on now?
Because we need to level up in a big way. The situation we find ourselves in as a nation or globally, is not going to resolve itself soon. I got my reality check last Thursday.
About last week…
Last Thursday, I joined a call hosted by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to learn more about the options for this upcoming school year…hybrid or remote.
One of the guests was the head of Chicago’s Department of Public Health— and I can’t remember the exact quote, but she said something to the effect of— “we should be preparing for academic disruptions for the next two years…”
My throat closed up. I was aghast.
2 more years? REALLY?
At that moment, I wanted to just crawl into a hole and emerge into a covid-free 2022.
At that moment, I realized that whatever I did, or was planning to do— I’d need to re-assess it all. And perhaps my actions or behaviors would not have to change drastically, but my mind would HAVE to— I know I needed to get it right.
Immediately, I thought— this is going to require us all to dig deeper than we ever have. This is going to require a level of endurance and patience than we’ve ever had to exercise.
Time for a story…
I started to think of any instances I could draw upon— and for some reason, my mind wandered to my days as a runner.
Ironically, (but not accidentally) I picked up running on the heels of the 2008-09 financial crisis to deal with stress. My husband was a marathoner, and frankly, I used to belittle him for wanted to run 10-15 miles at a time. WHO DOES THAT, I thought?
Then I started.
My very first “run” I went on…I ran for 10 seconds and walked for 50s. Then I started to run for 20 seconds, then a minute. Then 2 minutes.
Then 10 minutes.
I hated it.
Until I didn’t.
I am not fast, but I found a meditative quality about it. I would run with the armies of runners along Chicago’s Lakefront— marvelling at this new world I had become a part of. The 6am crew. We’d run in packs— 2x2, stopping occasionally for water and a quick chat, and carry on.
I finished a 10K. Then a half marathon, and eventually a full marathon. I finished several more and then had my oldest daughter on January 30th, 2012. While I was STILL in the hospital, I signed up for the 2012 Chicago Marathon.
WTH. WHO DOES THAT? Clearly, I was still on some good pain meds.
This time, I decided to run for charity— and decided on our local children’s hospital. I raised more than $8,000! I was a new mom running a marathon! I felt proud of myself, until the week of the marathon came.
I got sick. Really sick. Thought about not running. Thought about dropping out at the start line. Wanted to throw up as I was about to start. Started running, felt a little bit better.
(this is about the time where you start thinking, “wow, she did it and she broke her own personal record!) *Cue Rocky music!
No- I did not.
Because my life is not a movie and I am not Jennifer Lawrence.
I made it to mile 12— where the course takes the runners into the shadows of the Chicago skyline, and promptly started throwing up in the gutter.
I mean, if I close my eyes, I can still imagine it.
Utterly humiliating. And gross. So disgusting.
The worst of it was that I STILL HAD 14 MILES left to go. I knew I’d struggle for hours. All of those months— training, figuring out the right ratio of gatorade: water, what to eat, what socks to wear. All out the window.
Dehydrated and sick, I thought I should stop. Then I thought of all of the money raised for kids who were fighting cancer and other terrible illnesses. And I could not stop. My new goal became to figure out how to stay out of the medical tent.
I did finish eventually. It was horrible. But somehow, I found a new slow jog/ walk cadence, figured out what I could keep down, and managed to collect the medal.
Back to our current reality.
I recount that story because last week when I heard two more years of academic disruption— I was immediately mentally transported back to mile 12.
And like last time, there is no quitting. There is a need to dig deeper, to figure out the new strategy and get across the line safely.
I realized— that what got me and my family through the spring quarantine— is NOT what is going to get us through the rest of the year.
We will continue to lean on each other, and to continue to find the good in people and our circumstances— but we cannot do it without a better system, a different set up in our home, or with me baking cinnamon rolls every other day.
There is a certain tempo that businesses run on—- with predictable operational rhythms that keep teams on task. For many, August is usually a bit quiet, with everyone regrouping for the final push after Labor Day and to execute in the 4th quarter.
I always said to leaders— if you need the resource or someone to do something for the following calendar year— you need to hire the person in August/ September. And if you want to launch something big in January— then you should already have it in motion or at least thinking about it by the end of October. (if not earlier)
But this year is different. Your brain is fried from all of the pivoting and changes.
Take the time NOW— to think through what you need to change up personally and professionally, so you can get to the end safely.
As for us, we just found out this morning that the decision has been made for us— and the school year will start out fully remote, as we had suspected, but now the decision is final.
My goal is to use these upcoming weeks to regroup, to figure out what will work better in the fall, and keep moving forward.
My hope is that you can do the same. For yourself. For your friends & family. For your employees. For your teams.
Be well & stay well, my friends.
Jean