A Great Time to Be Here

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, business leaders are getting crushed by the weight of making high stakes decisions for their people and companies. After months of uncertainty, volatility and stress, I’ve often found myself wishing away time. While walking my neighborhood for the 100th time, I think, wake me up when it’s all behind us. I realize now I’d be missing the biggest opportunity of my lifetime.

In the work I do with CEOs, Heads of People, and leadership teams, we peel back the experiential layers of what it means to be engaged at work. We examine the values that inform day-to-day business decisions, articulate the ephemeral culture and behavioral norms that govern colleagues’ interactions, and define the organizational purpose serving as the bigger-than-us North Star.

Purpose has never been more important. As we’ve collectively wrestled with changing our expectations and life plans, redefining success and confronting social injustice, our individual purpose is suddenly under the microscope. Why do we do what we do? What impact are we having on our community and the world? Why does the work I do matter not just to me, but to future generations?

These aren’t simple questions. You can’t phone in the answers. In some cases, they invite discomfort, the reexamining of our choices, the harsh reality that if we choose one path, we’re inevitably shutting out others. As one leader recently shared, resilience is born out of these challenging times. They bond us. They’re more meaningful than the good times.

Amidst heartache, grief and fear that accompanies COVID-19, I believe this is a great time to be here. We are all consciously (or unconsciously) creating the future of work that many of us have been dreaming about for years. We have been given an opportunity to start fresh, build our priorities with intention, solicit unvarnished feedback and listen with new ears. This is our invitation to build empathy, be human, and focus on relationships.

My hope is we won’t squander this chance to shape organizational purpose not into what we think it should be, but into what we believe and trust it is, and can become, with effort. That we can look in the mirror and get real about the things we have the power to change. Let’s all let go of what no longer serves us. And if we commit to doing the work – as uncomfortable as it may be – imagine how meaningful work might become for all of us.  

How might our culture strengthen when people are free to determine how and when work gets done? And how might I show up differently when creativity fuels my vision for what’s possible? When you have my back and I have yours, what might we build together? 

My neighborhood looks different to me now. I notice each rose bush, hidden lemon tree and rainbow drawing in the window. Yes, it’s a great time to be here. I won’t wish away another day.