April’s Feelings of Solitude Bring Opportunity for Servitude and Gratitude

As I look back on April, it was a month for gratitude and appreciation for all those that allowed me to stay home, while they held the front line of this pandemic. COVID-19, a horrible virus in itself, created the opportunity for us to challenge some of our limiting beliefs, to be creative, innovative, and find new ways. We all struggled with the lack of human connection and yet we each found ways to stay connected. I was lucky enough to have experienced something from the Swedish Culture that I leveraged as a fun way to stay connected with people. Who would have ever thought we would experience cabin fever in the twenty-first century? We often dreamed of working from home and now many of us find ourselves fully immersed in the opportunity, finding our own ways to adapt. As we explore the unknown together, it’s a great opportunity to support each other along the journey.

To any front-line worker reading this- thank you, thank you, thank you! Whether a first responder, healthcare worker, grocery store worker, delivery worker (Amazon, Fed-Ex, UPS, Instacart, DoorDash, etc.), postal worker, sanitation worker, the list goes on and I apologize if I omitted your specific group. Your titles don’t matter, rather your actions. You went to work every day, with a limited supply of Personal Protection Equipment, to serve and protect us. You inspired us and led by example. All you asked of us was to stay at home, in order to protect you from falling victim to this pandemic. That act was extremely difficult for a great number of people, who diligently leave home every day to put food on the table and maintain a roof over their heads. VUCA, a relatively new term, speaks to how we continue to experience the Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity of this pandemic. Heading into the unknown created the opportunity for innovation, creativity, thinking outside the box, challenging our limiting beliefs, and having faith in ourselves. A leadership tool we all can place in our toolbox so we can help both ourselves and others in times like these.

Earlier, I shared the feelings of disconnect that hit me in February. While I was working overseas, I was introduced to WhatsApp and mainly used it for texting and sharing pictures with people all over the world. It became a great way to stay connected to my global colleagues during this crisis (shout out to my Italia WhatsApp group). Virtual Global Coffee FIKA’s became a great way to check-in on each other as we all faced this pandemic as one global community. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, FIKA is from the Swedish Culture and it means “making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat”(often sweet & yummy). While working remotely was our new reality, it was nice to experience a moment of connection that usually occurred around the coffee machine or in the staff canteen. It provided us the opportunity to share our feelings and concern for one another as each of us navigated with our loved ones through this pandemic. It enabled us to be of service to one another and to share our gratitude for the connections we still maintain to this day. Thanks to a great peer coach, I found a new leadership tool that is so relevant to gratitude. She shared with me Jen Sincero’s book- “You are a Badass: How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life”. In her book Jen shares a quote from Tony Robbins – “when you are grateful, fear disappears, and abundance appears.” Hint- read Chapter 14 more than once.

I learned that the term cabin fever originated in the 1800’s in North America during the typhus fever outbreak. Over the past 8 months, people from all around the world experienced cabin fever in one form or another. People were working from home, children were learning from home, and people were adjusting to being cooped up with one another. It was during this time that I found my way across the virtual networking bridge. LinkedIn, Zoom, and the phone (yes, that awesome invention by Alexander Graham Bell- if he could only see it now) became my lifeline to reach out and connect with people. If I would not have been trapped inside, I wonder if I would have ever connected with people like Nicolien Dellensen, the creator of the Sphere of Influence 360° or Lacy Garcia, the CEO and Founder of Willow. Just two of the many amazing people that now are part of my network. How many of us ever thought we would be looking forward to a video call to connect with others? There was a thrill, anticipation, and excitement to see our family and friends to enjoy a virtual meal or social hour. How many virtual meeting faux pas did you make or witness? We created so many laughable moments as we learned through trial and error, a chance to develop and grow. Luckily for us, there are lots of people sharing their ideas, expertise, and techniques to enable people to stay engaged and focused during all our virtual meetings. More tools for us to place in our toolbox.

We found our way to work and stay connected with each other from home. It isn’t easy and it’s likely not the way we ever dreamed working from home would feel. How long did it take you to learn that a dining room chair is not the best substitute for your desk chair? What table did you first choose to work from at home? How many times did you move from room to room? What virtual background was your favorite? In what creative way did you decorate your workspace at home? What agreements did you create with household members to rotate space or create boundaries? Kudos to every parent, who not only had to adapt to working from home, they also had the additional challenge of home schooling. Speaking of school, remember that high school teacher that taught you about supply and demand? You may have sat in class wondering “when am I ever going to need to understand this in real life”? We all got a good lesson, not only from toilet paper and disinfectant wipes, but also home décor, home office equipment and supplies. Supply chains continue to recover and adapt to meet the demands of our new reality. It will be interesting to see how the entire value chain develops over the next few months/years. I wonder what will happen if more companies move away from large corporate offices and campuses? If I look back on how resilient we have always been, then I know we will create something amazing. Leaning on another item in my toolbox, the power of positive thinking and finding the opportunities in everything.

As my journey continues, I will leave you here for now and pick up next time.

In parting, I want to share this with you, really showing my age here, but who remembers these lyrics:

“Come on and Zoom, Zoom, Zooma-Zoom

We’re gonna, zooma, zooma, zooma zoom

Come on give it a try

We’re gonna show you just why

We’re gonna teach you to fly high”

(produced by WGBH 1972-1978)