2020 will have been in vain if we don't learn from it

By Chester Elton with guest author, John Baldoni

Few of us want to look back on 2020. Other than the emergence of sweatpants as an acceptable daily fashion choice, some argue there was nothing much redeemable about the last 15 months or so.

Most of us like to look forward, not back. And 2021 does promise to be so much better. People are getting vaccinated, jobs are returning, and a degree of normalcy is upon us. Social injustice remains, but there is an awakening and renewed need for and action with diversity, equity and inclusion.

Executive coach and leadership author John Baldoni, cautions, “Amid this hope, if we close our minds to lessons learned in 2020, we will be doing ourselves a disservice. We experienced a world turned genuinely upside-down. We cannot forget, nor should we, what we experienced as a culture and as individuals.”

John is spot on. In addition to taking time to grieve for the millions around the world who died or who were impacted in a significant economic way, we also need to retain the positive lessons we learned from the past year.

Author of the new book Grace Notes, John adds, “We did not endure the suffering of this past year lying down. We stood tall as possible and continued working when possible, educating our children, and most of all, caring for the sick. Our losses transformed us. We re-discovered our humanity, the very fabric that binds us together as humans. We found out how resilient we really are.”

We endured a year that was unprecedented, yet we survived. That alone was no small accomplishment—just to get through it—but if we take nothing away from this last year and move on like all is back to normal, we will have missed a huge opportunity to grow.

So, I’d ask, what lessons did you learn from the past year that you will pass on to future generations? What did you find out about yourself? Most importantly, what will you do differently from now on?

I learned a lot about my own strengths and challenges, about vulnerability and my need for friends and family. John says we all want to appear strong, “but in times of stress we need to realize that if we keep our vulnerability bottled inside and tell no one, we increase our isolation. We cut ourselves off from potential sources of comfort, solace and counsel. We gradually withdraw into a kind of shelter of our own making. We may trick ourselves into believing we are protecting ourselves when in reality, we may be imprisoning our true selves.”

Our colleague Terry Jackson, PhD., a change management consultant and executive coach, points to the importance of hope to battle these feelings. Hope is foundational to our ability to look beyond present circumstances. Without it, there is only darkness. With hope, there can be light, even if it may not be as bright as we would like it. If we shelter our inner selves from others, we rob ourselves of finding that hope he speaks of, the kind that comes from knowing that we are not alone.

I’ve learned that when we share our vulnerability with others, we offer them an opportunity to serve us. Terry says service is our true purpose. While most of us think of service as helping others, it’s also about letting others to do the same for us. We have to give people a chance serve as well.

Leaders play a vital role in all this. I’ve seen so many wonderful examples over the past months of leaders serving as beacons of hope, reminding their people of the lessons learned while pointing them toward a better future.

My hope is that we’ll work together in the coming years to make our future more prosperous, more generous, and more compassionate. That would be a fitting tribute to a year of tribulation.

?As John wrote:

We suffer together. We persist together.

We will emerge, let's hope, a better people.

But if we are, it will involve personal change.

Each of us is doing what we can.

We have endured. Let’s not forget.

Love and Gratitude,

If you are looking for a safe place to talk about anxiety at work and mental health, please join us at?We Thrive Together?This is a free community that Adrian and I have started to help people who suffer from anxiety themselves or are managing people who are feeling anxious, burnout, and stress. We share ideas and show up for each other, and everyone is welcome.

I am excited to invite you to check out the latest episode of "Anxiety at Work" podcast. I always say you can't be in a state of anxiety and gratitude at the same time! Each week, my coauthor and dear friend,?Adrian Gostick?and I talk to some of the world’s leading authorities on mental health and explore the causes of workplace stress and anxiety, along with practices that are proven to reduce tension and cultivate calm.

This week we talked about breaking barriers and resilience with our friend, Col Nicole Malachowski, (USAF Ret.) Fighter Pilot and First Woman Thunderbird, Advocate for people impacted by Tick Borne Illnesses.

The Gratitude Journal?is your place to find tools to create an all-in culture, at work and at home. I am grateful for nature. When the world gets crazy a walk in the woods, a sit by the lake, even a stroll are ping the neighborhood calms my soul. What are you grateful for today? #wethrivetogether?#findyourgratitude?#leadingwithgratitude?

Chester Elton has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. His work is supported by research with more than 1 million working adults, revealing the proven secrets behind high-performance cultures and teams. He and his coauthor, Adrian Gostick are the founders of The Culture Works, a global coaching, speaking, and training company.

Leading with Gratitude,?is available wherever you like to get your books. Visit?Leading with Gratitude?Book?for free resources including videos, podcast episodes, and more, to build a culture of gratitude.