Capturing Your Pandemic Stories

The singular nature of the pandemic has provided unique struggles for all of us. Working remotely, managing families and work from the same space, and navigating video conferencing as a replacement for in-person communication have been just some of the unique challenges we’ve faced. But these challenges have also been story rich. If you memorialize these stories you will use them over and over again in interviews, training, team building, recruiting, keynotes and presentations.?

You don’t need to write down every story. You can but it’s not necessary. I recommend simply writing down a trigger that reminds you of the event and maybe the theme. If you have these at your disposal you’ll know when to use them.?

My mother was dying in July of 2020 at home. By August she was gone. This was in the early days of the pandemic. I spent my days hanging out with my mother, managing appointments and calls with hospice, delivering training remotely and taking conference calls from my laptop upstairs. Every time I got on a call I would say, “I just want to let everyone know that my mother is downstairs in hospice right now and I may need to step away at any moment so I thank you in advance for your understanding.” Then I would immediately get on with the call.

It was necessary for practical reasons but I also think that death is part of the human experience and I wasn’t interested in pretending that I wasn’t in the middle of the biggest loss of my life. If someone was going to judge me for that personal disclosure, I didn’t need their business. As it happens I didn’t lose any business. Instead people would often email me to thank me for being so vulnerable and to share with me that when their dad died they would go into the bathroom at work everyday and cry alone in a bathroom stall because they didn’t want anyone to think they couldn’t do their job. I think we’re doing something very wrong as a culture if grief is equated with incompetence, fragility or weakness. I don’t want to work in that world.?

After my little speech on a training design call, a client said, “Before we move on, I want you to know how sorry we are and also just want to thank you for being so transparent. It’s such a beautiful example of how to lead.” I never cried or broke down, but I never tried to mask or distort the truth.?

What were your struggles in the pandemic? Were you caring for an aging parent, did you have to educate your children in the middle of the day? Were you working from an impossibly small space? Did you have conflicts with clients or co-workers? Did your partner or friends step up in a big way? You have lots of stories about struggling, problem solving, overcoming depression or lack of motivation, starting a job remotely, or battling with technology when you needed it most.

What did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about your team and organization? What did you learn about your family? How are you different from when the pandemic began??

Stories are how we make sense of the world. They are the way we communicate who we are and what matters to us. When you share your story, you are building trust, creating a bond and inviting someone to know you. The old paradigms of leadership, work and professionalism are changing. You lived and worked on the frontlines of this very particular moment in history. What you learned and how you navigated this crisis is an expression of who you are as a leader and human being. When everything is gone all that remains are the stories we leave behind. Don’t lose or waste your stories. They belong to you and you never know who you can save just by sharing your own experience.?

If you would like to learn more about storytelling check out the links below.

Finding Your One Great Professional Story - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJGDjmTFbvY&t=8s

Why You Need A Transformation Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftYuDavuizA&t=41s

Accessing Your Stories- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlCFzrDUCK0&t=38s