Learning from COVID-19

Here we are in December. I’m know I’m not alone in looking back and learning from 2020.

I had great momentum from 2019 coming into the new year, and I intended to harness that to meet some big goals for 2020, including some financial goals, and lots of scheduled travel.

Sudden Chaos

By early March I’d already spent considerable time away from home. As I saw what was happening in the world, I began to sense that restrictions would be imposed. I made one last rush business trip to Toronto, in and out the same day, and 3 days later we were all grounded.

I know I’m not alone when I say I was in shock to have my plans and goals derailed by something totally out of my control. My team and I had to immediately reevaluate our plans to travel, shut our offices down, and transition to working from home.

Like many of you, my focus turned to evaluating the worst case financial scenarios for the business and for me personally, as the impact of the lockdown caused an immediate decline in our business.

I was uncertain and feeling defeated.

No Crisis Wasted

As the month of April unfolded, I found myself reflecting on past crises. It occurred to me that I hadn’t been intentional in finding opportunities in the crisis the last time I experienced a major business interruption, back in 2016. You can read about this in the chapter I wrote for Purpose, Passion and Profit. 

I decided this time around would be different. I decided to find the opportunity in this crisis, to lead through it, and not waste any opportunity that might arise.

COVID-19 has lessons to teach

COVID-19 disrupted my pattern, slowed life down and presented me with this opportunity to lean in. It allowed me to let go of past failures and reminded me that failures are to be expected when you are growth focused. 

As I’ve been reflecting on the opportunities that have come from the past few months, I’ve uncovered ideas impacting my businesses, personal life, family, and influence as a leader. The process has helped me reconnect with myself, and is why I feel compelled to share my thoughts once again, after a two-year hiatus from writing.

 Here are five of the strategies I’m embracing as we navigate these uncertain times:

 Be Curious

When the pandemic hit, I wondered how I could change my perspective, if these were challenges I could turn into opportunities. As I challenged my perspective in this way, I began seeing a multitude of opportunities. Some were personal, some involved leadership, some involved having an impact on others, and some were business related.

As I made a concerted effort to be curious within my own sphere of influence, something exciting happened. I noticed my curiosity was contagious, and I observed my teams challenging their own perspectives in the same way.

For example, we recognized our customers would be dealing with their own fears and uncertainty surrounding COVID, and that physical distancing was forcing them to change their day-to-day operations.

We had a strong desire to support them in this, beyond the typical work we do for them. As we brainstormed how we could have extraordinary impact, we came up with new ways to connect with customers that we would not have considered if not for COVID.

One small example, we divided up our list of customers and personally delivered a beverage to their doorsteps, often times having a socially distanced chat as well. We were able to deepen our connection in a way that we would not have without the crisis, and will be memorable well beyond COVID.   

As a result of our actions, I now believe as an organization, we’ll remember the pandemic as a time when we forged deeper customer connections, because we were all in the crisis together.

 Lean In 

Entrepreneur and author Jim Rohn used to say, “Don't wish it was easier. Wish you were better.” This reminder to force ourselves to rise to the occasion during challenging times is especially valuable right now.

COVID created fear and uncertainty within our organization, and internally for me, as well. I worried about the impact of that.

In my experience, the best way to deal with fear and worry is to lean into it and sit with those feelings.

As I leaned in, it occurred to me that the crisis had given me the opportunity to make a bigger impact as a leader, because my actions would be more memorable than under normal circumstances. Knowing I could make a real difference inspired me to act decisively, and reduced my uncertainty.

We’re hearing many workplaces are pulling together in unexpected ways during the pandemic, at a time when morale might be expected to sink. That isn’t at all what the data is showing.

The Institute for Corporate Productivity says 75% of employees surveyed indicate that corporate culture has improved during the pandemic, despite layoffs, furloughs and the threat of precarious financial situations.

It’s how leadership has been acting toward employees that has driven that number. Mark Cuban said early into the coronavirus crisis, “How you treat your employees today will have more impact on your brand in future years than any amount of advertising, any amount of anything you literally could do.”

Autonomy and Balance  

I value freedom and, even more than that, autonomy. Being forced to work remotely has given me autonomy in spades.

Initially I was worried about working from home, but the situation has created greater harmony in my life, enabled me to be around my kids more and actually had a positive impact on many aspects of my business.

Our team feels the same way. We’ve also realized there are significant cost savings and measurable efficiencies when we work from home. This has triggered the process of making remote working a part of our future work strategy.

I know we’re not alone in this. In fact one Harvard Business School professor Dr. Michael Beer has recently spoken out about how he believes the pandemic will have far reaching effects on workplace culture. Dr. Beer believes organizations will develop more “trust-based cultures” with employees, and working remotely is one factor in that.

 Challenge Perspectives

One of the companies I advise had been struggling and when COVID hit, the business went even further into the red.

At first I thought, “How is this business going to get through this?” Then I realized the crisis was a lifeline, because it gave this business time to restructure.

This is true for many businesses. The whole world slowed down. Timelines and deadlines became more flexible. While COVID has offered economic hardship in many arenas, it’s important to also look at the instances of hope it has offered in others.

In this case, COVID took the pressure off. If the business had failed during normal times, that management team would have suffered a major confidence blow. But no one could have planned for COVID and its effects. In that way, the pandemic gave businesses permission to fail, and forced leaders to take what are perhaps bolder steps than they might have otherwise.

Fortunately, in this case the business has not failed, but the leadership team has been invigorated by the forced change of direction.

Look for Blessings

The pandemic has created many challenges, but I have received even greater blessings. My heart goes out to people who have become ill, lost loved ones or lost their jobs, and their hardship makes me even more determined to focus on gratitude in the face of this great challenge.

I am reminded that sometimes for us to see the blessings in a difficult situation, we need to simply change our perspective.

To let the silver linings shine through in my own life, I’m approaching each day with an open mind and a willingness to look at things through a different lens, try new things, and accept that some of these things will fail and others will succeed.

Which silver linings have you come across during the pandemic? I’d love to hear, so please consider leaving a comment below.