My Discovery of Resilience during the COVID-19 Lockdown

In the days since the COVID-19 lockdown, I was reading some articles to understand how successful leaders experience crisis and how they manage themselves during such situations. One of the traits common between most of these leaders could be identified as ‘Resilience’.

 The COVID-19 pandemic was something none of us have ever experienced before in our lives, and the magnitude of it was such that it brought all of humanity together to fight as one. Across the globe, everyone’s purpose aligned to save as many lives as we could, and this purpose had one common streak across - the streak of being resilient.

 The resilience of the Doctors, Nurses, Policemen, Sanitation workers and such other front-line workers across the globe in fighting the pandemic has been commendable; and that is the crux of resilience - the ability to accept reality, the emotions associated with this reality, with the understanding that we need to move on and take the next step to continue on our path - probably a different route, but one step closer towards our goals.

 When the pandemic hit us, our first emotion was fear and panic. However, we figured out and accepted that this situation would stay for some time, and we had to deal with the fear and start planning on how to manage the situation best – whether it included stocking up on groceries, or setting up a system to be able to adapt to the new ‘Work From Home’ policy.

 As a working woman, maintaining a balance between office work and household responsibilities has always been the key to success and peace of mind, but this challenge got tougher during the lock down without any house helps around. For those with elderly or young children at home – the struggle was greater; as in addition to cooking and cleaning, they also needed to help develop a new routine for their dependents in this restricted environment. 

 So while the entire globe went into lockdown, we can say that everything came to a standstill except the ‘Kitchen’. And initially, we all faltered and struggled without help, but eventually we picked up strength and courage from each other, and asked for help from our family and children for daily chores, and reached out to friends for suggestions on how they are managing the situation, and took tips from them to create simple meals (like one pot meals) that would help optimize our time and minimize effort. 

 It was at this time that a Whats app group created by our HR for Women Employees at Aditya Birla Capital came alive, and everyone, forgetting hierarchies and judgments, went ahead and asked for suggestions, shared their vulnerabilities and asked for ideas on how they could manage their work and time better during the situation. This had never happened in the last 2 years that this group was in existence, but in the last 2 months, the group has been filled with cooking tips, Ted Ex videos, motivational quotes and people’s attempts at entertaining and playing with their kids, along with discussing what a relief it has been to not have to manage a wardrobe daily for office wear!  

For us to share our fears, struggles so openly and for us to feel that we are not alone in this journey was the biggest step towards becoming more resilient in this situation.

The organization too played a major role in ensuring that the environment is conducive for the employees to adapt to the ‘new normal’. Much before the declaration of the nationwide lock down for COVID-19, Aditya Birla Group and Aditya Birla Capital swiftly worked on the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to ensure that the safety of its employees was not comprised to any degree. As an organization, we tightened our processes and set up checks and reviews to ensure that employees were comfortable with the “new way of working” and made sure we adapted to the situation at a very quick pace so we could set a precedent for resilience. The key to this was also in ‘open and transparent communication’, so we kept communicating everyday to our employees through our senior management and our HR initiatives. There were webinars planned on Fitness, Reading, Cooking where Women leaders from across the Group came forth and spoke about their journey in building strength in this situation to adapt. This was a big comfort for employees – to realize that everyone around them also had similar challenges, and had risen by asking for support from family, friends and from the ecosystem around them. In the end, individuals realized that Resilience is not an individual journey. It includes the courage to open up about our feelings and ask for support from people close to us, and from those who may be with us in the situation. 

 I have listed below some suggestions that have helped me in my journey to be more resilient, and I hope it can help you -

1.      Focus on the larger picture –

It is important to keep focus on your life’s purpose and goals when faced with a challenging situation. Everything in life is temporary, and this situation too shall pass. Utilize the time, distract yourself from negative thoughts and get back on track to ensure you don’t lose focus on what you want to achieve.

2.      Embrace the new reality –

Change is a part of life. The more we fight reality, the more difficult it will be for us to accept the situation and focus on ways to adapt to it. Let go of the resistance to change and start working on an action plan on how you can best move forward in the given scenario. Crisis can be the best nurturing grounds for creativity and innovation. So many families I know have started playing antakshri and housie on video calls, grandparents are narrating bed-time stories to their grand-children on calls. Adapting to the situation like this is the best way to move forward.

3.      Unlearn –

Difficult situations force us to unlearn things we have been holding on to forever. Use this time to reflect on the past and things you would like to learn and things you would like to unlearn. Have the courage to accept that there is always scope for growth and change.

4.      Let go of the need to Control –

It is very important for us to let go of our desire to control everything. So many situations in life are completely out of our control, and you can only control your reaction to them. Don’t be harsh on yourself or have negative thoughts when such situations come up. Just let it go for your own peace of mind. Holding on to it won’t change the situation.

5.      Collaborate and share –

Make a list of things you can do yourself, and things you need help with. Feel free to share this with someone whom you trust and ask for help. It doesn’t make you seem emotionally weak, on the other hand, only people with courage ask for help. Talk about your fears, listen to others and their stories, and help wherever you can. There is nothing which gives more strength in such times than ‘collaboration’

6.      Repair your net –

There is a very famous proverb ‘When fishermen cannot go to sea, they mend their nets’. Use this time to do everything you always wanted to do, and to learn things that have been putting off. Work on honing your skill sets, and in developing new hobbies. Focus on coming back to the post-COVID situation as a stronger, better version of you.

To develop higher resilience from this current experience, it is important that we have 2 or 3 key takeaways from this situation for the ‘new normal’ world we all will be stepping into. These new lessons and relationships that we have built with our peers, family and colleagues in this difficult time is something that we will cherish for all our life.

Continue being comfortable and vocal about your emotions and vulnerability with people whom you trust, as this helps build positive moments that will strengthen the relationship you have created.

Also, continue the more optimal and minimalist approach to life that we have had to adopt in this new lifestyle of ours. So, focus on identifying what is critical to you and keep things simple.

Like building a muscle during fitness, resilience can be built, and we only need the intent to do so, because the capability to do it lies in all of us.

Good luck!

Regards,

Dr. Sujatha Sudheendra