Oh 2021…What a muscle builder you have been!

Well, this year has been – um – “tough”??

2021 has been one heck of a year for basically all of us.?Work life.?Personal life.?The life we anticipated that now seems way different than we ever imagined.?Some type of challenge seemed to show up on a darn near daily basis where many days left us all feeling like we’re part of something we just don’t fully understand.

We have lost people that we love.?We have adjusted our lives based on changing conditions and have learned to expect that changes will continue to happen.?We have managed through work environment shifts that forced the world to adjust and acknowledge that some people (and certain jobs) can be amazing no matter where they sit to do the work.?We have seen people become very picky about their work environments and how they choose to spend their time & talents as people self-reflected in a new and transformational way (my hand is in the air on this one!).

As a supply chain professional, I have learned to pivot quickly, stay calm to maneuver through unprecedented obstacles, lean in even more to my amazing professional network, and deliver information quickly and clearly based on information and not emotions.?As a person, I struggled at times to process all the information, seeing the best in people during some tough moments, but also seeing the worst in people pop out during a time where humans needed to feel supported.?

Here are a few things I learned that I am hopeful will be helpful to someone else:

Relationships will always matter

There are people that I worked with 15+ years ago that really showed up for me in the past year – people with whom I built great professional relationships that helped me to solve real problems in the past year.? For that, I am truly thankful.

Relationships lead to trusted advisors in your professional network that have different experiences if you ever need to phone-a-friend.?This may seem like a captain obvious observation to many - but building solid and respectful professional relationships is an area that truly creates value in your life well beyond the “now”.?

People do business with people.?The relationship stuff is important.?

If you work for a bad leader, don’t wait for it to get better (because it won’t)

How many people suffered through bad leadership over the past year and ultimately showed their response to that with their actions in 2021?!?How many of us wasted so many moments with that “what if” mentality?

• What if this gets better in a few months?
• What if he/she chills out once this crisis phase is over?
• What if I stand up for myself??
• What if I just work a little harder or 70+ hours/week and show my value?
• What if I am patient although the leadership style is borderline mental abuse?

Your leader should be helpful and supportive and working to identify ways to make your job better right now – not worse or challenging or anything else that feels wrong.?I have spoken with so many people in the past year who felt so poorly supported by their leaders, often balancing things that would break many.

Always remember that leaders are there to serve and develop and not to divide and criticize in a destructive way.

No more what-if statements folks.?If you have a really bad leader whose only tool is a hammer – that toolbox will likely not change. Find a better toolbox.

Being authentic is how you connect

One of the most amazing transitions that I have observed in the past year is that people (in general) are becoming more authentic.?People are tired and they are managing through so many weird and unusual variables while sometimes doing their jobs at home while juggling kids whose schools have opened & closed (and opened and closed again…..) – and they are being honest about their lives in a way that is refreshing.?No need to fake that “things are great” and there is absolutely no expectation that anyone is wearing a superhero cape. ?The load has been heavy at times, and being authentic is SO much better than putting on a happy face that doesn’t represent who you are.?

People connect with people in a much more genuine and effective way when authenticity is front & center in all that you do.

Stay true to your purpose & values

When pressures are high and frustrations press your buttons, always remember to stay true to who you are.?The difficulties of challenging times can sometimes cause people to cut corners on their values, and your purpose can become clouded with the noise of a bad situation (or leaders setting a bad example).?

There is no professional situation that is ever worth the tradeoff of your own purpose & values.?Stay true to yourself.

Take care of yourself – nobody else will prioritize you the same way as YOU

I give myself a D+ in this area for 2021, but an A+ for addressing the issue and actually doing something about it.

The hours will get long and all run together as you work to be loyal and supportive and available when needed.?However, the tradeoff during a time when you need to ensure you have healthy ways to offload stress and set boundaries is quite often the personal time needed to take care of yourself.?

Nobody will remember you skipped the gym to be on that 6:00 p.m. call. ?Or that you got very little sleep for a week to manage an unmanageable workload.?Or that you took a call while sitting on the beach because it was “so important”.?

So, take care of yourself – always.

I do appreciate the experiences from yet another challenging year as we’ve all built our professional muscles even stronger for 2022.?I am thankful for the good stuff & the bad stuff too, as it all matters in how we grow and develop. Use the good - learn from the bad - keep picking up the professional weights to build those muscles.

Wishing you all a reflective new year full of personal and professional success!?