COVID-19 = Transformative Professional and Personal Change

COVID-19 Changes

COVID-19 restrictions were put in place near eight weeks ago in Vancouver. During this time, our doctors, nurses, paramedics, and medical staff have been working tirelessly, saving lives, and caring for those infected. The 7 pm cheer, hearts displayed on house and apartment windows, and posters along routes to hospitals are visually demonstrating the community’s sincere gratitude and support to our medical community.

 Professional and Personal Changes

We have all been affected in some way professionally or personally by the pandemic. We have moved through stages as we navigate the pandemic from immediate crisis management to practicing social distancing, working remotely, and climatizing to our new conditions. We have had to redefine priorities and critical areas of importance, for many, re-boot our businesses, pivot our services and products, and execute strategy quickly and to the best of our resources. How we worked before COVID-19 will not be how we work in the future. This crisis is acting as a catalyst for many to pivot direction. It is and continues to be a period of transformation and fluid change.

 Mental Health

How we turn up to work, greet, work with, and are present in our jobs is now different. We have felt exacerbated levels of stress through the pandemic, and mental health and wellness practices have taken on a new level of acknowledgment as we encourage our teams and colleagues to take care of themselves and their families. Eat better, sleep well, exercise, meditate, and stay healthy as the ramifications of the pandemic will be endured for many months to come.

 For Leaders

Leaders, be kind to yourself, you have been managing your human capital remotely, and the energy that is taking is immense. The increase in communication, the cadence of contact and the time taken as you help individuals cope during this period have been significant. On top of that, you have your day-to-day professional responsibilities, pivoting work practices while paying attention to the bottom line, and for many simultaneously balancing family and relationship roles on the home front.

 Elevated Support

My clients are from a range of industry sectors, and all have focused on elevated employee communication and support. Checking in on how individuals are coping personally, being transparent as new information comes to light, and clear on direction and the next best steps to take. Morning zoom huddles focused team meetings, and the integration of an online social connection, for many being virtual happy hours, has been essential to bolster individual and team spirit. Zoom meeting malaise or fatigue has set in for some, so focus on meeting practices has been emphasized. Each meeting must have an agenda and plan, and required pre-reading is sent in advance to enable thoughtful discussion and action item focus.

 Questions to Consider

The coronavirus pandemic has left us with health and economic challenges; however, it also provides the opportunity to evaluate deeply, refocus, pivot, and plan for an optimistic future.

I encourage you to answer the following questions:

1. What have you learned about yourself since the pandemic commenced?
2. What is now clear to you that is important personally and professionally?
3. Post COVID-19 what are you going to stop doing, keep doing, and START doing?
4. What is your story going to be post COVID-19? What do you want to focus on and achieve, and how are you going to ensure you execute the required strategy to do so?

Stay healthy, stay focused, and stay safe.

If you would like to continue the conversation, please reach out to me at jenny@jennyreilly.com.

 Medical Field Coaching

If you are or know of a health care worker who has been working on the front line who would benefit from a coaching session, please let me know. I am gifting five coaching sessions weekly to those in the medical field.