Values and Leadership Newsletter
The Values & Leadership Newsletter is a monthly e-newsletter focusing on organizational leadership, values and ethics, and non-profits in general.
Food for Thought | May 2021
As we move back and forth between more and less public health restrictions, we are starting to see hope for a return to some normalcy. Still, it is almost impossible to imagine what normal will look like or when it will get here. You might be asking whether it will resemble our life pre-pandemic. I think we must also consider whether we even want it to look the same. A couple of nights ago my five-year-old son asked me when we would be going back to normal. Wondering what prompted this question I asked if he was missing something in particular. His response surprised me. He wasn’t missing some aspect of our old life, he was asking because he didn’t want our extra time together in the mornings, a result of the pandemic, to end.
In many ways, we have experienced growth throughout the pandemic. Leaders have been required to adapt in so many ways. The challenge has been anything but easy. Consider what you have learned as a leader this year and last. How have your skills improved? How has your team come together? While we have all mourned our old lives and eagerly await a return to normal, I hope we don’t let go of the ways the pandemic has pushed us to learn, to adapt, and to become the leaders the world needs now.
In the News
How leaders can normalize courage after Covid
As we navigate our way through the changing restrictions, it leaves us with a unique opportunity to try something new, to forge a new normal. This Forbes article suggests now is the time to nurture a culture of courage.
Let’s re-envision “normal”
The pandemic may have restricted our lives in a lot of difficult ways, but it also restricted us from falling into the “this is how we’ve always done it” trap. Without these limits, many leaders have thrived. As we move forward, let’s not forget to stay curious and avoid falling into old habits.
Applying lessons learned during Covid-19 to post-pandemic leadership
Adjusting to “pandemic life” has tested us in many ways. Still, there are parts of it that are worth holding onto. Consider the ways you have had to adapt, the risks you have taken, and how you have held it all together. Holding on to some of these key lessons may be just what we need to move forward.
Things won’t ‘get back to normal,’ but we can embrace ‘another ordinary
From remote work to electronic transactions, the way we do business will not be the same. While we will never return to the way it used to be, together, “we will move forward to another ordinary.”
The winning formula profile for the 21st century leader
As we navigate our way forward, we must examine our vision for the future, ours, and the worlds. What must we carry forward and what must we learn? “We need to redefine what it means to be a citizen of the world.”
From our Shelves
Following the sudden death of her husband, author, Sheryl Sandberg and organizational psychologist, Adam Grant, combined Sandberg’s personal insight and Grant’s research to create their book, Option B. Together, they explore a broad range of hardships many experience and how to rediscover joy. Our old sense of normal may no longer exist, but we can try to make the most out of what comes next.
