Are We the New Phoenix?

I use metaphor to soften the impact of words and make sense of complexity. Words shape worlds. And if I had attached too many negative adjectives to describe what we were facing at the onset of the Pandemic — and have now experienced — I realized it would make traveling into the future heavier and harder. So, what I originally thought of as a sprint soon became a marathon.

A marathon is something you plan for, train for, and work for. You surround yourself with experienced runners from whom to learn and embrace your mind and body with complete commitment and focus. You must follow a strict regimen if you want to successfully undertake something most people find very hard, trying, spirit testing, and yet rewarding; all at the same time.

But with the pandemic, we were thrust into it. We discovered we had little or no choice about finishing. It was a race for our lives, our livelihoods, our safety, our economic future, and so much more.

In the beginning, I began to talk with you about your experiences. I discovered and shared stories of how individuals, groups, and organizations were responding and reinventing themselves. Some, I would observe, grew closer under the stress and found new relevance and reconnecting in meaningful and productive ways.

After the first few months, we saw that we adjusted and learned a new stride — a new way of working together. I continued my interviews to see how we were coping and supporting others, and to learn more about human resiliency.

Recently, as we completed our sixth month of social distancing, virtual school and work, and all-new ways of keeping our communities and organizations safe, I started to experience and observe the onset of something new — burnout.

{To stay current and informed I follow several blogs and podcasts. I found this article by Korn Ferry on burnout to be spot on. https://www.kornferry.com/insights/articles/burnout-the-second-wave }

Burnout is chronic, cumulative stress.  We have been coping and working hard, feeling like we are learning a new way. Perhaps, however, we’re working too hard, without any break from a new routine that has less variety and even less social interaction.

Like COVID-19, a case of burnout can slow you down and stop you in your tracks as it did recently for me. I had a minor accident that should have taken a few days of recovery, but instead, I landed in bed for a week. My numbed state of burnout may have even set me up for the accident.

It has tuned me into my self and self-care, to being alert to the challenge it poses for organizational leaders. When burnout is unaddressed, it can risk quality and safety and is even more threatening to numbing our best competencies and energies.

We are challenged to keep ourselves, our families, and our workforces safe and well. We are challenged to keep our organizations functioning and productive. We are challenged with an existing climate of polarized political sidedness, social unrest, and general upheavals. Some of which can lead to radical, perhaps necessary transformations. Many of us are asking, “How much more can we shoulder?”

I found my groundedness in an early morning drive into a quiet Cleveland city scape, with my two dogs in the car, loving the fall skyline, dramatic clouds, and the expanse of Great Lake Erie listening to NPR. The program this morning was ‘How I Built This’ Resiliency Series.

Featured on the program were brothers John and Bert Jacobs, founders of the ‘Life is Good’ brand of apparel whose branding is about optimism, unity, and gratitude; and it works to be uplifting. Like all of us, the company has been challenged and has faced difficult decisions. But the brothers  responded with strength and reinvestment into a new way of reacting to the market. They determined that to be uplifting was still relevant but that it would require re-invention and a reconnection directly with the consumer. In the past six months, they have completely changed their business model — but not their mission. I share with you the link for the program.

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/16/913530055/how-i-built-resilience-bert-and-john-jacobs-of-life-is-good

As the fatigue of burnout recedes, I have this example of John and Bert Jacobs — and so many more individuals and organizations doing well in a world that is challenged. They say that it was by listening to their team and their customers that they arrived with great clarity and commitment at their decision to devise a strategy to double-down on their mission. And that now they feel more energized than ever.

I take away their wise words. That is how I want to run the last and hardest miles of this marathon.

My quiet drive through Cleveland — accompanied by two of the best stress relievers in the world (Buddha Bear the Brindle Boxer and Crook the Curious and Confident French Bulldog) — both cleared and filled my head with the lessons of the past nine months and the obstacles we still must face.

Ahead lies mastering testing; a vaccine to refine, distribute, and hope for its good results; an election to deal with; economic strengthening to achieve, and so much more. There will be hills, and bumps and surprises around the corner. But, I am ready to run at a pace I can manage, cheer on my peers, enjoy the view, celebrate each small success, and soldier on together — with clarity, commitment, and kindness in each step.

I came back from burnout and my flame burns bright.

How are you feeling as you walk, run, or even skip the path towards the future?

Leslie

“Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before.
You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that
and try to put together something that’s good.

― Elizabeth Edward