Well, another year is in the books. For leaders, I look at the past year as a schooling that no university ever imagined we would face in a lifetime, let alone a single 365-day period!
Here the list (in case you need reminding)…
- COVID does not seem to want to go away. If only everyone could have the resilience and tenacity that COVID apparently has. For leaders, “COVID Fatigue” has now become a real thing. The people we lead are tired and frustrated by the Pandemic that keeps on keeping on.
- Black Lives Matter. We lost Desmond Tutu on December 26th. For me, he was the example to live by when it comes to stamping out racial injustice everywhere.
- Climate Change. In case we needed more evidence that Climate Change is real, the crazy weather events should be that reminder. In my part of the world (Vancouver, BC, Canada), we had a year with summer temperatures we have never seen. Vancouver is known for rainy winters but this Fall, Vancouver was hit with wave after wave of “Atmospheric Rivers” which routinely dumped 15 cms of rain in less than 24-hours. In November, Vancouver was effectively cut-off from the world when the only mountain highways out of Vancouver were destroyed in one 24-hour period – a couple of them virtually unrepairable.
- Every Child Matters. Canadians are often smug about the country being a beacon of acceptance and tolerance. If we needed any reminding that we have skeletons in our closet, it came when there were multiple discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves of indigenous children in various regions of the country at former Residential Schools. For those of you that did not hear about it, a hundred years ago or so, some Canadian Politicians and the Catholic Church thought it would be a good idea to kidnap indigenous children from their homes and place them in residential schools to ‘school their First Nation’s culture out of them.’ And, this philosophy went quietly on until about 30-years ago.
- The list goes on…
Here is the thing for leaders as we open our arms to 2022. People are burnt out and fatigued. There has never been a time in recent history where people need leadership that leads tolerance and inclusion and embraces everyone for being different versus fearing it.
Never Have Leading Values Been More Important
People need leadership that has clarity of purpose and direction to give people a cause to focus on and a sense that we are going to be OK.
My ask of you is to be that leader. The one that embraces different. The one that gives people a great place to work where they feel safe, respected and appreciated.
Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based Business Strategy Consultant, #1 Best Selling Author, International Keynote Speaker, and TEC Top Speaker of the Year for 2018. For further advice, insight and inspiration on how to unlock your inner leader, connect with Robert on LinkedIn.
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