What Matters Most: Part Two

If we knew what was coming, how would that change the way we approach our work? 

Over the past year, we have heard an increasingly common experience: a team has worked tirelessly on a project, only to lose its funding in the 11th hour. We’ve coached leaders to share this news with compassion and clarity, and provided space for teams to process the impact before pivoting to start anew. Understandably, many employees are struggling with feelings of futility and hopelessness, fearing that the next project they undertake will suffer a similar fate. 

It has me thinking a lot about March 2020. When I think about those last weeks before our offices shut down (remember when we thought it would just be a few weeks before we returned full-time?) I remember the many different initiatives we were working towards. The presentations planned, the meetings scheduled, the to-do lists never-ending, the many endeavors that all felt of utmost importance, the kind of work worth staying late for, and even losing sleep over. 

And now I wonder. I wonder if we knew what was coming, how we would have shown up to work those last few weeks. What we would prioritize, how we would engage with each other. Maybe we would have spent less time on the tasks we needed to accomplish and more time checking in with one another, showing up for each other. 

When so much is out of our control, what do we have the power to change? 

In the final weeks before my surgery, how I spent my time took on a different meaning. I moved my body not to train for a race, but to enjoy every millisecond of feeling free to move however I wanted. I couldn’t predict how my body would respond to the surgery or what my recovery would look like; all I could control was going into the surgery feeling strong. 

My meetings with our partners also took on new meaning. Knowing I would need time to recover, I savored each opportunity for connection, prepped for presentations and new initiatives with renewed excitement and presence, and knew I would be grateful and motivated to return to work that felt rooted in purpose and could create tangible, meaningful impact. 

My nerves were really building in the last couple of days before surgery. There were still more questions than answers, and while I didn’t want to admit it out loud, I was worried about what could go wrong. There have been times in my life when it would have been really challenging to stay present. This time, I tried to use that worry to my advantage; if the worst did happen, how would I want to have spent my last days? Each activity- the runs I took along the water, time snuggling with my family while watching a favorite movie, eating every crumb of delectable pastries- felt more precious, more delicious, more full of joy, because I was fully in them, grateful to have even the simplest pleasures.  

Often in moments of crisis- whether personal or worldwide- we get really clear on our priorities. In times of upheaval, our connections with others and ourselves matter most. How can we continue to center our relationships with one another and value the people who make the outcomes we work to achieve possible? There is so much we cannot predict or plan for, but whether we are in a time of abundance and calm or a time of scarcity and challenge, it is our relationships that will anchor us and make the impossible possible again. It is in our connections that we will find enduring hope, and when our relationships are prioritized in our workplaces, it is where our capacity for innovation and perseverance grows.