“For tomorrow belongs to the people who plan for it today.” – African Proverb***
This year has introduced a number of surprises, chaos and challenges; some good, some not so good. Regardless of which end of the spectrum one might have landed throughout the year, I’m sure we would all agree that it has been memorable.
As leaders, how memorable has the year been? Has it been memorable enough to leave a lasting impression? An impression that impacts a lifetime?
Life as We Knew It Changed
This year, many of us, in leadership, have gone from the office, the church, the building, the suit, the commute to the basement, the kitchen, the study or the back bedroom in an effort to conduct business from home during Covid-19 Stay at Home Orders and city lockdowns. From professionals with compliant and some not so compliant staff, volunteers and students to newly drafted home schoolers, study hall monitors, tutors, educational liaisons, assistant principals and TRUANCY OFFICERS when that child of yours keeps blocking out the camera and skipping out of the virtual classroom… as if the teacher doesn’t notice! All of these hats, worn in one day followed by a quick change, just like the old days, and you suddenly become Mom, Dad, cook, cleaner, launderer extraordinaire… you then get to eat, plan your sweats and slippers attire for tomorrow, then off to bed so you can start all over again.
Saturday feels like Thursday and Sunday feels like Friday with a little worship thrown in.
We should have all been stretched at least a little, as we figured out new and inventive ways to do what we do… maybe not as polished but getting there; and we have picked up new skills like live streaming, virtual meetings, drive-by celebrations and I have tried more new recipes than the law allows. We’ve been stretched, we’ve gained new talents and acquired expanded knowledge on many fronts. And to top it all off, we have probably added at least one new streaming station to our television options, given new thought to old battles for justice and change, and developed a greater appreciation for family, friends and the simple act of giving a hug. I’m not sure about you but it has been an overwhelming year.
We Can Run But We Can’t Hide
My grandniece is 11 months old. She decides to play Hide n Seek without telling anybody…primarily because she can’t talk yet. She just hides (LOL)! It doesn’t take long before someone realizes the baby is not where she was last sited and they seek her out as she experiences the sheer thrill of the hunt! Obviously that’s what she wants. Many of you might be able to relate to wanting to hide at this point but certainly not the thrill of being found. As soon as others notice you are missing, they do seek you out and when they find you, “Hey, when you get a minute…” “Can you meet me on…” “Give me a call…” “I need your help…” “What do you suggest for the virtual completion of…” “Have you finished…” “Mom?!” “Daaad?!”
Now What?
So much has happened in the last 11 months. Every year at this time we begin to reflect on the previous year. We normally do so with hope for a better new year but this year is different. Covid-19 delivered a sobering message and life-changing adjustments that make it hard for me to believe that we will be able to just go back to life as usual in 2021, once the pandemic is abated and vaccines have become more widespread. Like other pandemics and tragedies in history, this too shall pass. The end of Covid-19’s ravaging through our lives and the continuation of another year, will converge in the Spring or Summer of 2021. What will life look like for you as a leader having to lead people through that time and into yet another new normal? What happens after the aftermath? We will inevitably be left with the question “Now what?”
1. Contemplate the Changes You Have Observed & Endured
If you are a leader in business, there will be an impact. If you are a leader in your home, there will be an impact. If you are a leader in a House of Worship, there will be an impact.
There is an old saying that you have to take the bull by the horns, which means you have to take charge of an unpleasant or difficult situation and deal decisively and intentionally with it. This is one of those times. While stamina, optimism and anxiety joyously intermingled with each other, and waxed and waned constantly over the last 9 mos when Covid-19 arrived, it’s time to take a stand. We cannot stand idly by and let the aftermath catch us by surprise.
Start planning now. What is the plan you say? Well, that’s my question for you. You don’t have to answer now, but you will have to answer the question soon. Who are you? What are your responsibilities? To whom are your responsibilities? What matters most? What are you going to do to lead the process of change adjustment in your sphere of influence in the aftermath of Covid-19? Let’s take it further. What are you going to do to maintain a voice and security in the aftermath of the political landscape we have just endured and some are holding onto? What are you going to do to continue the valuable, long time in coming, conversations on race…gender…immigration and hate? How will you ensure that the new normal does not return to the hear no evil, see no evil state of existence as so many, so often opt for?
What are the Large Scale Changes that Occurred?
- Homelessness (Staggering increases affected every community)
- Unemployment (Caused by job eliminations & business closures)
- The Voice of Social Justice (Got louder and stronger)
- Electronic Advancements (Virtual life got real)
- Community Organizations (Increased struggle to receive enough to help those in need)
- To name a few…
What are the More Personal Changes that Occurred?
- Debt accumulation for some
- Retirement (retirement numbers for Baby Boomers increased during Covid-19 over expected rates)
- Recuperation from Loss of Multiple Loved Ones
- Long term Health Effects of Covid-19 Victims
- Painful Revelations on the Opinions of Others on Things that Impact You (Equality, Race, Social Justice, Politics etc)
- New Learnings, Revelations, Skill Development
Contemplate the impact of those changes on people’s lives. People you know and people you lead have been impacted by some or all of those things listed above. Start by asking yourself, what causes did you take up over the last 9 months that you need to continue? What causes should you have taken up that you didn’t but should have? What new work have you picked up that you might want to incorporate into your life? What will others need from you to relieve the ongoing stress of finding a new normal?
2. Consider Incorporating or Increasing Ministry In Your Leadership
Though you may not hold an official title in your house of worship, the reality is, we all minister to the needs of others. That’s part of leadership. If you are not doing that, I am sure you sense an emptiness in your life that you have struggled with for years, if not a lifetime. The fact that you don’t attend to the needs of others, is most definitely a deficit in the life of any leader… any human being. We are not here to just take care of self and see where we end up. We exist to make a difference in the lives of others and to help others become all that God desires. His order is tall, our role is small.
Incorporate the role and meaning of ministry into your Now What? plan. Consider your role and responsibility in helping others in a way that is meaningful and helpful to them, not you. Helping others, in and of itself, leads to self-satisfaction. It’s time leaders begin to move the needles for others.
3. Consider the Changes Where You Lead
Whether you lead on a job, in a volunteer capacity, in church or other place, what will need to be re-evaluated for long term change as a result of all that has occurred in the past year? What has gotten better? What has gotten worse? Keep the good, fix the bad. What are those changes? They won’t take place on their own. The only thing that evolves when left to its own is chaos. If you are in leadership, you have to lead. Remember, though, we lead people and manage things. So your leadership should reflect this. So if you have learned to hold team meetings virtually, you can’t go back to all meetings being in a room where people are subjected to death by PowerPoint. I love PowerPoint myself, but it has its place in any setting. PowerPoint shouldn’t conduct your meeting. You might consider a weekly update that is virtual and a monthly or quarterly face to face gathering. In the church, you might return to regular in person worship and music and choir rehearsals, but maybe you could continue to hold virtual Bible Study classes or virtual meetings for teens where the world is able to join you; or maybe you could live stream all classes and services. Outreach can now truly reach out.
These are examples of how life has changed for many and can have a lasting, positive, even time saving impact on future advancement and growth for individuals and organizations.
4. Consider the Changes In Your Personal Life
Over the last year, more has changed than everything outside of you. You may have had a change in perspective, you may have had a change of heart, you may have had a change in your spiritual walk. I pray you have not remained the same today as you were a year ago. Now is the time to think about what those changes have been and what they mean for you. Do not go through the entire new year, and find that 2021 is no different than 2019 was. Yikes! Too much has happened for you to allow such a thing.
Did you learn how to relax in the midst of chaos? Incorporate that in your plan? Did your dream of starting a business actually get off the ground and make it in all this change? Incorporate that in your plan. Did God keep you in the midst of all this? Incorporate your response to His goodness into your plan. Did you have some troubles that you struggle to reconcile spiritually? Incorporate your quest for understanding into your plan. Did you retire? Did you buy or sell a house? Did your business blossom? Did you learn a new skill or trade?
5. Document the Outcome of Change for Your Life – Make it Count
Get your pen and paper… or your tablet, turn on your mellow…motivating streaming music station… plug in the natural oil diffuser with your favorite invigorating scent and start writing. At the top of the page, write the title, Now What? Underneath that, write, My Plan for “taking the bull by the horns”