This was a favorite saying of my Missouri-born grandmother. As a teacher of Latin and experimental school administrator, she had a delightful turn of phrase, and this one perfectly captures the overwhelming succession of events and upsets from the start of this year. From the tragic to the transgressive, the devastating fires in LA to the “burn it down” political mentality of DC, it’s been . . . a lot. Another particular apt phrase is one I heard 15 years ago but has never been more true: Welcome to the VUCA world! V = volatile; U = uncertain; C = chaotic; A = ambiguous. Oh yeah.
I’ve been in several calls with national leaders in healthcare and serious illness care since January 1, and we’ve all been grappling with how to manage ourselves, our teams, and our activities in the midst of so much. Here are a few excellent pieces of advice I’ve heard:
Pay attention to your emotional state. Self-care – sleep, exercise, good food, good company, healthy distraction – is even more important in VUCA times.
Pay attention to the emotional state of your colleagues and teams. Extend some extra grace when you can if they are irritable or out of sorts. Allow time for processing distress, then refocus on what must be done. Remind them about self-care.
Celebrate the wins, even if they are small. At our staff meetings at CCCC, Kris always starts us off with “Big wins, little wins?” Sometimes they are very little indeed, but there is always something to celebrate.
Try to separate signal from noise. This is incredibly hard right now, with so much coming at us at such high volume. We can’t react to everything, nor can we put our heads down and not react to anything. I’m managing by repeating our mission, vision, and values like a mantra every day, focusing first on our plans and goals, and then taking bigger actions in accordance with those values. Another way to put it: Stay in your lane, but don’t be afraid to step on the gas!
Band together and communicate. Find your communities and lean on them – CCCC is one! We’ll do our best to help with all of this through what is shaping up as a pretty challenging year.
Above all, keep hope alive. We’ll get through it – one thing, or ten, or a hundred!