Another dear friend and ex-client called VIM Executive Coaching last week just to say hello. She is as executive leader in what was once a male-dominated industry and I am tremendously proud of her accomplishments. It is not because she broke the so-called glass ceiling, but because she is so respected for her authenticity as a person and her compassion for everyone in her company.
She made an off-handed remark during our conversation that has stayed with us and it is worth talking about in this post:
“I have always viewed Labor Day as the start of a new work year. This year, during all of this COVID stuff, it becomes especially important. But where will it take us? I don’t know.”
Labor Day Dreams
Traditionally, Labor Day, a celebration of unions and workers was not the basis for holidays and BBQs, but for great parades and speeches. It also talked to new beginnings and promises of the future. This year, during the uncertain times of COVID, Labor Day takes on special significance for all of us. It is a new year in times of great change.
What will this next year bring and who will we become? Who can predict the future? Well, no one really. We can project, we can ponder and prognosticate but in the end the future unfolds to now. The world will turn and we will encounter events, positive and negative, that will affect business in all sorts of unexpected ways.
We have friends who, right now, are in Phase III vaccine trials. Of course, we wish them well. Will a vaccine be successful, a flop, or somewhere in-between? It cannot be said. Some want no part of it, others will awaken hours early in excitement and anticipation to receive it.
We do know that the workplace will change as a result of at least a half-year of lockdowns. Will offices return to normal? Will we commute, interact, and sit in cubicles as before? Who knows? We know that changes will come.
We know that once mighty companies will suffer but that new ones will emerge. Most importantly we know that mindful executive leaders will still be mindful.
It Makes a Difference, but in Context
So, to our friend and ex-client, this coming year will take all of us to unexpected places, but those places are largely “physical.” We may be in offices half time and even if we can travel or attend trade shows; fly the globe or commute to our offices, it will be changed.
Virtual meeting technology will undoubtedly improve. All in-person meetings may be altered. The way we produce goods and services may change and even “going out” for a business lunch meeting may be altered, but what will not change is us.
When we think of the mindful executive, she or he is not viewed in our minds as having been that way for five or 10 years. Techniques such as mindfulness meditation and qualities such as authenticity and compassion go back to the dawn of our humanity and awareness. We draw great comfort in that, and so should you.
Times change. Nothing we do, or cannot do, will stop this great wheel of life from turning. There will be life after COVID, there will be resolution and change, immense opportunity and some challenges along the way. The ancients, sitting in meditation under waterfalls, or in tents, in quiet chapels or temples, knew this.
It is not how we react, rather how we respond. We look forward to the future. VIM Executive Coaching is an optimistic bunch! The future can be amazing if we all learn to carry compassion in our hearts and authenticity in our actions.
We told our mindful friend that she will be just fine, and she will be. Her heart is full and our world will be the better for her being in it.