When I turned 18, my family and I took a trip to the beach after my graduation. I had a job as a lifeguard and considered myself a strong swimmer, so one day I took my boogie board and swam out pretty far. When I realized how far out I was, I decided it was too far and I headed back to shore. With every stroke I took, I felt like I was only getting closer to shore by a fraction of a swim stroke, not the whole stroke. I was not making up very much ground - or in this case - water. When I got back to shore, I remember falling on the beach in exhaustion.
Later that evening at dinner, I was telling my family about it and the waiter overhead me. He asked “Do you know why it took you so long to get back to shore? Here, with every three waves towards shore, two currents move away from shore.” No wonder it felt like with every three strokes, I was only making positive progress towards shore with one stroke.
As I reflect about our current situation, I’m reminded of that trip to the beach. This “three steps forward, two steps back” is our new norm with COVID-19. We have adopted several new words into our vocabularies – one of them is fluid. We hear every day that we have to be fluid with every changing PPE policy, visitor policy, patient interaction, and so much more. In the midst of uncertainty and anxiety swirling around us, if we are not careful, we can drown in the moment.
This moment is hard. Leaders are pulling every lever possible to reduce costs, regain the trust of patients, and build SnapBack plans. On top of the business end, each of our personal lives have changed.
I’ve heard the phrase “attitude is altitude.” What that means is amid challenges, we can choose to either give energy and rise up, or drain energy and sink lower. Attitude really does determine altitude! A colleague who is currently quarantined alone shared with me “If I could hug my family right now, I would be the happiest human on earth!” But instead of complaining about her desire for human interaction right now, she is more focused on the importance of safety and health long-term. An HR executive confided much the same sentiment: “A lot of things are not within our control right now. But we can always control how we act and respond.”
It is a pleasure to serve with each of you. If I had to leave you with one thing to remember, it would be to keep perspective and choose positivity when it feels difficult and maybe even impossible to do so. I am counting on your leadership in the next chapter, the next inning, the next quarter. We are stronger together and we are in a great position to be successful.
Talk soon,
Jason