Living for Others
“Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is…life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.” I read this quote by Pope Francis on the morning of the 41st day of quarantine.
Later that day I was listening to a webinar with Dan Pink and he closed by saying imagine if someone would have told you 6 months ago that in a few months there would be an invisible virus that will be so dangerous that everyone will be asked to stay home, colleges will send people home, elementary, middle and high schools will covert to distance learning, tens of millions of people will work from home, small businesses will be asked to shut down, people will be asked to wear masks outside, and this will all happen without the use of force, armed soldiers, or police intervention, rather the messaging will simply be that we are all in this together and it is important that you do this. You would probably have laughed at them. Some may have even thought that there is no way people would willingly do all of that; and yet, here we are. We have hundreds of millions of people doing the right thing; making dramatic changes to their life in order to defend against the virus and keep themselves, their neighbors, loved ones, community, and fellow citizens safe. This is truly incredible and a sign of hope.
It was after reading the quote from Pope Francis and hearing Dan Pink that I couldn’t help but stop and think about how remarkable this moment in time really is. It is not something that could have been designed and it supersedes all forms of change management. There was no playbook, people are receiving conflicting messages, things are happening in real-time, and our basic needs are being threatened…the recipe for change failure in Corporate America. So, what is it about this situation that moved people into a state of action and emotional commitment when all of the proverbial boxes were unchecked?
Moments like this are worthy of giving the best of ourselves to deeply reflect on. Rather than quickly going back to the frameworks of the past, let’s spend the time to understand what is happening and how we can evolve the way we engage at work in times of crisis and change. One thing is clear, the power of the collective is far greater than any individual or expert and the idea that living for others might be a rule of nature is as inspiring as any sign of hope I can imagine.
Jennifer McCusker, Founder, CEO, McCusker Consulting
www.mccuskerconsulting.com
