I’m often asked, what will help staff right now?

They are so worn out and fatigued by the pandemic and everything else going on.

To me, one of the answers is right in front of us.

Us staying steady and doing the key tenets of our jobs as managers.

On-going communication and clarity around what to expect and what is expected.

Tools, training and support to meet what is expected.

Massive appreciation and accountability.

Reprioritizing when needed and providing direction.

The main thing is not falling prey to taking on the day through a lens of crises and confusion. No heroics are needed.

We just need to be the strength and structure that stands above it and helps those able to rise up and join together in the common cause of running our co-op.

We can so easily get mesmerized and paralyzed by the sheer number of moving parts in staff’s and society’s personal problems – thinking that we have a responsibility to solve them.

Though we feel deeply, our responsibility is to lead in ways that stabilize and bring focus as the bedrock of our actions. This has always been, and still remains a positive and helpful way to support a team in navigating the toughest of challenges together.

Communication, expectations, appreciation, and accountability.

A lot can change in this world, yet in many ways being steady with the fundamentals is often one of the things that sees us through.

Steady as we go.