How 2020 Made Me a Better Leader
By: Dan Temple
Tags: Management, Leadership, Self Improvement, Growth, 2020

How 2020 Made Me a Better Leader

I set out to do better, but the year had other plans

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

We’ve reached that point in the year where managers and leaders are looking ahead to 2021. It’s a time of new visions, new goals, and new strategies.

I like planning, so I enjoy this time of year. It’s a chance to reflect on the last twelve months and look ahead to a fresh start. Many of us do this on a personal level as well. From a management perspective, this planning basically consists of on-the-job New Year’s resolutions.

December 2019…a Lifetime Ago

As I plan, I can’t help but look back to the end of 2019. If I had to sum up my overall goal for 2020 at the time, it would have been “to do better”. I was happy with my and my team’s performance in 2019, but I saw room for improvement and other areas of business I wanted to develop. I came up with a plan and looked forward to the growth ahead.

Enter 2020

Then 2020 happened. The world was quickly changing, and by the time March rolled around many, if not all, of the plans I had made suddenly came to a halt.

I’m a manager in retail banking. Banking was one of the “essential services” that didn’t get a lot of coverage. This was a population of front-line workers who continued to provide face-to-face services during the initial lockdown. These employees didn’t go from onsite to remote work (a difficult enough challenge in itself). They came to work every day, and I was faced with leading a team through operational, health, and emotional challenges.

My plans didn’t just change. They were replaced by non-plans. Ambiguity reigned, and there was no playbook to refer to. Every week, sometimes every day, brought challenges that were new to everyone. Instead of following a well-defined strategy, I led by the seat of my pants.

Spring moved into summer and changes continued. Each time I adjusted to a new reality, it was replaced by a newer one. By July, I was exhausted. Fortunately, I was able to take some time off with my family on a semi-normal vacation. It was refreshing, and I was ready to come back to work with a renewed sense of purpose. I’d taken some time to once again plan the rest of the year in order to “do better”.

After my time off, I returned to one of the many consequences of the year’s uncertainty; half of my team had found new positions within the company. One after another gave me their notice, and my plans were again disrupted by the need to assemble a new team from scratch.

By October, the dust had settled. I was fully staffed again, and new team members were acclimating well. We continued to adjust and were heading toward some kind of normal again.

As of now, I’m facing more change with the new wave of the pandemic. The last eight months have made these changes a bit more tolerable since I’ve been down a similar road. So far anyway.

I go back to my initial goal at the start of 2020; to do better. Did I “do better” this year? In some ways, yes. But something else happened. Something unexpected. Where I had set out to do better, the year had other plans. What I’ve experienced in the last several months has caused me to be better; a better manager and leader.

Here are some of the key things 2020 has taught and continues to teach me.

Top Four Lessons of 2020

1. How to manage ambiguity

No matter how much planning we do, anything can happen. I’m a planner, and I like to know what to expect. Sometimes I over-plan, and I’m either slow in getting things done or I freeze when the unexpected interferes. Over the last several months I’ve learned the value of keeping myself open to what could happen next. Planning is still important, but I’m getting better at planning in pencil rather than carving plans in stone. I’m also learning to plan as I go rather than trying to get everything perfectly aligned before acting.

2. The importance of caring for others

I’ve always prided myself on caring about others, my staff included. This year has come with several challenges to my team members, some of which were quite serious. There have been family and personal illnesses, fears about losing income, daily stress, and everything in between. I found that caring about my staff wasn’t enough. I had to care for them. I suddenly became a new kind of support in their lives. Their struggles were real, and their stress-filled workdays often compounded them. I learned how valuable it was to be there for them to listen, offer advice when needed, and assist them in finding solutions to their concerns. This has strengthened our relationships and shown me a new level of the impact my role as a leader can have on others.

3. The importance of caring for myself

On the flip side, attending to the needs of others led to several moments of burnout. I was constantly addressing work issues related to the constant change. I was also fielding calls, emails, and texts daily from staff who had questions about things I was still figuring out answers to. This time resulted in long days and nights, physical and emotional absence from my family, and even physical manifestations of stress. It wasn’t good. Fortunately, I have a supervisor who built into me during this time and addressed the issue. This is something I’m still working on, but I‘ve discovered how important it is for me to get away. Whether that’s working away from the office or taking personal time for myself and my family, these life-giving times of refreshment are a necessity. They allow me to be more present in my responsibilities as a leader, husband, and father. The old “put your oxygen mask on before assisting others” is great wisdom.

4. How to live in the moment

The three lessons above share a common theme. Each of them requires me to be present. To be in the moment. Being aware and present in the “now” enables me to better respond to the unexpected. It keeps me alert as to what’s going on in front of me rather than stressing about what happened yesterday or what may happen tomorrow.

Being present keeps me aware of others and their needs by observing, listening, and asking good questions. I can show true concern for them because I’m focused on them.

Being present allows me to practice self-care in ways that are much more effective. When I take time away, I can be tempted to continue stressing about the same things, just in a different location. Living in the moment keeps my focus on the present, and I’m able to enjoy these times, benefiting from the refreshment they offer.