If you learn about yourself in times of crisis, then Covid was the perfect venue. At a time when the entire world was anxious, scared and stressed, our High 5 experience was a learning lab for experiencing how important resilience was as a character trait.
We had twenty two staff at the time and each and every one of them was being pushed to their emotional limits. As the Executive Director at the time, I found it very challenging to balance telling the truth about our financial realities with offering hope for the future.
As they worked at home, I went to the office each and every day. I turned on all the lights and opened the doors in each office to give myself a sense of normalcy. Each hour I went outside and jogged our hillside. Some days I kept my head down taking one step at a time, other days I looked at the top of the hill and my final destination. This approach paralleled our journey as a staff during Covid. Sometimes the weight of each day required one small step at a time, other days left space to envision the future.
The pathway to get there was paved with Resilience… always Resilience.
Want to explore how to apply these concepts in your own school, team, or organization? Pick up a copy of Jim Grout’s When In Doubt…Give Them Your Heart. It’s packed with real-world stories and reflection questions designed to help you connect, empower, and lead by example in your own community.