Isn’t this a test of humanity, not leadership?

How’s the self-isolation going? I’ve rescheduled my whole world so far this week to work remotely.

Why? Well, Victoria has been declared a state of emergency and, more importantly, I woke up with a mild sore throat. No fever. No known contact with a traveller or sufferer of Covid-19. I feel ok. It hasn’t taken me out. But I figured, better safe than sorry. I don’t want to become a source.

So, thank you Skype, Zoom, Slack, all of them. All the platforms are being put to good use. I am so grateful that it’s almost BAU (business as usual) for me, albeit from a distance. For now.

I’m mindful that not everyone has this luxury. Some jobs require you to be physically there. Like the NBN (National Broadband Network) installers here today. Not everyone can work from home. And even then, not everyone is set up to work from home.

This pandemic is a test of our leadership. All my clients are being pulled into meetings to work out the Covid-19 response for their workplaces. Everyone is working from home where they can.

So yes, it’s a test of our leadership. It’s uncharted waters. But I think this is more a test of our humanity. Quite frankly, it’s more important right now.

This is a time of high anxiety and it’s hard to alleviate it. We don’t know how to control this virus yet, only slow its spread. No wonder it’s bringing out the best and the worst in us. I mean, who’d have thought we’d need to ration toilet paper purchases?

So, here’s my attempt to be a better human that’s within my control:

I hope you have a neighbour who can care for you if you need it. Most of all, I hope you don’t need it.

Photo by Pille-Riin Priske on Unsplash