December 22, 2020
Today Ontario joined the growing number of regions that have reintroduced restrictions in hopes of stopping the spread of COVID-19.
There’s no denying that, for many, this is a frustrating end to what has been a difficult year. There’s not a facet of our lives that hasn’t been affected. In the conversations with leaders across Canada and the United States, we’ve seen the stress grow as month after month we struggle to respond.
And now, with new strains of the virus, increasing numbers of cases and deaths, and growing levels of frustration, we’re experiencing new lockdown orders.
As leaders, the question we’re faced with is, “How we will choose to face this?”
Leadership expresses itself most powerfully when it is not captured by its circumstances — no matter how dire they might be — but when it expresses who we are and what we stand for.
It’s not lost on us that today also marks the Winter Solstice — the darkest day of the year. And you may well be feeling the depth and loneliness of that darkness in ways that are challenging your belief in yourself, your organization, and your future.
Today, we want to encourage you to persevere.
We want to encourage you to show your organization, your team, and yourself what you stand for. There are times when we all find ourselves in prolonged periods of darkness. If you think back, you can probably remember times when things felt hopeless or pointless. When you felt at a loss about what to do next.
We want you to persevere because change is coming — it’s already happening. Sometimes change happens without us realizing it. Tomorrow, there will be 4 more seconds of daylight. The difference will be so subtle that you likely won’t notice. In two weeks we’ll have 9 more minutes and in a month we’ll have 38 more.
You see, the light returns, even if we don’t see it right away. Vaccines are being delivered to the most vulnerable. We continue to adapt how we run our businesses and how we serve others. Opportunities have not gone away, but we have to look for them differently. And sometimes the changes are subtle.
Navigating through these periods requires that we draw on strength we may not be sure we have. They require us to make decisions with implications beyond anything we have done before. They demand that we step fully into our role as leaders, even when we don’t feel confident.
During this time, we want you to know that you are not alone. If you’re finding yourself in the darkness and doubting whether that’s going to change, don’t stay there alone.
Reach out to any of us at any time with a note, a text, or a call.
There’s no charge for this.
We’re here for you.
We’re here with you.
Team Rhapsody
Rob Dale
613-706-2719
Eric Deschamps
613-763-7975
Catherine Fair
613-850-2322
Trefor Munn-Venn
613-894-4670
Steve Osmond
403-515-5536
