3 Lessons in Leadership I’ve Learned from COVID-19
One disease wreaking havoc across the world has caused unnecessary stress and a countless amount of cancellations. In times like this it is extremely difficult to stay positive. Everyone is asking themselves what good could possibly come of this? Businesses are closing shop, programs are getting cancelled, our economy is a mess, and students, including myself, have been sent home from school for an indefinite amount of time.
We have all been advised to stay home and only leave our houses when it is absolutely necessary. We are essentially in a standstill. Notice how I used the word “we.”
It is important during these unfortunate times to remember that we are all going through this, trying our best to adjust to unforeseen circumstances. Situations like these are the ones that bring us all together and teach us the best kind of life lessons. We need to stay positive and seize this unique opportunity to learn lessons we never could have before.
Personally, as a sophomore in college, I did not want to spend the second half of my spring semester watching my professors teach classes on my computer screen. However, I recognize that each of us is learning something from this change and college students like myself need to take these lessons and run with them instead of dwelling on the fact that they aren’t at school anymore. We have the chance to learn things nobody else did at our age and I’m grateful to recognize this.
Here are 3 leadership lessons I have learned from the rest of my spring semester being moved online.
The best leaders are able to adapt to any situation.
Always be persistent when looking for solutions to any problem.
Retrospection is important in developing yourself.
In the past weeks, we have all had to adapt to this new situation. Moving everything we once did in person to an online format is not easy. When it comes to online classes, different types of learners have different opinions and abilities. Some people need someone to explain something to them in person so they can ask questions and be shown examples on the spot. This is something that was not seen as possible months ago, but now we got the hang of it.
My professors have taught me how to adapt to different situations by transitioning all of their material online in different ways. Each teacher does things their own way and students have learned how to organize themselves to be able to complete all tasks online in a timely fashion. In the business world, it is important to be able to accommodate to the needs of customers, bosses, employees, and coworkers. In this situation, both teachers and students are proving they are capable of doing this is so many ways.
Persistence has also become something I’ve learned to embody recently. I have been in search for an internship opportunity for this summer for a while now and was finally starting to explore a few things when we were all sent home. My first instinct was to think that interviews would be cancelled along with many of the internship programs in their entirety. I learned quickly that there are possible solutions to almost anything you encounter. Interviews have been moved online or made into phone calls, and many companies have created online internship opportunities. Although I am still not 100% sure how I will be spending my summer, or how any of us will for that matter, I have hope that I’ll be able to figure something out despite the current circumstances.
Lastly, spending a lot of time by myself lately has gotten me thinking. At times, thinking too much can be a bad thing, however, I have found that retrospection has been extremely beneficial to me. Through thinking about the person I used to be back in high school I have realized how much I have grown. Even thinking about who I was back before I left school almost a month ago I’ve noticed a change. This quarantine and social distancing time has given me the opportunity to recognize that I am proud of who I am and the person I see myself becoming. I feel like many leaders only think about the future and this is where they go wrong. You can’t expect yourself to change or mature unless you think about how you’ve already done so and you can’t set accurate goals for yourself without recognizing how you’ve achieved ones you’ve set in the past. I have become a better person thanks to this whole situation and everything I have learned will significantly contribute to the leader I become.
So instead of sitting in our houses and sulking in negative energy, let’s take this time to develop ourselves into the best leaders we can be. I encourage you all to have a positive outlook in which you recognize the many valuable leadership lessons you’re getting that you would not have learned before. There is something good that can come of this after all.