2020, what a year!
The beginning of a new decade and not one we’ll forget anytime soon. Less happened in Y2K and we were much better prepared for that one! For a lot of us, we are excited to see 2020 in the rear-view mirror getting smaller and smaller as we drive off into a beautiful summer sunset and 2021.
Despite its flaws, 2020 has offered us a unique opportunity to truly reflect and count our blessings. From personal reflections to business learnings, here are a few good things we will be taking from the year that was – and leaving the rest behind!
On a business level, we have learnt a lot! From the need for digital facilitation to navigating working from home as a team, we have continuously showed up for clients and each other and pushed through the difficulties. We have been thrown in the deep end one too many times, but what better way to learn?
As a business, here’s a few things that we’ve learnt and come to appreciate.
The importance of a great team: Our team has been invaluable. Solid and supportive and ready to go with the flow at every blockade, we have bonded and come out the other end stronger.
- Working from home: Covid saw our team dispersed and working remotely (as with many), which came with its challenges. However, as a team, we quickly navigated this new way of working and have come to realise the invaluable flexibility it offers. Working from home has been great, but it still can’t replace face to face meetings in the office and our shared lunchtime.
- Diversifying offerings: Product was always on the list of things to do, but we never had time to fully realise this goal, until the pandemic! Slowing down offered us the chance to really work through our product offering and develop online modules that can be accessed by all.
- Being okay in the grey: Change is a good thing, but not always when it’s thrust upon you with no warning. One major learning curve has been getting comfortable being in the grey area. As a business, it was tough to not be able to forecast for the next month, let alone the next six. It was a true test of forcing us to be okay with whatever happens and to be lean and flexible enough to quickly adapt to any new situation or challenge.
As a team, we’ve worked and supported each other tirelessly to ensure we all make it through to the end of the year with a smile on our faces – even if we are exhausted! Going around the team, we asked everyone to pitch in their top takeaways from this year and compiled them into the list below.
- Gratitude: A big one for the entire team! At the beginning of Covid, to keep us accountable and vulnerable, we started (and still do!) 15min morning meetings to discuss how we’re feeling and what we’re grateful for. It was a great practice that reminded us every day of the things we need to be thankful for, and it would really help to turn our mindsets around for the day!
- Patience: Patience is a virtue and we all had to ride out the pandemic wave to get here. We needed to learn patience that everything would be ok. Patience that our team will be back together once more in the office. Also, patience to know that if we keep learning and growing and being proactive, that we will find new and different ways to adjust to the ever-changing times, not just now, but also for the future challenges that await us.
- Living in Australia: One thing we were all incredibly grateful for is living in Australia. Enough said.
- Our health: One thing that has been glaringly obvious for all of us is our health. As a team and individually, we all have made a conscious effort to do more for our physical and mental health during these times. And become more aware of the health of our families and those we come into contact with.
- Saying no is ok: 2020 has brought with it the freedom of knowing that it is ok to not do or try everything. It’s okay to say “no, that’s not for me” and not feel the need to justify or give a reason.
- We are human first! Humans need connection. Whether it comes from the support of our family, team, our clients and partners, it all counts and it is all needed. Human interaction is what keeps us going, and we need to lean more into that humanity and be reminded of it as life starts to change once again.
- Freedom: And not just our physical freedom. We love to be able to succeed based on our ability to think and make things happen, but we learned that it can be taken away quickly through no fault of our own. It is this freedom of ability that was so quickly removed, and it left us feeling grief for what we had lost. And we won’t take it for granted again.
- Crisis turned opportunity: An unexpected mindset shift was in high demand as we learnt to embrace the unknown and reframe the crisis that was the pandemic into an opportunity and viewing said opportunities through a different lens.
There you have it! Corporate Edge’s list of all the things we’ve learnt this year as a business and as individuals. Now, take some time today to reflect on the past year and what positive teachings you are keeping around in 2021 and beyond.
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from 2020 and that you will be carrying with you into the New Year and beyond?
