The COVID-19 Split Screen
For a moment, 2020 seemed to reach an optimistic finale with the advent of the world’s fastest developed vaccines, new appreciation for integrated work-life solutions, and the glimpse of a new era of global cooperation. As the year concludes, the world has watched governments secure Coronavirus vaccines and negotiate new aid packages. They have relaxed restrictions on public gatherings, and announced plans to vaccinate half their population. But just as vaccines begin to offer hope for a path out of the pandemic, rising numbers, the onset of winter, and a potential new variant of the coronavirus have led to some of the most stringent lockdowns since March and a snapback to reality.
Although hopeful news is on the horizon, the next chapter of the COVID-19 pandemic may be the most difficult for leaders to navigate, and will require even more wisdom to lead through than the prior nine months. Employees and consumers alike will watch their vulnerable and front-line loved ones receive a vaccine that represents the best of science, innovation, and public-private partnership, while simultaneously witnessing the highest daily death toll, brought on by the worst of government dysfunction, public ambivalence, and the unpredictable nature of viruses. Individuals will need help navigating the dual messages of hope and dismay, and will need inspiring leadership to stay the course in lockdowns and remote work that will likely drag on for several more months. Business leaders will have to make decisions about whether they will require vaccines to return to work, requirements for workers who have moved away from an office during the pandemic, what restrictions to put on company travel and events, and even mask policies for employees who have been vaccinated (or claim to be) and how this interacts with medical privacy regulations. The final chapter of the pandemic may be the most fraught yet, but also an opportunity for leaders to set a new tone for their post-pandemic agendas based in balancing both the brightest opportunities and the most challenging personal realities.
