Being Strategic

I can trace 2020 through the evolution of this blog.  My first one came out in January, when few had heard of the coronavirus.  My intention was to provide my perspective, from my career and life, to aid others as they navigate the working world, in particular. 

However …. the pandemic hit, and as we all needed to, I had to pivot. Not only did my life experience not lend itself to operating under a pandemic, but so many of our work concerns paled in comparison to the devastation wrought by a lethal, microscopic virus. My desire to have pre-written, evergreen blogs that I could post monthly soon morphed into new thoughts and reactions to our current predicament.    

Now, as we approach the end of this turbulent, politically charged and covid-filled year, I hope to turn back to applying lessons I’ve learned to career and life circumstances that others may experience. 

In thinking through what applies at this juncture of our covid journey, I’ve realized that being consciously strategic in all aspects of our lives can be particularly helpful by providing balance and reducing angst.

We normally employ “strategy” in military, policy or work settings – creating a multidimensional action plan that focuses on accomplishing a large (ex. winning a war; conquering climate change) or tactical (ex. winning a battle; increasing local renewable energy adoption) goal. 

In this time, being “strategic” can be adapted to being as efficient as one can be while also giving oneself a break. In all things. This doesn’t help win a war or conquer a large policy goal, but at a personal level, it allows us to more gently get through this pandemic.

Parenting

I have nothing but admiration for parents with small or older kids who still need help navigating online school or mental anguish.  Those with jobs now have at least double the workload, including having to replace playmates so critical to kids’ social development and overall happiness.  I can only imagine how I would cope in such tough circumstances. Being a single or unemployed parent just compounds the difficulty. 

What I’ve come to realize as a parent is that patience always took me a lot farther than showing anger or impatience.  Kids just don’t react well to anything that rings of disapproval.  Being strategic in this circumstance might mean maintaining as cool a manner as possible (even while seething) to keep your kids calm, happy and on track with their schoolwork or job search.

As kids age, what’s really tough for parents is controlling one’s own anxiety about our kids’ school work, grades and/or career trajectory.  While our instinct is to speak up and insert ourselves, the strategic approach is to let them go about their business, but be supportive and encouraging, and only offer assistance if asked.  This is TOUGH, especially for pushy folks like me.  

What may help most for those with kids entering the workforce — and key to maintaining good relationships — is projecting confidence onto our kids that they WILL be successful.  What they need most is reassurance that their efforts will result in finding a job, a place to live, and/or a temporary love or life partner.  I know I will need to be reminded of this in the coming year as my oldest graduates college and looks for a job, even as unemployment is at an all-time high.    

Work

So often my advice in this realm starts with stopping by someone’s office or having coffee with a colleague to get another perspective on the issues you may be facing at work.  That, and the informal interactions so valuable in navigating the work world, are all out the window at the moment. 

When working in government for so long, I tried to consciously prioritize spending time and mental energy on things that actually mattered and were worth taxpayers’ dollars. This may have involved communicating with stakeholders, analyzing data and information, tracking budget expenditures, working with colleagues to create a tactical and strategic plan, and preparing decision memos or briefing slides that could lead to real change. Getting those right was worth deep effort. 

An example of what wasn’t worth taxpayers’ dollars: when I worked on budget formulation, the ridiculous changes in format directed by someone at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the middle of the process.  The changes made no material difference to the few that actually read the budget, but spun up thousands of folks across the government. This was neither strategic nor a good use of precious resources, especially for the agency responsible for management and budget! I actually once had the occasion to tell the head of OMB this …

Many are complaining that having zoom meetings all day is exhausting.  I’m unsure why everything needs to be on video.  At the Department of Energy, we normally worked with national labs all over the country and in different time zones.  We just got used to working with others via phone calls and email, and very rarely used video connections.  Years could go by before I met in person colleagues that I worked with regularly.  We rarely sweated the lack of in person interaction.  I caution my friends not to feel that everything needs to be done via zoom or google teams.  Just pick up the phone instead. 

For those with a performance plan with specific elements, it’s worth making sure that progress is being made on all elements, and not concentrating on only one.  This will help when it comes time for performance reviews, which lead to bonuses and promotions.  This is obvious, but I had to include it.

Home Life and Leisure

Being strategic about balancing work and home responsibilities helps to navigate this time when we can’t really look forward to travel or celebrations. More than ever, we have to be conscious about injecting joy into our days.  Doing something enjoyable and restorative is more important to one’s mental health than dusting another shelf.  Taking a walk or watching a show on Netflix should not give anyone guilt.  Go for it!

If asked to do something for your kid’s school, volunteer organization or religious institution, take a minute to assess whether this is how you want to spend your time.  Feeling obligated is not enough of a reason to take it on.   

Friends/Relatives

This is tricky.  It’s okay to take a break if that’s what you need.  I personally have really valued reaching out to others in this time.  However, some are just overloaded and don’t have any more time or energy for those outside of their work and home bubble.  I get that. 

However ….  I think women, in particular, too often sacrifice time with girlfriends because they are so focused on work and family obligations.  My experience is that time with girlfriends brings a disproportionate amount of joy.  This investment becomes even more rewarding as one enters empty nest and retirement years.  I was lucky to travel to visit several friends around the world in the year before covid hit.  I can’t tell you how meaningful it has been to re-ignite long-standing relationships with people I adore but may not get to see much.  Prioritizing my nearby friends – through a weekly zoom happy hour, a phone call and/or walks – has been incredibly energizing. Regardless of covid, this investment is crucial to long-term happiness.

Goodbye 2020!

I don’t know anyone who will be sad to see 2020 turn to 2021.  We can all bid adieu to the most deadly, debilitating and divisive year of most of our lives.  But, as in all previous national or global traumas, there are things we can celebrate that could have long-lasting, positive impacts.    

This is what I’m celebrating:

What are you celebrating?  Are you consciously being more strategic about an area of your life?

Wishing you much health, happiness and opportunity as we enter 2021.  Happy Holidays!  And stay safe in our covid winter!

What has inspired me this month: 

A Vanity Fair interview with Barack Obama, who brings a helpful and humane perspective from his career and life. A nice, quick interview, which may also help to decide whether to read his very long book. 

I’m a big fan of StoryCorps and its app.  StoryCorps helps common folks capture wonderful and enduring conversations (and importantly, their voices) with close relatives or friends, and then stores them in the Library of Congress.  My kids conducted StoryCorps interviews with each of my parents.  Hear part of a StoryCorps interview that Anthony Fauci did with his wife.