LJN’s Weekly Rambles

Each week, we will take a walk in the woods together to explore themes around transition. What’s coming to an end, what new beginnings are possible, and how do we navigate all the uncertainty in between? I’ll be drawing on history, poets, leaders in organizational development and change management, my own experiences, and those of my friends and colleagues, to guide our conversations. I hope you’ll join me.

end of year team building, team coaching, healing my team after 2020, setting an intention for 2021, healing from 2020, how to celebrate the end of 2020, how can I make sure 2021 is better than 2020, how to mark the end of a difficult year, how do I acknowledge that 2020 is ending Lorna Jane Norris end of year team building, team coaching, healing my team after 2020, setting an intention for 2021, healing from 2020, how to celebrate the end of 2020, how can I make sure 2021 is better than 2020, how to mark the end of a difficult year, how do I acknowledge that 2020 is ending Lorna Jane Norris

Exhaling 2020

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In 29 days, it will be 2021. Insert your own exclamation here. Feel free to shout it out, no-one will hear you. Throw in an expletive or two if it helps. Or perhaps you just need to exhale for the next 29 days. This year more than ever, it’s feels important to mark the turn of the year in an intentional and meaningful way.

I was listening to behavioral economist and Harvard Business School faculty member Michael Norton talk before the thanksgiving holiday about the significance of engaging in rituals. In 2020, many of our normal rituals have been disrupted; weddings, funerals, holiday traditions, graduations, vacations, end of year staff potlucks, and the list goes on.  Jordan stressed that rituals restore our sense of control, and remind us that we can, and will get through this. They calm and regulate us while creating and strengthening bonds. In a year with so much actual and ambiguous loss, our inability to perform and participate in these rituals has compounded a profound sense of sadness and detachment.

In reality, January 1st is just another day, one out of 365. At some point, humans made the decision to attribute significance to that day, and for good reason. For me, it’s something to do with clearing the ground; discarding residue that I don’t want to carry over. This reflective self-inventory helps to set the stage for what I want to achieve personally and professionally in the new year.  

William Bridges, author of Transitions states that ‘Every new beginning starts with an ending’. In other words, ritualizing, celebrating, and marking endings are a pre-requisite for successful beginnings. You might remember from an earlier blog that part of building resiliency is our ability to be adaptable, and to give us credit, we’ve done a pretty admirable job of reinventing our usual rituals to make the best of a crappy situation. The lesson here is, don’t let the lack of your usual way of doing things stop you from doing anything at all. I am sure the ball will drop in an empty Times Square.

A special shout out to leaders and managers who have supported teams during a period of crisis, (and remotely!). If an end of year collective ritual would be beneficial for your team, I have created a coaching offering called E.X.H.A.L.E. designed to reflect on people’s individual and shared experience during a challenging 2020, and to use those experiences to strengthen and energize the team for 2021. The framework of this offering would be helpful for individuals and non-work groups too, so check it out.

Poet T.S. Elliot said, ‘The end is where we start from’. So, how are you going to mark the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021? Think about it. Talk with your family, friends and colleagues.

Reflect. Acknowledge. Honor. Celebrate. Clear the Ground. Exhale.

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