Living & Leading during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The year 2020 started pretty much as the previous did: filled with hopes, resolutions, dreams, and learnings.  The world climbed the January hill, celebrated love and friendship in February, and went crazy in March.  The networks focused on a new threat globally, and all of us started to get familiar with, until then, unknown or seldom-used terms and protocols.  Our conversations increasingly included references to COVID-19, social distancing, pandemic, masks, tests, isolation, PCR, quarantine, and lock-down.  Not much later, most of our certitudes vanished. What we thought was just a ‘flu,’ a ‘cold’ or a ‘common virus,’ redefined several aspects of our lives, individually and collectively.   As I write, we still don’t know where, how, or when will this redefinition will be over, if ever.

Never before had we been so isolated and distanced, and so interconnected and interdependent at the same time.  All those little things we took for granted, like commuting to the office, having our children go to school, visiting family and friends, playing sports, going to the theater or the movies, having a coffee with friends, or just traveling, became memories or aspirations.  Technology saved the day but ushered a new reality for which we are still trying to adjust.

In this context, on 15 April 2020, just a couple of weeks after my office in Nigeria had closed to all but a few ‘essential’ staff, the “Good Morning Naija” daily mail initiative came about.  Since most of us were working from home, it was a way to keep ourselves “connected, informed, and in good spirits.” 

As the days grew into weeks, I shared the “Good Morning Naija” with the broader international humanitarian community. The mail became a weekly staple, addressing leadership and management topics, promoting personal and professional development, reaching colleagues and their families.

Several of the ‘Good Morning Naija’ (GMN) recipients have encouraged me to share these thoughts and links more widely.  They claim the GMN has helped them cope with the challenges we are all facing and some even assert the messages have supported their personal and professional growth. 

I have humbly accepted their encouragement, and I am gladly sharing with you these writings.  They will continue to be somewhat local, insofar as they have a specific public in mind -the international community in Nigeria- but the topics, the links, and the tips are – I hope – global and relevant to people from all walks of life, scattered all around the globe.

Thank you for reading and, please, let me know what do you think.  Do also share your tips; comment and opine as you deem appropriate.  I will be honored to walk alongside you through this blog, unveiling together a better version of ourselves.

Happy 2021!!!