LEAD YP: Class Day 3 Recap

Cali Franks, Attorney at Bocell Ridley, PC, recaps a unique 2020 LEAD YP Leadership Class Day 3 and discusses how young professionals in the Dallas area are acclimating to their new normal.

Adapt and overcome, two words that have grown in importance during these uncertain times. All around the world, there are instances of human ingenuity adapting and overcoming the current global pandemic. I am fortunate enough to get to see first-hand how young professionals in the Dallas area are adapting, overcoming, and thriving under this present circumstance. The 2020 LEAD YP Leadership Class Day 3 started very differently from our previous meetings. We all walked from our bedroom to our home office, turned on our laptops, and tried to learn how to navigate this newfound technology known as Zoom Conferencing.

For some, Zoom Conferencing and working from home was their normal. For most, this required some adjusting: adjusting to children (or animals) distracting you to teaching your bosses how to do things on the computer we learned at age 5. Despite the circumstances, seeing everyone’s smiling faces through the computer screen gave a sense of normalcy.

We kicked off our virtual class by giving everyone a chance to check-in, to express how they were doing and to discuss both their personal and professional lives in the current situation. Sharing trials, tribulations, and successes with those in the same stage of life as you allowed for some much-needed healing and humor.

After the check-ins, realizations, laughs, and technical glitches were completed, we began reflecting on the Stages of Change: denial, anger, barging, despair, and acceptance. A class poll indicated that, personally, most were in the barging or acceptance phase of change. We shifted our focus on what stage we believe our boss/company was in; it was interesting to see that most people saw their company in the denial or barging phase.

Once we understood the Stage of Change that each individual and company is going through, we were able to reflect on what we could do right now to change our perspective. We were introduced to VUCA, an aid to show that Volatility can lead to Vision, Uncertainty can lead to Understanding, Complexity can lead to Clarity, and Ambiguity can lead to Agility. We walked through the concept of VUCA and learned how the negativity of the current circumstances could be used to sharpen personal and professional skills. We were able to hear examples throughout members of the class who had completed these perspective changes and how they did so successfully.

Lastly, we ended our discussion tips and tools for use in most people’s new normal- working from home. We discussed what is the same, what is the same with some changes, and what is different. This required some self-reflection and realization as to what your professional values and morals are and your ability to, you guessed it, adapt and overcome.

We clicked the “Leave Meeting” button at the bottom and returned to our new normal. I left the meeting with a new understanding of the emotions I, and those around me, were experiencing. For myself, I ended the video conference knowing that my generation of leaders are primed and ready to adapt, overcome, and thrive in any situation that may come their way.