I wrote this on September 16, 2021

“When we share stories from our lives, we begin to open ourselves to others and perhaps nowhere are others more willing to come close enough to hear them than when they are being told a story.”

— (Shabatay, 1991, p. 150)

Fifteen years ago today, my younger brother died suddenly. It’s always a sad day for me as are all the days leading up to it.

I spent today drifting through meetings, forgetting my sadness for a while, then remembering, and going through the cycle again. And by mid-afternoon, I was oh so tired. I was having an “echo day” – my new word for it.

As leaders we don’t know what “echo days” members of our team might be having. However, you can bet that within a large organization, probably every day of the year is an “echo day” for someone.

I plan to talk about this with my class next term. We’re launching a new course, a business option in our HBBA - Loss, Grief and Bereavement in the Workplace. To my knowledge, we are the only business degree anywhere to do this.

The pandemic has brought all of this to every person on the team. Knowing a little more about what that means, can only make our leaders stronger.