My "wow that was a year" post.
And just like that, I’m finished with meetings for 2020. I probably had close to 1500 meetings in this insane year. Looking back I realized that each quarter of my year was completely distinct from the one before, contributing to the feeling of it being much longer than the usual trip around the sun.
Q1 was full of hope and travel. I started on my usual rounds of visiting the 8th Light offices, spending time in NY, LA, Madison and Austin in addition to my Chicago home base, and had planned to go to London in March. We all know that didn’t happen. I got in an amazing adventure trip with my husband celebrating my 50th birthday. I delivered the project I’m most proud of in my career, rethinking career advancement systems in a way that encourages inclusion and recognizes emotional intelligence on par with technical prowess.
On March 13 everything changed. You all were there. You know what happened.
Q2 turned to fear and anxiety. And cliches. And “the new normal”. I spent weeks revising plans for the company based on what might happen if we lost more business, if we stayed steady, if we got PPP, if this ended quickly… I was a part of some brutally painful decisions and discussions. I cried a lot. I listened a lot. I drank a lot. I wore out shoes walking so much. I tried to bring people together. I became even more aware of all I have and all the inequities of our world and how my privilege has driven my trajectory. I learned. I acted. I wallowed and tried to escape reality until I realized I had to control what I could control. I got physically healthy and started repairing my mental health as well.
Which led to Q3, when the thoughts that had been kicking around my head even pre-pandemic coalesced into a plan to return to the work I’d done a few years earlier, leaving the job that had some of my happiest times and highest highs to restart my own consultancy. I started rebuilding and transitioning and looking forward. Leaving people you love who you haven’t seen in months is hard and strange, but it’s no different to set up a zoom catch up with someone you used to work with than someone you still work with. Leaving was bittersweet. I got so much out of my time at 8th Light, and hope I gave as much as I took. But I'm so energized and excited about being back on my own.
Q4 has been so much fun professionally. The world is still a terrifying place. But I’ve met so many wonderful people and learned so much about myself, about running a business, about possibility. I’m working with both new and old clients on interesting challenges. And I’ll have exciting new developments to share next month as I start a new business with new offerings. If you want to talk about all things new, or challenges that you continue to deal with, book time with me here.
Happy holidays from all of us in the home office. I wish you health, safety and whatever brings you joy and comfort these days.