In the fall 2021, the pressures and impacts of the fourth (Delta) wave of the pandemic are becoming quite visible among my colleagues. The “Great Resignation” is evidence of how many are re-imagining work-life integration possibilities.

One dominant thread I’ve been observing over the last few weeks is swings and misses. In my research data, in my meetings with colleagues, in my emails from my employer – everyone’s trying to address needs and yet what’s being provided so often misses the mark. Likely in part because the systems are designed or maintained by people who are disconnected from those with greatest needs or stresses, with insufficient feedback loops or insufficient incentive to make change.

I like the concept of collaborative leadership as a counterweight to this problem. Granted, it’s a paradigm shift from much of the way the rest of capitalist societies function, and also may not be executive as “collectively” as we might wish.

My former department chair at Hopkins, now Dean, Dr. Ellen MacKenzie, shared the following words in an email to alumni: "Collaborative leadership was essential to facing these [pandemic] challenges. What does it look like? It’s not just one or two people making decisions, but a team of people representing all facets of the School. The deans, chairs, and representatives of the Faculty Senate and Student Assembly met frequently to discuss tough issues that had no clear answers. They, in turn, went back to their own teams to get input and pressure-test possible solutions. We brought all stakeholders together to make shared decisions. We listened to the pros and cons. And in most cases, after everybody weighed in, consensus evolved.”

She went on to make a point that “ it isn’t enough for us to make the hard decisions. We have to share and explain them to our School community via clear and frequent communications.” Messaging is so challenging during these times, not least because it’s hard to get it right for everyone. It’s hard to keep in mind the large variety of systems and

 Another female leader, Dr. Joanne Spetz, head of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, noted that in the pandemic, “it takes more work to maintain a culture that combats loneliness and creates a sense of connectedness and interpersonal ties”. She drew analogies to a section of Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead, where a group facilitator was hearing participants describe deep exhaustion and loneliness; recognizing that though she had no solutions, there was still a need to hear and unpack what was going on. As Joanne said, “Just being able to talk about it, and having somebody say “I hear you” is worth a lot."

I’m noticing that when colleagues speak out to say, “this message is incongruous with my experience, for the following reasons. I wish you had said something like the following…” our leaders make improvements. This is another form of collaborative leadership - where we make efforts to give feedback (and yes, it is an effort, and a gift) - and our leaders use that information to hopefully improve things for the better.

Creating connection, making improvements, in these rapidly-shifting times, where we are navigating decisions about gathering virtually or remotely, is labor.