January doesn’t always arrive gently.
Sometimes it comes quietly, heavy with things you didn’t plan for and asks you to lead, care and keep going anyway. Earlier this month, my Mum began a 6 week radiotherapy and chemotherapy. 17 months down the road post surgery and radiotherapy already for both lung and breast cancer and she keeps fighting. I spent her first week with her as she started treatment, and she is now in week three taking things day by day, like so many others on a cancer journey. Those bright yellow doors at St Luke’s Radiation Oncology in St. James hospital stay with me. They are not doors I walk through -they are the doors my Mum and so many others of all ages walk through. My role is to support, to wait, and to listen.
During week 1, I stayed with Mum inOakland Lodge, a home from home for patients who need to stay close to treatment due to distance. It is a calm, comforting space, but what makes it truly special is the people.
At those doors, status disappears.
No one asks what you do. The questions are simple: Where are you from? How is your treatment going? How are you feeling? Then active listening is found….
And then the stories come.
Not just stories of illness, but shared wisdom -conversations about treatment types, side effects, what helps, what doesn’t, and the quiet tips people learn along the way. Alongside this are stories of loved ones lost, friendships formed quickly, tears, tenderness, vulnerability and moments of unexpected humour. This week stopped me in my tracks….
Different lives. Different paths. One shared journey.
January has also brought grief closer in other ways. We lost my uncle, and a close friend of mine has just lost her mum. It has been a heavy start to the year. My energy has been lower than usual, my emotions more tested, and I’ve had to dig deep into everything I know and teach about emotional intelligence. My self awareness has being tested along with self regulation and relationship skills. This has reminded me of something essential for leadership and work:
Grief doesn’t stay at home when people come to work.
It shows up quietly in fatigue, in distraction, in sensitivity, in someone “coping” rather than thriving. And yet, in many workplaces, we still expect business as usual. Leadership in these moments is not about fixing or pushing through. It’s about presence. Permission. Compassion and Empathy and Emotional Intelligence…
Sometimes the most impactful leadership behaviour is slowing things down, asking a genuine question, and creating space for the human behind the role and creating the space to really listen and not rush. Ease not urgency is the greatest gift you can give someone…
As I reflect on this month, I’m reminded why I care so deeply about the work I do. Humans and emotions are extraordinary. When we allow space for both, people don’t weaken they steady.
Leadership begins when we make room for what is real.
What doors might the people you work with be walking through right now? How are you showing up…..
#EmpathyInAction #Leadership #HumanFirst #EmotionalIntelligence #JanuaryReflections