Leaders, It’s Time to Lead

Source: Adobe Stock

We’re weary. Now 18 months into our pandemic plans, we’re still tediously tracking FFCRA leave, monitoring exposures, and implementing widely-varying regional public health mandates. I’ve had many colleagues refer to this year as “Groundhog Day.” At Maps Credit Union, we planned all year for a return to in-person work on Sept. 7 – the day after Labor Day. It seemed so far away, yet so fitting for the end of summer, that it felt like an exciting countdown to normalcy – kind of like “back to school” for adults.  Once again, we’d be enjoying shoulder-to-shoulder all-staff meetings, seeing one another in the boardroom, walking downtown for lunch, and leaning into each other’s doorways with stories and ideas to share.

Then came Delta. The variant has ravaged Oregon, and our health care providers and facilities are near a tipping point. Our very own local hospital has a refrigerated truck on standby. We’re still mostly remote and, once again, riding out the tragic tidal wave of infection and death in our beloved community while watching the statistics move in the wrong direction.