Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash
At the time of writing, one of my best friends (we’ll call her Svetlana) has had the ‘Rona for ten days. For those ten days she’s had a fever over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and no taste or smell. Although she is vaccinated, her immune system is compromised and having a hard time fighting off the virus. Sveltana has a neurological disorder that, according to her doctor, makes her “one of the most healthy looking, very sick people he knows.” By looking at her you wouldn’t know she has an incurable disease, but she does.
The “problem” is that Svetlana can’t take prescription medication for the ‘Rona because she’s participating in a long-term, clinical trial for her neurological disorder. The clinical trial guidelines are very specific that she is not allowed to take any other prescription medication like what would be recommended for the ‘Rona. She and her family, along with her doctors, have made the difficult decision to forego drugs that could help her feel better now in order to stay a participant in the clinical trial.
Svetlana has told me she’ll do everything she can to stay in the clinical trial because it could provide a long-term solution to her neurological issues. The ‘Rona is theoretically temporary. Svetlana’s disorder is not.
This is a life lesson for us leaders: what might seem like the best choice in the immediate moment might not be the best choice long term, although hopefully not with the potential life-or-death implications that Svetlana has. This is hard for me to remember, what about you?
Questions to ponder:
Am I making choices that will ease my discomfort now, to the downfall of my long term goals?
How do I communicate well to my team that the current inconvenience, discomfort, or sacrifices today will lead to a more fruitful outcome in six months or a year?
Stay curious friends!
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