We Can Do Hard Things

My brother died from COVID the week of Christmas, after four weeks in ICU. (For those of you reading this who’ve also lost someone to COVID, I hope you’re finding comfort in whatever form it takes for you.) When he was first hospitalized, one of my peers Direct Messaged me, “I’m so sorry to hear about your brother. Here are some things I can do to help so you can take care of yourself and your family: proxy your meetings, take on tactical work, listen without judgement, do research on COVID if you have questions...” Feel free to steal this approach anytime someone’s in crisis. What a beautiful gift to offer another person — the chance to be seen and feel supported in very concrete ways. During some recent Coping as a Community sessions at Robinhood, I shared how strange it is to lose someone and have the whole world incessantly talking about it. How it makes the grief less lonely but also less clean and contained. If you have employees out there right now with sick or lost loved ones, send the traditional card and flowers or an Uber Eats card to make life easier, even if just for one meal. Ask how they’re doing and mean it. All grief is unique. All loss is intensely personal and often awkward, but we can do hard things. We can show up. We can help a grieving world to heal.

#leadership