An Introduction to a Special Series on the Game of Teams Podcast - A Panel Format to Support Teams Through Covid-19

Introduction: Covid-19 struck like a thunderbolt and has thrown the world upside down. Many are still reeling as we grapple to right side for a new order. All of us have been forced to wake to a new reality, to pause and immediately assume a virtual reality for most of the population. Teams have been beset too. I noticed my immediate reaction was to want to support. I got into a frenetic productivity race with myself to convert my programs to be available online, to support teams think and be virtually minded, to reach out to my many clients to offer help. I was simultaneously feeling the underbelly of anxiety of worry. Would my small business survive? I only stopped when I read a very compelling article in the Chronicle of Higher Education written by Aisha Ahmed, an assistant professor at Toronto University. On reading I exhaled. I realised I too has succumbed to a maladaptive response of delusion and denial to the enormous change I was battling. I stopped my frenetic productivity goals and stepped back. Instead I chose to do something I knew I could and decided to put out a series of podcasts dedicated to teams going through this unimaginable period of change.

Podcast episode summary: This introduction episode is my introduction to a special series of podcasts for a limited period to support teams through Covid-19. I intend to interview 18 guests I have already interviewed on the Game of Teams Podcast but this time they will gather in a panel format. I will host 6 conversations to be published over six weeks starting on the 1st of May. I will interview 3 guests to comprise my panel. I intend to follow the schema introduced to me by Aisha in her article. The six episodes will be chunked down into 3 segments.

1. EP1 will speak to our current situation and the challenges teams are facing through Covid-19. I intend to interview Dr Krister Lowe, Dr Melissa Hughes and Alexander Caillet as my guests for this episode.
2. EP2 will speak to the emotional overwhelm & communication issues we as humans have and continue to experience by virtue of Covid-19 and what this means for teams. In this episode I will interview Dan Newby, Dr Paul Lawrence and Sue McDonnell
3. EP3: This episode will discuss the mental models or mindsets teams need to adopt to thrive. I will interview Fin Gould, Dr Sari Van Poelje and Jennifer Britton.
4. EP4: As we shift to accept our new normal what are some of the Leadership challenges this crisis poses and how can adapt or practice for difference? I will interview Dr Ruth Wageman, Dr Simon Western and Connor Brennan
5. EP5 will consider how we begin to embrace our new condition. What does this mean for teams and Leaders? How will business respond? In this episode I will talk to John Baldoni, Richard Boston and John McCusker
6. EP6: Bringing it all together. What is the one team response? How do we embrace our new normal? What is the opportunity exactly and how can teams move forward?

Points made through the episode:

• It is normal to feel so discombobulated. This is a seismic shift.
• We are moving on the change curve of a magnitude many of us have never experienced.
• Aisha Ashmad helped me stop and catch myself succumbing to the seduction of productivity as an antidote to denial and delusion.
• We are going to go through 3 stages which requires of us to 1. Find Security, 2. Find new mental models and 3. Embrace the opportunity for creativity & innovation that this change provides
• The six panel interviews are my offer to the world vis a vie teams and Covid-19

Resources: the following include the resources I alluded to in this episode.

1. "Why you should ignore all that Coronavirus inspired productivity pressure" Aisha Ahmad, Associate Professor Toronto University -The Chronicle of Higher Education March 27th 2020