Everyday Heroes: A Positive Trend Emerging During COVID-19

This is a time of uncertainty and stress, and yet there are some silver linings. I like to focus on the positive, so one positive thing I’ve observed during COVID-19 is the everyday heroes who are emerging into the spotlight.

There are so many people providing essential services. These jobs are not necessarily the most glamorous, most celebrated, or most recognized. But during these times, the people who keep showing up to help make sure the rest of us have what we need are remarkable. I appreciate and admire their determination and resilience in the face of this pandemic.

They are the everyday heroes among us.

In this series on Emerging Trends for Social Connection (in a pandemic), I’ll explore four trends:

1. Connecting and Re-connecting with Neighbours
2. Caremongering
3. Everyday heroes
4. Virtual Connections

Who are the Everyday Heroes?

During these times, we have new heroes. They are the regular, everyday people, who are just doing their jobs, and are suddenly thrust into the limelight. I want to highlight some individuals in leadership roles, in government and public health, as examples and role models of everyday leadership and everyday heroes.

Hero #1: Dr. Bonnie Henry

For those of us in British Columbia, our new hero is Dr. Bonnie Henry. She is the Provincial Health Officer for B.C., and has demonstrated remarkable empathy while taking decisive, measured actions to protect public health against the spread of COVID-19.

We are very fortunate as she has worked through a number of global health crises including SARS, the Ebola crisis, the opioid crisis, and now is leading our local response to this COVID-19 pandemic. Her previous experiences and her education make her an extremely qualified everyday hero for British Columbians.

During daily press briefings, she provides updated numbers for BC and answers the media’s questions on a wide-ranging series of topics.  The questions and answers range from:

• clarifying that the public health officer orders are enforceable by law,
• describing how she and her team are working with the First Nations in BC,
• addressing the outbreaks we’ve experienced in elderly care facilities,
• talking about groups at risk and what is being done to protect them,
• answering questions from children who are wondering how they can celebrate their birthdays in a socially distant way,
• and, continuing to talk about the opioid crisis.

She also has a truly human leadership style. For instance, it was early days of the pandemic response in British Columbia. During one of her press briefings in March, Dr. Henry’s voice was wavering and she cried when talking about the impact this virus is having on seniors in elderly care facilities. When a reporter asked her about it, he commented that it was a very human moment. Dr. Henry responded that she was feeling for the families that were dealing with this and that she was also a little tired. Her empathy and authenticity are very relatable.

Celebrating Dr. Henry

Now Dr. Bonnie Henry is a name and face that almost everybody in BC recognizes. In fact, a local artist has recently created an awesome portrait of Dr. Henry. She is a local celebrity.

She has also become a bit of a fashion icon. During her daily press briefings, she sometimes wears her own John Fluevog shoes. For those of you who have not heard of him, John Fluevog is a local handmade shoe designer whose shoes have a very distinctive look and feel. In response to her popularity, John Fluevog got inspired to create a tribute shoe for Dr. Henry with proceeds being donated to the local food bank.  When these limited edition shoes went on sale, there was so much interest that the Fluevog website crashed. As you can imagine, the shoes sold out very quickly. And when some customers who wanted to purchase shoes were unable to, they made a donation to the local Food Bank in a lovely act of caremongering, paying their good fortune forward to those who may need help.

Hero #2: Adrian Dix

Adrian Dix, is an elected government official and the Minister of Health in BC. He and Dr. Henry collaboratively deal with the daily press briefings. While he is a career politician, I appreciate the fact that he does not try to answer questions about public health that are better answered by a doctor with medical knowledge. Likewise, Dr. Henry does not try to answer questions about policies or programs that the government is instituting. They work together and respect each other’s areas of expertise.

Hero #3: Dr. Amy Acton

In the United States, public health officials are also stepping into the spotlight. The New York Times put together this great story about Dr. Amy Acton from the Ohio Health Department.  She has gained popularity because of her leadership style, her authenticity, and her way of making the information she is communicating very accessible to the people of Ohio. In fact, the story in the New York Times analyzes what exactly is so effective about how she communicates.

Hero #4: Gov. Andrew Cuomo

In New York, it’s Governor Andrew Cuomo who is an everyday hero. He has distinguished himself through his no-nonsense, straight-talking approach. While Gov. Cuomo’s leadership style may not have worked well in every situation, in this pandemic, he stands out. He talks straight to New Yorkers. He doesn’t mince words.

Equally important, he does not tell New Yorkers what they want to hear, but he does tell them what they need to hear.

And he keeps it human. His interviews with his brother, Chris Cuomo, include a bit of brotherly banter and this helps to make him extremely relatable.

Hero #5: Jacinda Arden

Another hero thrust once again into the international spotlight is Jacinda Arden. We first heard about her when she became only the second sitting world leader to give birth while in office. She commanded the media’s attention again when she brought her infant daughter to the UN assembly. Then we heard about her when the world praised her decisive leadership in the wake of the mass shooting at ChristChurch mosque on March 18. By March 20, she had banned all military-style semi-automatic guns and assault rifles in New Zealand. Recently, there have been a number of articles praising her leadership style and approach during this COVID-19 pandemic, some speculating she may be the most effective leader on the planet.

She has effectively led New Zealanders through crisis after crisis with an authentic, empathetic and straight talking style. Articles have appeared that celebrate the fact that she appears on media briefings or calls with New Zealanders as a real person, wearing a sweatshirt, with little to no make-up.

I love that leadership characteristics, that are predominantly associated with a female style, are being recognized and celebrated during this time.

Everyday Heroes: Essential Workers

And then, of course, there are the stories from the front-lines, many coming from China, Italy, Spain and New York where the pace and spread of the virus has caused intense pressures on the healthcare systems, workers, and governments. Doctors and nurses and other emergency workers are sharing their experiences of caring for affected individuals, providing a compassionate and empathetic environment when family members are unable to be with their loved ones, and continuing to show up, day after day, to serve others. Their commitment to honour their call to serve is steadfast, even as they take on increased risks to their own health and safety.

And there are all the other essential workers – the grocery store clerks, the cleaning staff, the construction workers, the public transit drivers, the personal support workers, the migrant farm workers, the truck drivers, the railway workers – who continue to go to work to keep our society functioning and in doing so take on increased risk to their own personal health and safety.

These everyday heroes are remarkable.

#thankyou

#thankyou

It cannot be said often enough.

There is no way to do justice to all of the everyday heroes. But I hope in some small way, these reflections encourage you to think about who your everyday heroes are and to recognize the value of your personal leadership style because you never know when you might be thrust into the limelight.

Who are your everyday heroes? Is there someone in government or public health that this pandemic is bringing into the limelight?

Please share your stories of everyday heroes in the comments section below.

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Photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash