Inspiring Hope During Uncertain Times

Seven years ago, on a business trip to South Africa, I had the opportunity to visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned by the country’s apartheid regime for nearly 20 of his 27-year sentence. The desolate and windswept island is separated from Cape Town, one of the world’s most beautiful and vibrant cities, by a few miles of the most choppy and shark-infested waters on the planet. The prison itself, hand-carved out of solid rock by its inmates, lacks proper windows, air conditioning, modern plumbing and insulation. Suffice to say, it’s a pretty depressing place to pass a couple of decades.

That’s part of what made Mandela such an incredible figure. From this low place, he cast his big vision for the future of his people. Out of such circumstances, he wrote inspiring words about hope, endurance, tenacity and what it takes to be truly great. One of his quotes has been on my mind recently … “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”

With COVID-19 cases on the rise again and our teams still exhausted and fearful from the past nine months, it can be pretty tempting to give into fear. You may be thinking of pulling back from your plans and simply play it safe.

“Courage is not the absence of fear – it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.” – Nelson Mandela

Those of us who work in senior care are in the business of courage and hope. We believe people deserve great quality of life and care, whether they’re recovering from illness or injury, needing extra support, dealing with a serious illness or stepping into the final stages of life. And, we believe families deserve help and support in navigating it all.

COVID-19 has not changed the underlying trends or social changes that will impact senior care for decades to come. In fact, as our research shows, it’s accelerated interest in telehealth, home-based care options and more orchestrated communications with families. And, COVID hasn’t changed our commitments to our teams, our communities or the people in our care. We have to be ready to meet the opportunities and challenges on the other side of this. We have to use this time to innovate, dream, inspire and plan.

For inspiration on how to handle this season, I look back to Mandela. His imprisonment was the winter before his spring. The apartheid regime meant to cut him down in his prime and kill the movement he represented. But, because he didn’t stop, his cause survived. Instead of hibernating, he used the time to formulate his ideas. And, he partnered with trusted advisors to sharpen, refine and build the details of his vision. When he was released, he sprang forward and set to work implementing the vision he and his partners had crafted, forever changing his country in the process.

Mandela’s actions remind me of the inspirational words of another writer, these from Galatians 6:9, “Let us not get tired of doing good work, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.”

At Transcend, we’re inspired by innovative leaders like Nelson Mandela and we’re inspired by you. We’ve seen you form bold new partnerships, embrace new solutions and technologies, lean into conversations around equity and inclusion, and relentlessly support your teams through it all. In fact, inspired by your openness, we’ve used this season to innovate and incubate new solutions. We’ve brought new research, technologies, solutions and insights to the market. I’ve been blown away by the ideas my colleagues have come up with in the past year to help you solve challenges and seize opportunities. Expect us to do more of the same in 2021 and beyond. Thanks for being with us on this journey.

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” – Nelson Mandela