Appreciating the Rites of Spring

Tonight, the playoffs start for the Oilers. It happens to be on the 37^th anniversary of their first Stanley Cup win in 1984, so that’s a bonus. It’s gotten me thinking, though, about what it’s meant to me over the years.

Growing up in Edmonton in the 80s, you could tell time by the Oilers playoff runs. Starting the second week of April, I always knew, or hoped, that by the time they were finished there would only be a month left of school. Not that I didn’t like school! Consistency and dominance defined them to the point that in my school years 8 times in 12 years they got to at least the Campbell Conference Final, in 6 the Stanley Cup Final, and of course they won it 5 times. The playoff clock was pretty spot on.

For a sports fan, you couldn’t have asked for a better place to be raised in my formative years. By the time I turned 15, my favourite hockey team had won 5 Stanley Cups and my beloved Edmonton Eskimos had won 7 Grey Cups. The Oilers were the spring tradition and come fall, you could plan in September on watching the Green and Gold in the Grey Cup. I was really fortunate and even realized that as a kid. Watching them win, seeing players like #99 in person multiple times over only enhanced my fanaticism.

This post, however, isn’t to wax poetic of Oilers post-seasons past, though trust me I could bore you all with random facts and trivia in my head (heck, I just finished listening to a playlist of old playoff theme songs). I’m writing this about appreciation. Appreciating things that matter to us and how they make us feel.

Thinking about Oilers playoff runs, I’m transported back to being a kid. To times of me organizing Oilers rallies at school, to being 5 feet from Wayne Gretzky at the ’84 Stanley Cup parade, but more to that indescribable feeling of caring about something that mattered so much to me. I wanted to be Andy Moog and these larger than life players had me care so deeply for something I had no control over.

In these times we’re in, I’ve come to realize periodically I’ve lost that ability to appreciate and celebrate. Everything feels so serious and dire, and I’ve let everything get that way. Life doesn’t have to be like that and steal from the joy of being a fan, or whatever excites or inspires you. That isn’t to ignore the serious and dire things in our world, but instead to better leverage those memories or moments of things we cherish to allow us to navigate tough situations.

I love being an Oilers fan, and despite a few down years, that’s been the case in my entire life. I get choked up watching an old highlight or a smile on my face when I look at the overboard number of jerseys I own. Those feelings may not relate to global issues, but are pretty core to who I am. And it’s long overdue that I appreciate them more. This spring seems like a good time to do just that.

 

Oh and…Go Oilers!

Leadership of the Moment

Leadership can be simple, complex, convoluted, and straightforward all at the same time. Often, it’s about that innate ability to sense what a moment needs. It’s about steering a certain direction, or saying key words even when your instincts guide you differently. Blinded by those instincts, two Alberta politicians in the last ten days have highlighted how leaders lose sight of what those they lead need.

The first example comes from Alberta NDP and opposition leader Rachel Notley. After weeks of asking for increased public health restrictions, she responded to ones being put in place with this reaction:

"Albertans, you're frustrated, you're confused, you're angry and you're scared and this announcement should have helped, but I'm afraid it has mostly just created more questions," she said. ¹

 

She also added “The Premier is continuing his pattern of over-promising, and under-delivering, by making false promises and creating false hope – setting up further challenges and disappointments in the weeks to come.” ²

In these challenging times, people aren’t seeking more conflict. They seek calm and a sense that leaders have our backs and are coming together to look ahead. In this moment, what stopped Notley from saying “We support the decisions made by the Premier to help limit the spread of COVID-19 and move Albertans closer to getting through this pandemic.”? This doesn’t rain undue praise on the government. Instead, it strikes an unexpected course of unity the moment demands. It would have demonstrated leadership in understanding what people desire, and superseding her party and self serving political attacks. People won’t have read her comments feeling they're about them, but rather about her.

In response to a constituent on Facebook, Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu took a similar path:

“I agree that the majority of people who contracts (sic) the virus would make full recovery. But in my humble opinion, that is not a reason to not do everything we can to avoid the loss of lives of fellow Albertans if we can. Second – it is also not a reason to wait until we overwhelm our health care system, then create public panic, and see Albertans in field and make-shift hospitals gasping for breath because we have fun out of ventilators, manpower etc. My point is that I don’t think it will be responsible to simply wait until we have a disaster on our hands. That’s what the NDP, the media and the federal Liberals were looking for and want. We simply couldn’t allow that to happen.”

(Note - There is more to this response but I tried to provide enough to show the overall context. Also, Madu offered an apology for these comments on Twitter on May 11th)

The hyperbole of the political portion of the statement can be debated, but the lack of awareness of what Albertans need is striking. I can assure you it’s not shots at other parties and the media. A leader recognizes the need for reassurance through compassionate language that shows empathy for the person who wrote him, which, in fairness, was elsewhere in his post. Had he stuck to that rather than his self-serving comments, audiences would’ve felt much more that he was genuinely on their side and there to lead for the collective good. People aren’t on their way to the polls – they’re frustrated, saddened, or disappointed in the need for further restrictions but that’s it. Leadership recognizes this and simply addresses what’s needed, ignoring those campaigning instincts.

Good leaders know what the critical message is. They share it and put all other thoughts and issues aside. This can be hard to do in sport, business, or especially in politics where taking shots at opposition is as everyday as a McDavid point. However, this is where respect for a leader is developed. It’s driven by what is needed in the moment, above all else, to guide people through to the other side.

¹ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-covid-restrictions-1.6013160

² https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-government-announces-new-restrictions-to-curb-spread-of-covid/