Summer is over. Fall is here. Conference season is upon us in the local government world.
This year will be different. Everyone is online. California JPIA. ICMA. CCCA. ICA. MMANC. MMASC. LOCC. All the cool kids are doing it. Going digital. Being virtual. Heck, we even helped the Rose Institute of State and Local Government pull off their 2021 Redistricting conference. It went great, if I do say so myself.
While I was already frustrated with being at home so much and feeling forlorn about not visiting friends, my angst has only increased this season. I should be eating piles of bacon right now from a Marriot buffet with three city staff friends who I have not seen for several months. We should be talking about PAC-12 football, my latest city hall visit or police reform while I cram down a hash brown burrito and wash it down with some diluted cranberry juice.
Or I should be in Toronto, Canada taking in the sights in the 51st state or listening to an inspirational keynote by a retired Army General who explains how to just get stuff done. It should be followed by a California city manager mixer where a bunch of us reconnect as a precursor to the February conference and make plans for a night of exploring the city.
But, instead, I am in shorts. Standing at my desk. Listening to a weed whacker outside my window.
So while my kneecaps may be exposed, it turns out the offset to being virtual means my ideas can be exposed, too. In the coming weeks I will be speaking at ICMA, CCCA, MMASC and MMANC. It will be a hoot as I dress from the waist up and share some thoughts I have about working from home, social media’s role in spreading false information or how to build great teams. If you are involved with any of these groups, I hope you check out my sessions.
When we next meet in person, we will be through the worst of the coronavirus (I hope). On a personal and professional level, we will be searching for a pathway forward to normal. But we will also pause to appreciate the sight of each other in real life and the opportunity to be humans. Together. And maybe without my kneecaps exposed.
I miss you,
