Who knew that as bushfires raged in Australia during the summer of 2019-20, that at that very moment, the seeds of a global transformation were already taking root in a place that few of us had previously heard of – Wuhan, China? Fast forward six months and the COVID-19 pandemic has killed over half a million people globally, destroyed economies and effectively halted worldwide travel. Our health and economic systems have been put under enormous strain and it’s not surprising that many countries and leaders have been found wanting. So, as the pandemic continues and the World Health Organisation warns that “the worst is yet to come”, what shifts and decisions we make now might shape our future? 

I am not expecting that we will ‘snap back’ to pre-pandemic conditions at all. Even though the lure of the familiar will be very strong, going backwards in time is not possible (with current technology at least). The changes made in response to the immediate threat that this virus poses to our societies have been pervasive and deep. The adaptations have challenged us as social beings used to touching each other and being in the company of others. These big little shifts, small changes to the simple rules at the heart of our cultures have catalysed major emergent changes across many systems. 

Major systems such as politics, health, employment, transport, education, technology, and even our natural environment. We are experiencing a ‘whole systems change’. How long will we need to continue living like this? What will be the long-term effects of these adaptations we have made? Time will tell, but the theory would suggest that we can expect the legacy of these days will live on.  

The recent outbreaks in Melbourne and now Sydney are a powerful reminder that ‘normal’ is not coming back soon.  A vaccine is not yet visible on the immediate horizon and many of us are living in various degrees of ‘lockdown’ – isolating ourselves to suppress the transmission of the virus within our societies. Some countries and communities are proving more successful at this strategy that others. The stimulus to change provided by the virus, brings the values at the heart of adaptive change into stark relief. 

Do we value our health system and people’s lives more than the economy? Is the choice as stark as that? Back in March, it seemed that way to us as Australia’s Prime Minister formed  a national cabinet with state government leaders to create a united approach – but one that may be applied with local nuances within the context of each state. Weighing up the values of life versus economy, Australia has clearly chosen lives in the first instance. Over time though, the pressure to ‘re-open the economy’ became increasingly difficult to ignore. Reopening what was, has created an opportunity for the virus to transmit within our communities. Going back to what was, will not work in this new context that includes the novel Coronavirus. Many businesses have perceived this more quickly than politicians in Canberra and have ‘pivoted’ their businesses accordingly.

Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain during World War 2 is often quoted as having said, “never let a good crisis go to waste”. During this crisis, for it is still a crisis even though we may all be feeling a little less tense than we were in March, we all have the opportunity for radical, transformational change. 

A genuine transformation of this type is rarely seen despite many books and consultants talking about transformational change. Transformation is currently more possible because of the extent of whole systems change already caused by the response to the pandemic – the larger system is already disturbed and ripe for further paradigm shifting change.

Transformative possibilities come into view after the initial shock of the crisis emerging. That’s where we are now. We now have the time and space to reflect upon the fragilities inherent in our previous ways of working and living. During the initial lockdowns, we all had the personal opportunity to put a pause on life as we knew it. For individuals lucky enough to still be in employment, new choices about how and where to work and live are emerging as they recognise the costs of the old way of doing things that they had not really questioned before, and ask themselves, ‘how do I really want to live and work’? The lure of less commuting time, more time with their family or even just time to look after themselves and their mental health in ways they just haven’t had space for in the past, have become important. These values reprioritisations are a genie that will be difficult to put back into the lamp. They are also at the very heart of fundamental changes.

For businesses, entirely new business models are already being discovered. And owners and managers have realised that many blue-collar workers can work very productively from home. In fact, some of my clients report that one of their major problems is making sure that their staff do not work such long hours from home! The possibility of increased productivity, more satisfied staff members and lower office rental expenses all come into view.  
These personal and business choices are the little shifts that will seed the bigger shifts in our society over time.

At the bigger policy level, questions have emerged involving the sovereignty of supply chains, manufacturing capability, the growing divide between the ‘haves and have-nots’ that has proven to fuel community health concerns, and even the state of national health systems themselves. 

The opportunity for transformation is with us. A window in time when everything appears to be up for grabs. For the nation as a whole, it is possible that a new future that serves us all better emerges. There are many within the progressive political ranks calling for a rebuilding of the economy that is aligned with a more ecologically conscious and socially just future – a Green New Deal. The time is ripe for this to be a serious debate now – what do we really want?