Forming your care team is a critical step in creating your CareCanvas.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, my diagnosis didn’t impact me alone. It impacted my friends and family too. In fact, my cancer diagnosis was probably harder on my family than it was on me personally.
Adversity doesn’t strike in a vacuum. And a cancer diagnosis doesn’t just affect one person. There’s a ripple effect.
Just as your friends and family are going to feel the pain, or the impact of whatever illness or adversity you might be facing, they can also be an incredible source of strength and support.
When I was going through treatment, I needed help. Plain and simple. Some things I could manage on my own, but I would NOT be here today if not for the love and support of my team.
And, as some of us — myself included — need to be reminded: Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Forming a team of people who can help you overcome your challenge is not a sign of weakness.
In fact, it’s a sign of good leadership.
As one of my mentors likes to remind me: Leaders maximize the efforts of others in pursuit of a common objective.
What does that mean? It means that leaders recognize they can’t do it alone. Leaders find a way to maximize the efforts of others in pursuit of a common objective. And, you have to believe that your friends and family are committed to the common objective of seeing you get healthy, or overcome your challenges.
So if you’re truly going to take the lead, recognize that you can’t do it alone. You’ve got to build a team.
That’s what CareCanvas is for: To keep track of the people you can go to with questions and call on for help. People you can count on, from your inner circle to your extended network. For me, my team included:
My family
Close friends
Medical team
Extended network
Building a team is not easy. It’s hard to ask for help. It’s hard to be vulnerable. But that’s what good leaders do.
So form your team. Use your canvas to start a difficult conversation. Learn how to ask for help, and accept it when it’s offered.
Use your canvas to track the activities and tasks you need help with. Make a wishlist of items that might make your journey a bit easier. Pick a name of someone that you included in your “team” and share your CareCanvas with them. Set aside some time and walk them through it. Experience what it feels like to be vulnerable. Listen to how they respond.
You don’t have to go it alone - tackle your challenge as a team.