May 5, 2020

Hey Gang,

NPR was interviewing contact tracers today – what a fascinating job. It’s a little like Law & Order: “Who did you see yesterday? How did you get from home to the store? Did you take an Uber, and if so, can you please look at the app and see who was driving?” The tracer must be able to build trust and extract critical information while lending a compassionate ear, and then offer support and guidance. Reactions to these intrusive questions vary. Some are wary. Many are grateful. Most really appreciate having someone to talk to. Contact tracers must have incredible poise and cultural sensitivity to navigate these emotional conversations with total strangers who are in distress.

My mentors are really great contact tracers – I imagine the best leaders are. They ask fact-oriented questions, demonstrate patience when I don’t have all the answers, shine light on things I’ve missed (without making me feel dumb for missing them), express appreciation for my efforts, and importantly, do all of this with empathy and grace. We could learn a lot from contact tracers, and I’ll be excited to see this on resumes in the future. (I’d hire all of them if I could!)

News & Resources

• What It Takes To Be A Contact Tracer – “there's no app for an empathetic ear”

• How to apply to be a contact tracer and make up to $22 an hour with benefits

• Forbes: Mark Cuban’s Proposal to Hire Millions of Coronavirus Contact Tracers is Needed to Restart Economy

From the Community

• I pledge to support my fellow IBMers working from home during COVID-19 – great post from Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM

• Request: We are fielding a number of questions about onboarding remote team members. The community would value knowing about any resources you have developed or used. Kindly share when you can.

Food Fight – send me yours!

Today’s winner has the perfect dish to go with the margarita you’re drinking. Well done, Cristina Carlis, Vice President, Digital Innovation at Gilead Sciences!

Chef’s comments: “Tacos for Cinco de Mayo! Shrimp with mango salsa and tomatillo chicken with fire-roasted salsa.”

A Little Levity

• Parrot Sings Rage Against the Machine – not a new clip but just so great

• Guy Discovers Just What His Cat Is Up to While He's Sleeping – yes, of course that’s what he does, because if he’s like my cat, this is what he does during the work day:

Be well,

Jackie