“You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.”— John Mason
While many people were celebrating Valentine’s Day, our team was (and still is) celebrating the legacy of love and passion we have for our work. We turned 8 years old on February 14th! We recognize our great fortune in being able to do what we love and work with people and missions that light us up.
One of our secrets to sustaining this small and mighty company, beyond vision, humor, grit, and hustle, is that we take care of ourselves and one another. Our work with groups of all sizes and scopes has taught us the non-negotiable importance of self and team care, which can show up in diverse ways. In celebration of our 8th birthday, read on to learn 8 practices we employ and that you can use to keep our team happy, healthy, and productive.
- We Honor Everyone’s Unique Gifts
Each of us has our own unique skills, gifts, interests, and passions. We try to create space for our teammates to work on things that light them up and put wind in their sails. - We Address Conflict Head-On
It’s not always comfortable to do and it can feel scary to rock the boat, but we know that the temporary discomfort of addressing issues is better than rising building resentments and losing trust and respect.
- We Adjust When We Need To
Whether it is how we run our team meetings or trying to become more aware of the impact of our words, we are open to feedback from each other and adjust our behavior and processes when we need to.
- We Are Not Afraid to Be Vulnerable
Nobody is perfect and faking perfection is a great way to build barriers to real connection. We start our team meetings with genuine check-ins about how each of us is really doing. We know that being willing to be open, genuine, and vulnerable is what helps our clients to be their authentic selves too.
- We Work Collaboratively
Each of us brings valuable and unique perspectives to our work and we engage those gifts whenever we can. We collaborate on everything from conceptualizing, developing, and delivering training about group dynamics and participating across differences to strategizing about our own team’s collective future. (BTW, we LOVE google docs and Miro boards!)
- We Rest
We have done the 60-hour/ week high stress, high-intensity, soul-sucking slog. We didn’t like it. So, we intentionally take time to rest, rejuvenate, recreate, and right-size our work lives to create the balance that keeps us healthy, inspired, and ready to be of service.
- We Work to Walk Our Talk
We do what we teach groups to do, including listening to each other deeply, understanding each other’s needs, and figuring out how to find solutions that work for everyone. We practice clear, compassionate, and courageous communication. We include and empower. We look for the right tools, roles, structures, and processes to best serve our team and the work we are trying to accomplish in the world.
- We Love Our Clients
It is not unusual for us to grieve the end of a project because we have developed such deep compassion, respect, and admiration for our clients. This kind of attachment continues to propel us to do our best work to make sure our clients’ needs are met so they can continue doing their great work in the world.
Let us spread our birthday cheer by sharing our lessons with your team! Schedule your free consultation today!