Dear
World,
Two
exciting things happened within the last 24 hours. First of all, a nationally syndicated
television show filmed in my workplace, and I somehow talked them into letting
me be an extra, lol! It was so fun, they
even styled my hair, had to get my “wardrobe” approved, lol. I met all different types of crew members (set,
lighting, sound, assistants) who were open and kind and welcoming, with many
patiently teaching me all the ins and outs of production. What I loved the most was how they took care
of one another and gave special props to an actress who said essentially one
line, and even though her role was “small,” they applauded her for it when she
was finished, how cool! I did get to peek
and interact a little bit with some ‘bigger’ TV stars, but all in all, what I loved
most about it was how cool I was treated by the crew and how they treated each
other.
Secondly,
I don’t want to forget what happened today regarding my work environment. At a meeting, I re-dedicated a commitment with
my two managers about creating a safe, trusting, and understanding workplace,
especially with one another, so we could emulate that for our staff.
What
did I mean by that? Well, over the last
month or so, one of my managers was struggling with what she perceived were
hurtful comments from another manager; that manager was blissfully unaware of
the impact of his words. However, I
couched this issue as setting professional goals in 2018—that we had worked with
each other for years that had established a wonderful and close relationship of
camaraderie. This relationship also bordered
on “too familiar” terms at times, and that I needed their help in re-setting
our professional boundaries—including being careful of the language we use when
addressing one another. My managers rose
to the occasion, addressing past comments and sharing what they actually meant
behind their words (nothing, of course!) and also embracing that words can have
seriously unintended meanings and then authentically taking responsibility for the
hurt they may have caused, being understanding of one another, and being more
careful going forward. I was so happy
that they could have an honest conversation about this (in fact things came up
that I hadn’t been informed of), and I guess I’m really proud that I was able
to create the safe environment for them to be honest and open about their
experiences.
Heartfelt
apologies and a commitment going forward to share with one another thoughts and
insights followed …and the meeting ended with a true sense that we are creating
a safe space for one another so that we can do so for all our staff. Also, that this commitment is a journey--it isn’t
like we’ll wake up tomorrow morning and be the perfect professional, but that
we were here to help each other and share with each other to accomplish this going
forward into 2018. Wow!! My heart was so happy I was about to
burst! (Having worked in toxic
environments before, it means a lot for me to create a place of acceptance.)
And
now I’m preparing for time away from the office, to snuggle up with my
daughters and prepare for the holiday cheer.
Cookie baking for Santa will begin in earnest on Friday, with a girls’
slumber party to follow, and looking forward to hanging around during the girls’
school break and being lazy. I love
Christmas with all my heart, and even though I’ve been struggling with emotions
and anxiety lately, I am grateful and thankful to have made it to another
holiday season. Let the lights
shine! Let love win! Let our hearts be full of love!
I’m
so happy to be ending the year with an intention for adding love and kindness
to the world, not only at home, but at work too. Hurray!
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