Category Archives: leadership

On Endings

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Last night about 9, I turned to Xander, “I’m bored.” His reply? “That took a lot longer than I expected.”

Yesterday was my last work day at Calgary Seniors Resource Society. (My contract goes until the end of December but I had some vacation/lieu hours to use up.) There’s a sadness that comes from something ending before you’re ready to let go, and there are a lot of people that I know feel that way about this project. I’m not going to dive into my personal feelings about that here, but instead focus on two questions that came up for me this month.

Do you think you’ve outgrown this position/sector?

The person who asked this isn’t a part of the non-profit world, but he has excellent insight into how people work with one another. The irony here is that I took the position because I’d outgrown the last one (and knew I had), but I hadn’t asked myself if I needed to change sectors as a part of the growing process as well. (This isn’t to say that I don’t respect the sector or those working in it, but more that I need to remember that I’ve done this sector-changing thing before and it helped with the “new” factor for me.)

Do you think [specific action] was worth the risk?

The “risk” wasn’t actually that big of a thing, and it certainly never came up for anyone I was working with. And no, I’m not going to name it, that’s not the point. But what it did for me was show that my perception of social change and risk were very different than this person’s. That’s not a bad thing, and it’s something I need to keep in mind as I’m moving forward (my favourite new phrase, apparently, which means I hope this is the last time I use it) in the new year.

Rosetta Thurman was absolutely bang-on when she posted today, “For people who enjoy helping others, it can be a challenge to stay on track with YOUR purpose vs. being pulled in different directions according to other people’s needs.” I’m taking a well-needed break for the next couple of weeks (which hopefully will lead to more blogging, not less!) and will be moving into 2013 with a renewed sense of purpose, with truth, with intention and with a trust that all manner of things will be well. Blessed Be!

On Vision

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Sometimes, you read a horoscope and think it just doesn’t apply to your life. Other times, it just fits:

Look, you’re an alien. You’re advanced so far beyond humanity that thinkin’ you’ll be happier if you were like us simple folk is only going to bring you down even more. You’re a child of the universe! Don’t get stuck here, get back out there. Way out. That’s where the fun is. FFWD

As an alien, I can be a refugee and struggle with what I’ve lost, or a pilgrim and seek for what I need to find.

I’m struggling with a lot of why, how, and what, not just where, as I transition from one stage to the next.

I’m finding what it is that brought me here in the first place: the vision of a different world, the belief in social change, and the spark that lives in all of us.

It’s not really a choice, but if I have to make one, the vision wins every time. I may be way out, but at least I’m going to have fun while I’m there.

She Changes (On Collaboration)

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In his [Ulrich Beck’s] view, if sovereignty is understood as the capacity of a given country to influence the problems of the world on behalf of its citizens, then it is only by engaging in international cooperation, by networking, that states can actually become sovereigns in the global risk society. (Castells, 2010, 364)

It seems backward: in order to have autonomy, you need to find ways to collaborate with others. Our society is no longer about the individual; it’s about the group, the network that we create together. To create is to change.

She Changes Everything She Touches.

If we don’t change what we’re doing, or how we’re doing it, then we can’t create anything new. It doesn’t matter what level you’re working at. It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to do. If you’re not changing, you’re not creating.

And Everything She Touches Changes.

If you’re not ready to collaborate, then say so – and let the rest of us get on with it already. It’s a big world and we’ve got a lot of creating to do.

Caring in Community

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It’s been a busy week, work-wise, as I’ve been deeply engaged in our own Senior Centres Week activities or supporting events held at other organizations. Last night I was privileged to speak at Senior Care – Who Cares?, an event co-sponsored by the Calgary Seniors Resource Society and Public Interest Alberta. The full text of my speech is online; here’s an excerpt:

There is a tension in non-profit work between the quantitative – counting numbers, calculating statistics – and the qualitative – the anecdotal parts of our work that have so much meaning to individuals. The relationship between two people, whatever their role, is not something that can be forced, nor can it be ignored. In a senior centre, there is an increasing tension between building of relationships and completing administrative duties.

Working in the area of community development and trying to create new ways of engaging everyone regardless of age or state continues to bring up this kind of tension. I don’t subscribe to a client-worker relationship model, or believe that any one person has all the answers. I do believe that each of us should be recognized for our skills, talents, and abilities as long as we are using them for the good of all. I believe that the three-fold Goddess, where Maiden, Mother and Crone all have an distinct but equal role, is the model we should be using in engaging people in our communities. And I believe that a complete community includes all of us. Blessed Be!

Nemesis, Invoked

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dictionary.com

What is justice? For a follower of the Judeo-Christian-Islam path, justice comes from an external source (God), and each law may or may not fit the context of the day. For those on a Pagan path, there is no external source to look to, and no set of rules to follow. Instead we are faced with making choices based on our own set of ethics, recognizing that what we do will ripple out to impact others (hence the Three-Fold Law).

Every choice I’ve made has led me to this place.

Every choice has rippled out to impact others.

Every choice must be accounted for.

en.wikipedia.org

This morning I was named Nemesis by someone who had been impacted by one of my choices. Nemesis is the Goddess of Righteous Anger and Divine Retribution. Mary Daly speaks of Her power not lying in external justice but in “an internal judgement that sets in motion a New psychic alignment of energy patterns.” (Quintessence 85-86) Making choices is as much about the internal – the integrity one brings to the point of decision – as it is about the external. I’m under no illusions that my choices are not always postive for others, but I strive to make them in a way that is in alignment with the world I want to create. And so I chose not to defend or challenge this naming. I stand by the choice I made and accept the consequences of the impact it had on her. I stand by the choices that led me to that one and the choices that have come as a result.

My choice now is to embrace Nemesis, to explore what energy She brings to my life and what Her experiences teach me about a life of service to the Goddess in All Her Aspects. This is my path and I choose it willingly. Blessed Be!

The Head, The Heart

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And her life in beauty, by my faith, shows that she is in God’s grace, and therefore one accords more faith to her deeds. For whatever she does, she always has God before her eyes, whom she calls to, serves and prays to in deed and word; nowhere does she let her faith decrease. ~ Christine de Pizan

Joan of Arc was born 600 years ago today – January 6, 1412. Peasant, mystic, warrior, saint – she was not a feminist, not a witch, not a pacifist, but certainly a woman who embodied courage as telling the story of who you are with your whole heart.

I’ve not been good at embodying my own courage of late. Instead I’ve struggled to hold the vision in the midst of unsuccessful activism, unsupportive dichotomies and unconnected communities. I don’t know how to engage people with a vision they don’t want, and I don’t know how to create success with a less encompassing worldview in mind. I feel imposed, uninspired and defeated on a community that has been fraying decades longer than I have been alive.

I came home for two weeks of healing and soul repair, but worry that it wasn’t enough to make me want to don my armour come Monday morning. Where’s the courage in that?

My tarot reading for the evening ended in The Star, reversed, which speaks of healing energies that cannot be felt and being afraid to open to love. The courage I need to continue holding the vision, even as it continues to wound me, needs to come from that place of healing. It’s also where others need to find the courage to hold the vision with me. If it’s the community’s vision – and I’m not sure it is – then others need to hold it with me. My whole heart needs it to be so.

Ready for 2012?

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While it’ll be an unusually uneventful annum for you, with your wacky ruler Uranus rollin’ into Aries in early March you can expect the first. The first what? Well, that would depend on you. Whatever untried desire you’ve so far been ignorin’, spring 2012 is the time for explorin’! FFWD

Photobombed, Xander-style.

My Twitter/Facebook feeds seem to have an overarching theme tonight: 2011 sucked, bring on 2012 already! I’ll admit that 2011 was an extremely challenging year for me, what with taking on a new position, struggling through a masters’ class on grounded theory, being elected to two new boards and still making time to parent/game/eat/sleep as needed (or not, as the case may be). But I don’t feel that 2011 was a particularly hard or terrible year in my corner of the world.

3 Things for Calgary

Now 2012 could be a stressful year – or it could be a year filled with opportunity My new position will continue to push people’s boundaries about collaboration, community building and leadership, but I anticipate continued support from current partners and the opportunity to develop new supports through an increased staff team. I have to complete two masters courses this year, with one focused on organizational development starting in a few days (I’m already behind on my pre-reading – only 1500 pages to go), but completing them will bring me two classes closer to attaining my degree. My life seems to be spent in meetings, but I’m excited about what the boards will be doing this year (including the upcoming Project Ploughshares Calgary workshop “Non-Violent Cultures – from Antiquity to Contemporary Times”  and a spring Federation of Canadian Carsharing Cooperatives conference in Winnipeg, which happily coincides with my father’s 70th birthday).

CSRS "Dream a Little Dream" Event

Meeting the new year with gratitude, acknowledging that nothing gets done without hard work, and setting clear personal goals so that I don’t lose sight of what matters – these are the strategies that will help me thrive, not just survive in 2012. I’m looking forward to visits with family and friends, listening to good music and having Xander make me a meal from what he learns in his food and fashion class. I have a lot of great books to read, movies to watch and music to enjoy.  And I can’t wait to see what “the first” is going to turn out to be. Any ideas?

Pipeline Days of Action – Day One

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Today is the first day of actions against the Keystone XL Pipeline (which would transport oil from Alberta to Texas). It’s expected that 1,500-2,000 will gather at the White House over the next weeks (August 20 – September 3); they’re asking that President Obama refuse to approve the deal. (Read more about what they’re asking for at 24 Hours From Jail by Bill McKibbon.)

Yes, it’s a long shot. (I can’t believe I’m still protesting this stuff.) Yes, it impacts me. (I live, work and breathe in Alberta.) Yes, we need to develop better alternatives to oil and be willing to use them. (Not all of us want to be martyrs for the cause.) es, I think that standing up and saying “not in my name” is one of the most empowering things a person can do. (How else does change happen?)

There’s a lot of great information about the pipeline and its impact – try Yes! Magazine’s continuing coverage, for example, or this article from TruthOut – and pictures from the protests are being posted at the flickr stream. Also, you can vote in today’s CBC’s poll – Are you in favour of the oilsands pipeline?.

Putting the "Over" in "Overachiever"

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So, I’ve been a little quiet on the blogging front lately, but there’s actually a good reason for that. As of April 1, I’ve taken on a new position in the community: Director of Senior Centres at Calgary Seniors Resource Society. I’m overseeing the “big picture” pieces of community building/collaboration, funding, marketing, research /advocacy and human resources as the Executive Director at three senior centres (Bow Cliff Seniors, Ogden House Seniors and Parkdale Nifty Fifties). The title of the post says it all, really.