Check out our Executive Director, Hamsa Daher's, reflections on our final in-person team meeting of 2022, and how we're embracing the new year!
It was a cloudy, though relatively mild day in Detroit, Michigan. I packed the car, got Annie and we headed to Grand Rapids to meet Bridget - our colleague who lives on that side of town. We had a full day planned with lunch, a couple of team-building activities, and a reflective exercise.
We’re a fully remote team, and have been ever since I started working with the Community seven years ago. We’ve been Zooming way before anyone knew what Zoom was and how to use it. We have daily huddles, 1-1s, and goal meetings - and we enjoy our time but it goes to a whole different level when we get together. We laugh, we eat good food, and we reflect.
And this team-building day was another one for the books. We enjoyed really good food, went to a candle-making workshop where we each created our own candle with various oils and scents. But just like our personalities and skill sets which are different, yet complimentary - our candles were varied yet harmoniously scented.
Our next stop was Tarot card reading. Annie and I couldn’t be more thrilled to do this; Bridget had her hesitations but as in everyday tasks and goals, she jumped right in! Our readings together signaled purpose, passions, relationships and boundaries. Without reading too much into it (no pun intended), there was a familiarity to it all - both personal and in our work!
We then did a reflective exercise where we thought deeply about 2022 and looked ahead to 2023. With the help of some questions from Anese Cavanaugh and her IEP work, we shared:
Our bests in 2022 and our most difficult moments. Our bests included running a half marathon, celebrating being a homeowner for the first time and settling into a full time gig with financial freedoms that afforded travels and experiences. Some big and wonderful bests! Our most difficult moments were difficult - but we all learned, grew and came out much more courageous on the other side.
We wrote thank yous to those who supported us and were there for us during 2022. While it may be cliché - we were thankful to our families, our closest friends, our team and some really special kiddos and furry friends!
As we looked to 2023, we shared three things we wanted to focus on, new things we wanted to learn. We had various answers but a common thread was relationships - focusing on the important people in our lives, listening, caring and asking for help, support and feedback so we can be better humans.
And lastly, we picked our one word for 2023:
- For me - courage. The courage to continue to follow my purpose, do the hard work and grow.
- For Annie - zesty (we were jealous of this one 💛). Annie felt that she’s arrived at a steady and secure place and that in 2023, she wants to introduce zest into her life!
- For Bridget - intentionality. Being intentional about her work, relationships, growth and development.
And that's a wrap. Our hearts and bellies were full!
We look forward to doing some amazing things and celebrating more milestones and reflections on 12/15/2023!