Playground Perspective: June 2014

The rare times Thea and her cousins are together, uninhibited and free from distractions, are filled with laughter and energy. Over Memorial Day weekend, the cousins flew kites, splashed in the Chesapeake Bay, built sand castles and landed their weight in fish from their great-grandfather's pier.

Nikole's family place in Deltaville has always been an important summer destination for our family, especially when were have an opportunity to share it with her brother's family, along with her father, and her grandfather and his wife, who live there year-round. We realized this last visit that we were at a magical moment -- looking up from lunch one afternoon, we adults realized that all three children were out playing on the beach and none of us were freaking out.

At home in the city, we find it challenging sometimes to allow our children the freedom to explore, to carve out their paths, to create their own adventures. "The Overprotected Kid," a recent story in The Atlantic talked about a childhood stripped of independence and risk. It sounded terrible! And it made me think about Thea, and my parenting, and the opportunities to give her more freedom as she slowly slides into her own childhood.

The story didn't just talk about a childhood without risk, though. It highlighted an amazing alternative in the United Kingdom called "adventure playgrounds". The Land is one such playground in Wales:
 

The Land is a playground that takes up nearly an acre at the far end of a quiet housing development in North Wales. It's only two years old but has no marks of newness and could just as well have been here for decades. The ground is muddy in spots and, at one end, slopes down steeply to a creek where a big, faded plastic boat that most people would have thrown away is wedged into the bank. The center of the playground is dominated by a high pile of tires that is growing ever smaller as a redheaded girl and her friend roll them down the hill and into the creek. "Why are you rolling tires into the water?" my son asks. "Because we are," the girl replies.
 

In Deltaville, the kids have a thousand feet of beach, a long private road of sand and oyster shells, and a long pier that stretches toward the Chesapeake Bay. This summer, they will roast marshmallows, catch and clean fish, learn to pick crabs, collect shells and colored sea glass and explore -- together outside, and alone in the pages of books curled on a bed, or swinging in the hammock.

They will run into the house for lunch, or a popsicle or to share a new treasure, before slipping just as quickly back into the sun, and the water. And the adults will smile at their joy, and their new sense of liberation, and we will all feel a little older, maybe sadder, but quietly thankful that we can give these young sparks a place to adventure.

For us adults, there will be sunsets on the pier, and sunrises on the beach, and over-warm and sandy children curled asleep in our beds late at night. We will watch them live into themselves more fully in this place with no constraints, and borrow their energy, innocence and laughter along the way. This is how we move through life.

The First Five Weeks

This is me, manning the Floricane table at The Greater Richmond Chamber's Schmooza Palooza event.

My first day at Floricane I was nervous. I was anxious. I was scared. I had not started a new job in over four years. It was like the first day of school. You remember the feeling -- Will they like me? Am I wearing the right clothes? Will anyone speak to me at all? 

I walked in the door past the security guards, escorted by Floricane’s marketing coordinator Caroline Moyer, and made my way back to the collaborative business spaces of 1E, located in the Richmond Times-Dispatch building.

When I arrived I felt more than welcome with signs and (even better) doughnuts dedicated to my arrival. I was shown to my desk and I had a seat, taking it all in.

Floricane hired me as their new administrative coordinator in early April. In this role, I am responsible for daily office life and consultant support. I clean, I copy and I type. Although those may be my general job tasks there is also an intuitive aspect to my job. I am here to anticipate needs, offer support and to deliver whatever may be necessary to the day or task.

First up was orientation. I met everyone on the Floricane Team and business partners that share the 1E space. I had a walking tour of the Times-Dispatch. I was more than eager. Since I was young I always loved reading, which eventually turned into a passion for writing. I worked on school newspapers from junior high into college. I was very close to becoming a journalism major but instead I took the creative writing route.

After the tour I was given a tutorial of all that was expected from me and an agenda for the next couple of weeks. We started the following day with what would be our weekly team meeting. The first few days I would sit in as an observer. I wanted to familiarize myself with the way of conversation, the clients and the work that Floricane offered its clients.

I would soon learn that Floricane was not only a team of coaches and consultants but that they are also actively engaged in the local community. Community is something that is very important to me. I have always said or thought that if I had unlimited wealth I would volunteer my time all the time and, slightly unrelated, start a magazine.

The first event I would attend on Floricane’s behalf would be the HYPE 804UM put on by the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce. The HYPE (Helping Young Professionals Engage) event was held at the Science Museum and consisted or speakers engaging in topics about arts culture and community. I had the opportunity to meet other like-minded young professionals who were also concerned with how to make an impact on their local community and economy. 

The next event I attended was Schmooza Palooza, an annual event organized by the Greater Richmond Chamber. This was an outside event where companies set up tables under tents in Innsbrook and interested parties could peruse and talk with representatives from those companies. Caroline and I were there to market Floricane and inform others of what we do in the field and office. I had a lot of fun walking around, enjoying the catered food and drinks -- and even took a ride on a carnival-style swing ride.

The Schmooza event cemented my feelings about Floricane. I was now a proud member of a close network of people that wanted to see Richmond improve one organization at a time. I was part of a team that wanted to take what Richmond had offered them and to turn that around and offer something back to the community in the means of leadership consultation, coaching and strategic facilitation. 

Since then I have focused on getting to know the team more personally as well as having the opportunity to find out more about myself. Through our Insights Discovery workshop I have learned more about my personal preferences and behaviors, both positive and negative. My continuing goal is to keep my eyes and ears open, and to learn all that Floricane has to teach me. I’ll take that experience and combine it with all that I have already acquired and make a small difference, impact in my city, Richmond, Virginia.

Be a Rainbow

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”

— Maya Angelou

Today we're remembering Maya Angelou, the inspirational American poet, author and civil rights activist. Let's try to take her advice and be a rainbow for others, today and every day.

RVA: A Home Run

Earlier this Spring I had the pleasure of attending that HYPE 804UM put on by the Richmond Greater Chamber of Commerce. It was held this year at the Science Museum of Virginia, already famous for enriching minds and inspiring all. I was excited as the day started, not knowing what to anticipate. The day would be filled with two breakout sessions that included speakers on platforms of Art, Culture and Community. Unwittingly, I gravitated towards the talks focusing on Community.

I have a small background with volunteering in the Richmond Community. I have spent my time assisting at the Richmond Area SPCA and at WRIR, Richmond’s local independent radio station, that is staffed, almost 100%, by local volunteers. Although I have done those activities in the past and could continue to do so well into my future, I still consider what else I can do for my immediate community. I not only want to be an active and engaged member but want to be able to make a difference, big or small.

Marc Cheatham runs and started a blog, The Cheats Movement, which informs about the Richmond Community at large. He covers everything from emerging artists to any positive action that is happening within the City of Richmond. He was the first speaker I joined. The discussion was started of how we can personally discover our place within the community. But first the word community had to be defined. It is a concept that is different and unique to each of us. For me, community is support from neighbors, friends and local government. Another definition I heard that day defined community as a network of relationships. Once you have the definition, the next step is finding your place within it. For me, my involvement with the Coalition Theater, a long-form improv theater, downtown connects me to members of the community I may not have had the chance to meet in my day-to-day work environment. I feel that by taking classes and working with others that are like-minded, I can inspire and reach others with comedy with the end goal of a sense of comic relief.

I feel at the theater we provide another pawn in the artistic landscape that is becoming downtown Richmond. We constantly do shows that invite our neighbors and friends to get up on stage with us. We have embraced our place as an alternative option to the casual food and bar scene always available throughout Richmond. But still there lies the question of the next step: How do we broaden our horizons now that everything else has come into place? Ryn Bruce of Batter Up would tell us that we need to connect with ourselves, to focus and simplify and most importantly, to get out of our comfort zone. It would be too easy to open a theatre and say, “Hi. We’re here. Whenever.” But it does not always go quite simply. We will need to promote not only the theatre but the house teams as well. I even consider branding DaVinci, the house team that I am a member of. We will need to continuously attend festivals to let others know what we are trying to do in Richmond, VA. Or maybe the next step is a program that can help others in serious need of laughter smile again. 

I am sure that the path we will take will align with the ideas offered by Mr. Cheatham and Ms. Bruce. We are in a constant motion of change and ideas and there is no short to the amount of creativity of possibilities that the Coalition Theatre or Richmond have at its grasp. Get out there, dig into the cooperative soil of Richmond and discover your place within the community while discovering yourself.

Finding Inspiration: Zoe Goes Running

"We run for the same reasons explorers once explored -- to discover ourselves, and the worlds of others."

So starts the trailer for "Zoe Goes Running", a powerful documentary that explores the journey of former University of Richmond student -- and TEDxRVA star speaker -- Zoe Romano as she becomes the first person to run the entire 2,000 mile Tour de France course.

The trailer is visually powerful and poetic, and thick with power and solitude, pain and joy, endurance and celebration. It's worth watching, several times.

"Sometimes the best things are the things we know nothing about..."

Leadership’s Many Colored Blanket

In our business culture, we lean heartily toward certain characteristics in our leaders. We want men and women who are decisive, have a clear vision, demonstrate an ability to achieve excellence and are filled with confidence. That’s nice, but it represents such a slim snapshot of the aspects of leadership I believe are required by effective leaders.

First off, I believe leadership lives at every level of an organization, and that each of us has powerful opportunities to lead and influence every day. How we choose to interact with our colleagues and coworkers has an essential impact on the tone and tenor of our work together. I’ve worked with mechanics and welders whose day-to-day interactions have had a more substantial impact on the bottom line than most vice presidents – and vice-versa.

At Floricane, we use a personality assessment tool called Insights Discovery® that provides a great starting place for growing self-awareness. Insights uses eight color energies to describe eight core personality types and how they work, communicate, interact with others and make decisions. Each of these 8 Types have important leadership characteristics, and strong leaders learn how to leverage each of them appropriately.

For instance, the Orange Motivator type brings a strong sense of vision and possibility that can motivate and inspire a team to tackle exciting new initiatives. The Green Supporter type draws on a deep set of values and beliefs to lead a team with consistency, integrity and fairness. The Purple Reformer type helps teams think through and effectively evaluate ideas, and to implement them to improve the business.

At our June 10 Insights Discovery Leadership Development workshop, we’ll identify to strengths (and limitations) of each personality type and help participants map out their leadership opportunities. This is our first offering of this exciting new workshop, and we’re looking forward to seeing it in action. Participants must have a Insights profile and have either attended an introductory Insights workshop or had their profile debriefed by a member of our team at attend.

Come build your own leadership rainbow – and transform the way you think about your leadership in action. Join us on June 10!

A New Day

It really is a new day at HCA – or at least at HCA’s John Randolph Medical Center (JRMC) with a relatively new CEO and more than a handful of senior leadership roles recently filled. In March, we spent a day with all of the hospitals leaders – managers and directors from every department – to talk about the ways in which the organization could strengthen its alignment.

It’s always helpful in our work to be supporting a leader with a clear vision. It’s even more helpful when that leader can articulate the vision, and is passionate about helping people be accountable to achieving it. We found such a leader in JRMC’s Suzanne B. Jackson.

Suzanne was willing (and able) to frame her vision for the team as we started our day together. She then stepped out of the way so her team could paint the canvas. Stepping out of the way didn’t mean being invisible, but rolling her own sleeves up and being a participant and a peer to the rest of her team.

Over the course of the day, Suzanne and her team celebrated their wins, identified their challenges and began to craft shared perspectives on the work that the team needed to do to be great. We have no doubt that they’ll make serious progress.