Brianna Kidd currently serves as the Senior Member Services Director at the Mel Korum Family Y. She shares her thoughts on working through the pandemic, giving yourself credit for the work you do, and more.
When I got the call to return to the Y I was hesitant, much like when Charlie asked me to write about my experience returning. I had more questions than answers. Didn’t we all? Once I learned who was returning, I knew it was a team I wanted to be part of. I was excited, anxious, and curious to see what this new world would look like.
Those first days, weeks, and months felt like a new frontier. We were living in historic times. Is anyone else tired of being able to say that? They were hard. They were full of unknowns. I want to stop and recognize every staff, full and part-time, that chose to come back and are still here. Thank you for helping us all get to where we are today. Since reopening our Y has navigated countless challenges. (I’m looking at you Salesforce, masks, and staffing shortages, to name a few). We’ve done it as a team. As OneY.
The word team is powerful. “Many hands make light work,” as the saying goes. And in general, I tend to agree. Transparently, the work hasn’t been light. Meaningful? Yes. Impactful? Absolutely. I still remember months after we reopened seeing two members sitting on separate couches talking. It stopped me in my tracks. Connection. After isolation and fear, people were returning and finding community again. It was a sign of hope. It was a reminder of why we were putting our families at risk coming to work every day, having relentless mask conversations, and doing things that felt worlds away from the parts of our job we were passionate about.
Yes, we are a team at the Y. An incredible team. But, to be honest, I find myself getting lost in the “we”. “We” gives credit to the group, which is important, but it doesn’t recognize the individual. To quote my counselor, “a team is only as strong as the 'I’s' it’s made up of.” I think it’s important to recognize the work YOU contribute to the team. Take a minute to write out everything you do for the team. No really, I’ll wait and write my list, too. Dang! Look at you go. And, sincerely, thank you.
We’ve all been on teams where we’ve done more than our share of the work. Acknowledge it! We’ve all heard of self-care. I believe there is work self-care. Give yourself credit for all the work you do. How many times are you saying yes to new projects, committees, extra shifts, new programs, etc? YOU are helping the team move forward more than you know.
There are also times that we aren’t able to contribute fully. I have had a few unimaginable, life-altering events in the last two years. The team carried me, and for that, I will always be thankful. I showed up as best I could when I could, knowing I wasn’t the one leading the charge.
I remember early in my Y career being in a small meeting. One attendee that worked at the Association Office complimented a significant structural change that had occurred at Korum. I enthusiastically agreed that they had done a great job. After all, it was a different department that made the magic happen by putting in a ton of time and hard work. That stopped the meeting in its tracks. I was coached in front of everyone that “we” made the work happen because we are a team. In that moment, I understood what the person coaching me meant. I understand the concept of a team, but I wanted to give credit to the people doing the work. This stuck with me and I don’t think I spoke the word “I” after that, “we” did everything. Ultimately, to me, this feels like a disservice to those I’ve worked with. Yes, we are part of a bigger team, but you and your teams have done incredible work and it is worth acknowledging.
The work we do is meaningful and changes lives daily. My question to Charlie was if I could be transparent and vulnerable. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing with you that those are the qualities he was looking for. Authenticity is something I highly value. If life is hard, it won’t get better if we keep saying everything is fine. We are part of a team that is making Pierce and Kitsap Counties better because of the Y’s presence. Don’t forget to give yourself credit for the work YOU do. Your individual contributions make us all better.