“That they may all be one.” – John 17:21
Perhaps you have already figured this out about my weekly message, but in addition to highlighting the great work of our staff team and connecting everyone to important information, I also use it to think aloud with respect to the challenges we are facing. In effect, I am inviting you to think along with me, because we need our collective minds to solve these challenges.
A couple weeks ago, I shared that Shannon Costanti (Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer) was leading a task force to explore the future use of the space on the second floor of our Haselwood community center currently leased to our medical partner. This is a complex issue. We recognize that St. Michael’s Hospital (formerly Harrison Medical Center) pays us premium dollars to use that space, but we also recognize we could utilize that space differently when the contract expires on June 30. After reading that message, Susan Buell (Association Director of Health Initiatives), who has expertise working with medical partnerships, offered some alternative insights into how that space may be leveraged and still be financially beneficial, as well as be more impactful to the community we serve. Susan has unique skills, and she saw an opportunity to make a contribution that would strengthen our Y. This is very valuable – broadening our base for input and identifying possible solutions to complex problems.
We are in a challenging time and we need to be thinking on a number of different levels. Brian Flattum (Vice President and Chief Operating Officer) and his team have been carefully inserting programs back into our operations, assessing the cost versus the impact. That level of care is necessary in our current financial situation. Simultaneously, we are looking ahead, trying to imagine our Y in three months, nine months, and in the years to come. This requires us, or some portion of our organization, to think in a different manner. We had tremendous success in our past, and that success will continue to serve us well; however, there will be parts of our past that will need to change, or adapt, in order for us to be sustainable in a different world.
Former Intel CEO, Andy Grove, once said, “In a crisis, bad companies are destroyed, good companies survive, and great companies get even better.” I believe we are a great organization and will be even better than before. Our staff and our programs are great, as are our facilities, but above all, our service is rooted in a mission statement deeply devoted to serving people physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our mission statement sets us apart.
A few years ago at a Global Leadership Summit, I listened to Vijay “VG” Govindarajan share his theory of leading innovation called, “The Three-Box Solution.” His basic premise is that most businesses focus only on their current model and do not adequately respect the forces of change – technology, demographics, and regulation – as well as competitive forces. He challenged leaders to divide their work into three boxes:
- Box 1: all things designed to improve the current operation
- Box 2: all aspects of the operation undermining performance, such as outdated assumptions and obsolete policies and practices
- Box 3: things you need to do to prepare your business for the long term
VG defines success in the ability to balance resources across all three boxes. Getting all three boxes right is not easy. Typically, businesses put all their emphasis on box 1 and ignore those things undermining performance as well as not creating new aspects to the operation that must evolve in order to address the forces of change surrounding them. Leaders are often blinded by their own biases and entrenched mindsets under the guise of institutional memory. Businesses cannot create unless they are willing to forget. He says, “If organizational memory is not tamed, it gets in the way of creation. Before you can create, you must forget.”
It is not easy promoting box 3 thinking. This means abandoning concepts that have produced positive results in the past, especially for those who have risen up through the ranks in an organization. We are in a completely disruptive period and need to be investing in box 3 to prepare for a successful tomorrow. We need to take calculated risks, even with limited resources. At the same time, we need to continue to operate in box 1, which is the core strength of our current model. We must also let go of practices and behaviors that hinder our ability to create new concepts.
On February 1, our Y launched a new membership software. It has taken a tremendous amount of human capital to launch it, but we believe it will put us in a much better position from an operational perspective. It will allow us to be more sophisticated and streamlined, and more efficient and effective in our core business systems. We let go of a system that was holding us back.
Similarly, we are investing in the virtual experience, which includes much of our programming, FINAO, and YMCA360. We hired an expert to guide us through the process of imagining and creating how we can best deliver the virtual experience. This does not mean the virtual platform will replace our in-person operation, but we believe it will become part of our business model.
Last week, our board of directors formally approved a new equity statement for our organization. It is a defining moment for our Y. Amidst the challenges we face with the pandemic and redefining our business model lies a core principle that defines the heart of our organization – that everyone in our community has access to our programs and services. Throughout my career in this Y, I have always believed we delivered on that promise. Today, I recognize we have work to do and that I, as a leader, have work to do to better deliver on that promise.
OUR EQUITY STATEMENT
The YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties is a champion of vibrant, healthy youth, families, and communities, and aspires to be the community gathering space where all people have the opportunity to thrive and achieve their full potential.
The Y stands for nondiscrimination, diversity, inclusion, and equity. We welcome all people regardless of ability, age, background, ethnicity, faith, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, or sexual orientation. We are dedicated to removing institutional and systemic barriers that result in oppression and racism.
Our commitment to community:
- The Y will work with communities to help create strong infrastructures for under-resourced, underserved, and underrepresented populations
- The Y will build civic vitality by being a voice of community and supporting members to be powerful allies on behalf of their communities
- The Y will be accountable to marginalized communities by creating equitable and sustainable environments through our programs and services
- We believe that, in a diverse world, we are stronger when we are inclusive, when our doors are open to all, and when everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive
For the past 10 months, our country has been taking a hard look at some of the same truths, realizing the dream it promised to everyone may not be a dream equally accessible to all. There is a lot of work to do in our country to ensure everyone has equal access to health and well-being. Our Y has taken the first step by embracing a commitment to truly being inclusive, to be steadfast in our efforts of eliminating barriers that preclude access to health and well-being to some, and to build an environment that is welcoming to all in a way that allows everyone to feel like they belong. This work will transform our Y and will make us relevant tomorrow. Most of all, it will allow us to deliver our mission to serve all. It is then that we will truly be that Y.
#StayStrong #StayWithUs