“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
— Dr. Seuss
As an homage to the book In Search of Excellence, which shifted our focus from the economic malaise of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, I would like to share stories of individuals and organizations who are navigating themselves through this life-changing crisis into a better place and contributing to a better world.
The first in my 21st Century Pandemic story telling adventure into opportunity and greatness is:
The Achievement Centers of Erie, Pennsylvania
The mission of The Achievement Centers of Erie, Pennsylvania is to maximize the potential of children and their families. For over 95 years they have been providing their communities therapeutic services for young children from birth to young adulthood.
That alone is a noble pursuit. And the story of how they were founded, grew to serve multiple counties and became a leader in their community and field is a story to be told. It was not without challenge or hardship or times when the health of the organization was fragile. No person or organization matures without hardship and challenge or the risks of failure and threatened well-being. Not all survive. Entrepreneurial organizations fail at a rate of 85% and those that survive the first five years, 50% of them fail before their aging into a decade. And yet, our nation is founded on organizations birthed from an idea, grown through adversity, struggling, failing and learning to grow strong with good leadership and great people. The road to organizational well-being and performance with fraught with challenge without the additional unexpected national disaster, natural disaster or economic downturn (of which I have lived through and survived at least five).
We are capable of greatness. We can surmount challenge. When faced with crisis individuals, groups and organizations will either pull together or pull apart. Either the cracks in our organizations that were benignly unattended grow larger under the stress of the unplanned situation or the character of the people and the culture rises and greatness appears.
I vote for character. I vote for greatness. I vote for the human spirit to rise when faced with overwhelming challenge. And I am witness.
What I have learned is that it doesn’t just happen. The organizations and individuals that I see traversing a chasm of challenge did not plan for this exact crisis but have been creating the environment, the culture, the values, norms and behaviors for working well together as a way of being in every day work life.
These individuals and organizations can rise because that is the way they approached life before the crisis.
The Achievement Centers of Erie are finding their way with grace, innovation and good results because of what they did before the crisis and what they are choosing to do in the crisis. This organization has been working their culture, their relationship and their fundaments intentionally for several years. And their choice to devote significant time and resources to both the fundamentals of good business and the essentials of organizational health are supporting their growth and future contributions in this great challenge.
I admire and support this organization for their dedication to leadership, mission and learning. They will do the tough stuff well and with a lightness of heart. They make it look easy but it has been their investment of time and effort that make the results seem so achievable.
While they learn how to reposition the organization to deliver services to families and children at the same time keeping their workforce safe and also caring for the morale of their constituents. They are my best example of taking the situation seriously but lightening up on life.
If this were a speech I would say, I should speak no further but let you experience the magic of the way The Achievement Center of Erie is seeing their way through this collective event.
They have given me permission to share with you one of a series of videos that they are creating to connect their staff and stay focused in this time.
Every few weeks a new video is envisioned by the leadership team and creatively produced by Senior Leader Bob Gulick and shared with the Staff and Board of The Achievement Centers of Erie. And yes they are going viral with postings on Facebook and the like. The first was a fun way to cover the essential protocols of COVID-19 with a meditation for self-care. You have seen the second video in the series. The most recent video shared photos of all the staff and their families in their masks working and playing. My favorite shot was of one of their clients all grown up and now using her time to produce masks for the community.
This video approach to sharing vital information, celebrating milestones and staying connected during this collective experience is powerful. All the while, children and families are being served with tele-visits, partnerships are being forged, and good works is being done while being safe.
The Achievement Centers of Erie their leadership, staff, team and partners are making their world a better place and will be in a better place as we evolve.
When asked, ‘Why do you make these videos?’ Bob Gulick easily says, “I knew if I had the chance, that I could make those people dance and maybe they’d be happy for a while.” These aren’t Bob’s words but the lyrics from Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’. Very frequently Bob will draw his inspiration from music, movies, literature and art.
Bob is a behavioral analyst. He is also a poet, artist and individual who derives great pleasure out of helping people and entertaining them in a way that their best selves show up. When he joined a team of Non-Profit Leaders at CASE Western Reserve University to learn how to use Appreciative Inquiry to support healthy change within the organizations he said to Professor Mark Chupp, “This A.I. stuff is not that different from behavior analysis. They both are about creating nurturance and helping those in need.”
Bob has become a master of weaving the WHAT and HOW of working together to create a resonant culture for healing and performance. No one told him to find a way to connect the workforce together during a time of unprecedented disruption. He just knew how to use his talents to nurture and help.
His CEO and organization President, Charlotte Rerko, also knew how to give wind to Bob wings and let his talent and leadership rise.
We are living through a time in which we can only rely on our capabilities and relationship. Trust your instincts about doing the right things and how to make real human connections with your staff and clients. This is an opportunity to discover and use your strengths. This is an opportunity to become better.
- What opportunities have you created during this situation?
- How are you and those around you rising together to find a new way?
- What are you doing to maintain the connection of culture?
Carpe Diem.
Leslie
“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.”
— Sally Koch