Manager's Reflections

I am deeply contemplating the direction in which I want to stir my work as winter is receding and spring is bringing forth new life around us. There are two important aspects to my work, working with ideas and engaging in relationship/partnership building. Neither of these two aspects totally belong to me. My ideas are influenced by the teachings of elders and my relationship building efforts are governed by many protocols rooted in distinct worldviews. The ideas and protocols echo through the universe. And I am open to receive them in whichever form they come to me.

I want to make sincere efforts to build relationships in a way that respects the work undertaken and accomplished by community members. I need to enter the space of engagement and relationship building with humility and mindful presence. This requires me to examine my biases, to slow down, and to gain deeper awareness of my way of functioning in relation to the community members, their aspirations and lived experiences, and their nuanced context. This requires me to know and establish the protocols of asking for permission as I enter new spaces of conversation, communication, exchanges, and decision making. This is about owning my responsibility and role in ensuring that our community relationships are not merely transactional, rather they are transformative.

Also, I want to honour the principle of reciprocity with an understanding that I should take what I need (not want) and give back what I can (not should). It is this principle of reciprocity that has the power to unite us rather than divide us. I am awaiting for this reciprocal relationship building to unfold.

Santiago