There is a common Indigenous teaching that says “remember where you come from.” We all have a starting place and since birth we have taken many small strides to get us where we are today.
In my office, next to my master’s degree, is my diploma in journalism and photojournalism, from a small private college that has since closed down.
When I earned that diploma, I was so proud, and I was excited to be a community newspaper reporter in a small, rural town making $11 an hour. I want to remember that time to remind myself that the different stages of my life have got me to where I am today.
Friday was my last day at M’akola Housing Society, and I am preparing to start my new job as executive director of NEED2, a non-profit that provides suicide prevention education and support. I am eager to work with a new team, take on new challenges and make an impact in the community in a new sector.
It’s hard to leave a long-term job, and I know that the time I put in at M’akola has aided me in obtaining the skills for this new chapter in my life. I will still support M’akola in Indigenous relations, but remotely and on contract.
As I start my new position, I will remember where I come from and the lessons I learned along the way.
When I was fairly new at M’akola, I had organized a Christmas event for the board of directors. I triple-checked everything and called every business that was going to be a part of the day. Everything was confirmed and I was feeling confident.
About 10 minutes before the transportation was set to arrive, I stood outside a hotel and called the company and said: “I know you still have 10 minutes to arrive, but I just want to make sure that everything is still on schedule.”
The person on the other end replied: “Oh you’re not booked for today, it’s tomorrow.”
My heart sunk. I looked into the window of the hotel lobby and saw all the board members and spouses waiting inside. I was crushed and I was certain the CEO, Kevin Albers, was going to lose it on me.
I should add he’d never “lost it” on me before, and I’d never heard of him “losing it” on anyone else, but my brain went to the worst-case scenario.
Eventually, I motioned to his partner to come outside, and I told her what happened, then Albers came out. I braced myself, and he told me it was going to be OK and he troubleshot the issue with me.
As I still felt lousy and responsible for ruining everything, he turned to me and said: “It’s not how you act when everything is going well that counts, it’s what you do when things are falling apart.”
That day, I learned some valuable lessons and I learned them from a leader who was demonstrating them in action.
Getting angry at someone for making a mistake won’t fix the problem any faster. It will extend it and if someone already feels awful, there is no need to make them feel worse.
That act of leadership has stuck with me, and in that moment, I was so grateful to feel supported.
Albers has demonstrated so many life lessons to me over the years, and I hope that I can demonstrate them to my new team and make him proud.
