Thanks for filling out the poll in the last newsletter. We decided to call the garden Earthseed 653, from Octavia Butler's books with the Dewey Decimal system number for gardens. 57% of people who votes in the poll two weeks ago picked Earthseed.
My friend Vanessa Richards, who is an amazing artist, facilitator and educator suggested putting the two together.
My values are my compass
When you live and work in alignment with your values you feel aligned.
Some of my values are regular words like integrity, love, fun. You might see these on a worksheet or list about values.
Others, which are more memorable for me, include "choose your adventure", 出発進行 and "are you fucking kidding me".
A company reached out to ask if I wanted to be a “thought partner” where I would write or create content about their brand. When I learned they had no budget for this, I replied that I would be disrespecting my own value called “are you fucking kidding me”. When I started my business I had a lot of audacious asks from corporations to speak at events and conferences for free. A coach helped me articulate that this was one of my values. I had a moment of “eek, did I actually say that?” But felt aligned and right with myself.
A few years ago I might have felt flattered to be asked by this company, have overextended myself to be "nice" and then felt cranky later as it would not have been a kind-to-me decision. It was a choice to be so transparent and honest and it aligns with how I want to be in the world.
Values compass coaching sessions
The world feels so unpredictable and chaotic right now. It can be difficult to know how to move forward.
Getting clear on your values and using them as your internal compass to make decisions about how you want to move forward is a great strategy.
I think values are the most important thing and I do this work with all of my ongoing coaching clients. You'll leave this session with a list of 5-7 of your values and an action plan to live into them more. These sessions are $425, limited to 3 slots each month until the summer.
Rupture and Repair
Did you ever go to XOXO Fest? I did, in 2019, and it was awesome. XOXO Fest is no longer but they just launched an online archive of all the talks.
I hadn't seen this talk by Nicky Case and it was delightful. Parable of the Polygons was how I came to know Nicky's work. This talk captures their creative, quirky and deeply human perspective.
I especially liked this bit towards the end:
Kintsugi "the Japanese art of mending stuff you fucked up and broke" (gosh, I love this language. It's so annoying when non-Japanese people talk about Japanese culture with weird Orientalist reverence). Nicky says "With a normal tea bowl you throw it away after it breaks. You mend it, you don't hide the scar with gold. The damage doesn't define it but it is a part of it".
"If chaos strikes in your path, and things fall apart, know that broken pieces can be put back together, not in the same way, and you won't be the same after it. It's only a part of you but it doesn't define you."
Boom.
Camp Reset
I first heard about Camp Reset a few years ago from my friend Amira. It sounded interesting but when I watched the documentary I knew I had to go. The combo of play and rest with a really diverse group of people (last year there were 302 attendees: 59% racialized, 61% LGBTQ2S+, 23% people with disabilities) is very, very exciting for me.
The three rules of camp are:
- no devices
- no work talk
- no real names.
These rules create a container that's great for connection, play and rest. Let me know if you've gone or are going this year.
Useful resources
For freelancers
Bunny McKensie Mack is a force. They created this hourly rate calculator.
Stop guessing what to charge. This fill-in-the-blank Excel workbook walks you through a simple but powerful formula so you can calculate exactly what you need to charge per hour to support your life and hit your income goals.
Most people price their work based on the market.
This calculator starts with your life.
For non-profit leaders:
Marissa Bagdley is the Founder of Reloveution and The Millennial Manager Collective.
When folks join our mailing list, they receive 2-3 soul-affirming emails a month, each jam-packed with reloveutionary tips and tricks for strengthening teams, deepening leadership impact, preventing burnout, and building a more compassionate and just world.
For Chief Revenue Officers, and adjacent leaders:
Sarah Bierenbaum works with Chief Revenue Officers, Customer Success leaders and and other leaders who need to be effective cross functionally to succeed.
Her hot take Friday posts on LinkedIn are a delight.
Hit your numbers.
Like who you see in the mirror.
A weekly newsletter on navigating the relationships and decisions that make or break your career. From a former startup exec and stage manager who's spent 20 years helping senior leaders navigate what's next.
I'd love for this to be a two way street--share a resource that you've found useful or delightful.
Other ways to work with me
- 1:1 coaching — 3 or 6 month packages. Book a free chemistry call to see if we're a fit.
- Team offsites — I design and facilitate in-person experiences for teams. I'm actively looking to do more of this, especially in person. Reply with the basics (who, what, when) and let's talk.
- Speaking — keynotes, panels, fireside chats. I'm booking events for Pride this year. I'm a strong interviewer if you need someone to draw out a great conversation. Here's my current keynote on leadership and values.
- Inclusion consulting — strategy, thought partnership, and culture work for organizations building high-performance inclusive workplaces. Reach out here.
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