And, that’s a WRAP!
2022 was a year of big challenges, surprises, learning, and growth at RVC. We moved into a shared executive leadership and deepened our distributed leadership structure which shifted at least 10 positions at RVC (see our organizational chart here); began another round of our re-designed, 2-year Community Impact Fellowship; integrated feedback to serve our operations support partners better; launched the social justice league; and continued to hire wonderful folks. We also connected with people around the country around transformational capacity building, being an equitable intermediary, and liberatory leadership practices.
Our staff took a little time to reflect on the lessons learned this past year and to celebrate what went well. We wanted to share a slice of that reflection with you!
We deepened our understanding of our work.
I’ve learned that self-awareness is one of the biggest strengths and skills for a leader. – Flo Sum
Showing up as a leader can look like many different things, and it takes a lot of practice, and intention, like building a routine that you’re committed to practicing and learning every day. – Uyên Vũ
It’s so important to pause and reflect on the why behind what we do or say. – Sandra Amolo
As a self managing organization, we’ve been getting our toes wet in a big experiment. It’s been more complicated and not-as-complicated as I imagined. Processes can involve more people, but that’s not the same as involving the “right” people, the folks most impacted or who have perspective on a situation. If we’re not careful, self-management can also lean heavily on those who have “capacity”/passion/desire and that can tire out parts of the organization in unsustainable ways. – Yecelica Valdivia
Transitions take work. No matter how the transition happens, even if it is amicable or well-planned, it is hard and it takes a long time to “catch up” from the changes. – Anbar Mahar
It takes capacity to build capacity. This can be really hard to accept and navigate as capacity builders. At times, we see a need and want to move things forward but our teams or partners don’t have the capacity. So it challenges us to really think first and foremost about how we can create capacity to build capacity. – Deserea Brito
Sometimes a new learning is an old learning. I re-learned the value of having a strong team to lean on — for support, partnership, accountability, community. And yes, at times to commiserate about something we all are dealing with. From my team, I’ve learned, and continue to deepen in, how to be more transparent, more patient, more thoughtful, to lead with more grace, and to pause with more humility. To have great humans to work with is no different than having a strong family by one’s side. So, my most lasting re-learning from 2022 is to always put people first, and I’m so proud to have such great people to be able to put first! – Hana Jang
We’ve gained insight about ourselves.
I’ve learned to appreciate my pace and redefine what urgency means to me <3 – Christian Moore
It takes practice, but listening to my body is key for self-regulation and self-management. – Rae Lee
I’ve learned that sometimes what I’m asking from others I need from myself. – Shalom Cook
Being better about actually taking time off or breaks makes a huge difference to how I function while I work. It’s work that is driven from personal values but it’s important not to identify the work with your personhood. – Osca Opoku
And, we have a lot to celebrate!
The constant growth of our partners is the biggest celebration, whether they’ve received new contracts/grants/major donors, hired new staff, got spaces to host their own programming, created spaces for their communities, and so many other things! – Kristine Maramot
We jumped from 120 to almost 200 employees across RVC and our 19 operations support partner organizations. – Anbar Mahar
I’m celebrating our new cohort of CI Fellows and seeing their growth and impact so far! – Christian Moore
I’m so proud of the way our new staff has been showing up- asking questions, providing new perspectives in our approach, and leading in ways that have really helped us reflect on how to improve the way we work together! – Sandra Amolo
We started a wellness/restorative day where we get a Friday off a month to center self-care. – Mandie Rice
I’m celebrating our staff raises, and the continued work on our compensation structure that helped make it happen! – Fabiola Arvizu
I love being at an org where we celebrate our full selves; I am openly queer and neurodivergent, and that’s seen as a strength. We lean on each other, experiment, prioritize sustainability, and challenge ourselves on why we do things a certain way. It has been the gift I needed to reimagine what “work” means to me. – Rae Lee
I am celebrating how much passion and dedication I see every day at work. There is such a high level of commitment around figuring out what we need to do in order to show up well for each other, our partners, and ourselves. We make time to be in community with each other no matter how busy things get. – Roshni Sampath
Thank you all for supporting us through our learnings and celebrating some of our wins with us! We couldn’t do our work without our larger community. Let us know one thing you learned in 2022 or would like to celebrate in the comments below!
We wish you the very best in this new year!
💖 RVC Staff
