Folks have been asking me recently, “How are you?” This question sometimes comes at the start of the four hundred and seventy-two Zoom calls I do each day. Beaming, I say, "I feel great. Really great". The thoughtful folks ask me why. And I’ve been able to say a variety of truths in response. It's sunny today. My kids are home and we all had lunch together. My desk is finally clean and I love it! All true. But not the whole truth.
Now that I am sitting and reflecting intentionally, ParriagGroup was da bomb last year! We accomplished (many of) our goals with grace and intelligence (a few tears, mostly from the principal) and we are right where we want to be now.
If I can share for just a moment, drum roll, please….
We completed more than ten complex, organizational DAIR assessments. Was everyone happy with what we found? No. Did they action all of our recommendations? No. Why are we proud of this, again? Because we helped employees speak their truths. And now those truths are out in the public. And even when leaders don't love the work that’s required to make these wrongs right, they know we worked with integrity and humility - and rigour (and we know that too).
We completed multiple evaluations, from evaluation plan to data gathering and reporting - and we levelled up every time. Our team became more rigorous and more sensitive. We dived deep to support clients. We built capacity intentionally, so that power differences were minimised as we worked. That's what we want to be doing. That's important.
We delivered training to over 300 employees on Diversity, Accessibility, Inclusion and Respect. It was hard work, because it is, always. But there were super rewarding moments like the guy who seemed asleep for most of the session and then sent a heartfelt email afterward. He shared the learnings he was taking to his family and for his life. Or, when one of our team members was so emotionally invested and another team member gently moved her out of the spot - while on Zoom - and none of the participants knew. We made changes in the social fabric of Canada, folks. And that's something.
We led with our hearts. We allowed ourselves to be as authentic as we could be, while meeting our timelines and hitting our deliverables. Feels good. Feels great, actually. And our clients can see this when they work with us.
Which brings me back to why I say things are great: ‘Cause they are.`