As a home for transformative work at the personal, social, and global levels, the Whidbey Institute itself is also subject to continual improvement. As a staff in service of a greater purpose, we’ve been working closely with board members and Institute fellows to refine our strategy and methods as an organization.
Our work at the Whidbey Institute is all about relationships. Nurturing a holistic perspective toward and cultivating strength in these relationships is core to our mission.Vital questions have emerged: How do we create a sense of belonging? How do we nurture our connections? What does right relationship—with self, with community, and with the ecosystem—look like?
It took some time before, in the midst of this very exciting strategy work, we applied these elemental inquiries of the Whidbey Institute to ourselves: how do we, as a team, create a sense of belonging with one another?
It can be difficult to care for oneself in the throes of the day to day grind, and we found that true on a personal and organizational level. We were struggling to find a healthy balance between “getting the work done”, tending to our inner selves, and being in community with people we respect, admire, and want to hang out with! The inquiry had us surfing the edge; the tension between a gap and a solution. So we did what we do best: those who felt passionate and inspired formed a team and developed a creative solution through invention and imagination.
That team was Dan and Kimi, and after some obviously playful brainstorming, they presented Team Tuesday. Team Tuesday is built around our weekly staff meetings and aims to support our whole selves. We held our first Team Tuesday this week and it was awesome. We were more focused throughout each activity—able to fully participate while knowing that other important activities had space to exist. We had really good work time and really good play time. We served ourselves and the mission of the Institute. We caught the wave—the sweet spot that holds you suspended in harmony. I am so grateful to be in the company of such cool people. Thanks everyone. I’m already looking forward to more!
Check out the sidebar for the proposal that Dan and Kimi shared with the staff.
—Allison Tongate, Operations Manager