Friday Favorites: Drawing Water from Empty Buckets

Friday Favorites

Good Morning, Happy Friday, and Happy December!

How is the start of the new month going for you?

A special welcome to this week's new readers, and a deep thank you to those who have been here for awhile.

Something I've been thinking about this week is the idea of drawing water from empty buckets.

We have rhythms of work, life, and busyness. Occasionally, we may need to draw water from one of our buckets, and put it into another.

For example, if we are particularly busy at work, we may draw a bit of water from our personal bucket to get us through the busy season at work.

If we are navigating a difficult family situation, we may draw water from our work bucket, so that we have more energy to give at home.

If we're dealing with a health issue, we may draw water from our friends bucket, while we devote energy to recovery and healing.

Here's the thing I've been noticing, particularly in the second half of 2021:

A lot of people are holding empty buckets.

Most teams I work with are facing a shortage of people—and in many cases, it is severe.

This means that a number of colleagues are taking on the work of two or three people, and in some cases for a long stretch of time.

At home, parents are still dealing with surprise calls on a Tuesday afternoon that oh by the way there was a possible exposure so could you please come pick up your kiddo immediately, and he will need to be out for the rest of the week.

Others are simultaneously caring for children and aging parents, playing the role of primary caretaker for multiple people in multiple physical locations.

And on top of all of this, some top performers are wondering if they will be able to stay at a job they love, depending on what shakes out with mandates and requirements that conflict with a set of personal values or principles.

It's a lot to hold.

And it can feel like trying to draw water from empty buckets.

In this time, it feels more important than ever that we are checking in with each other; offering support when we can; and extending a hand if we happen to find ourselves with a bit of extra capacity to give.

If you are leading others, I lovingly urge you to check in and see how folks are doing. Not just with the work but as human beings. It's a great time to grab a coffee together, take a walk, or connect for 10 minutes via phone, to check in human to human.

My observation is that in this time, we need each other more than ever.

What do you think?

I welcome your thoughts as always.

My deepest gratitude to you for being part of this community. Thank you.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead.

With Love and Appreciation,

Sarah

On the Web

Why The Mundane Matters by Kayti Christian (The Good Trade)

“The truth is, life is 99% mundane; a person’s life is a collection of all the moments that happen in the middle. There are adventures and excitement along the way, but it's the unassuming parts that fill in the blank pages of our stories and shape us into who we are.”

Podcast Episode

Jocko, on The Joe Rogan Experience

A number of years ago, one of my client teams introduced me to Jocko through his book Extreme Ownership. (thank you guys!)

At the time, I will admit that I didn't quite get the hype around Jocko. Since that time, however, I have come to realize that in many ways, he epitomizes leadership. I appreciate his perspectives, point of view, and calm and steady way of looking at things. I appreciate that he demonstrates a level of deep thinking and reflection about hard topics.

As a side note, he works out without fail everyday at 4 am, which is quite impressive!

This episode contains some gems and touches on a lot of the hard things that we are navigating right now as a country.

Note: I know that a number of people reading this are not a fan of JRE. ;) I appreciate the way he brings on all sorts of different people, with diverse perspectives, and the way in which he is willing to sit down and have a real conversation and hard stuff. I know he's not perfect but will likely continue to share my favorite episodes since from my perspective, our world needs more dialogue; and more conversation across different viewpoints. Feel free to skip these links anytime, of course!

Being Nice

Last night, I picked up Thai Food. The restaurant was very busy. The host told me that she was happy; from her perspective, the stretch of eating Thanksgiving food was officially over, and everyone is back to eating Thai food. She was glad, since she'd been so bored (her words) over the holiday weekend!

As I was waiting for my order, I couldn't help but pick up on . . . a tone . . . among some of the folks coming in to pick up their orders.

Where are those summer roles?

My order isn't ready yet?

Is this going to be ready soon?

I get it; to dine out right now can sometimes be challenging. Like everyone listed above, most restaurant owners and team members are also drawing from empty buckets of water. Most of us have likely witnessed entire dining room sections closed, or our favorite coffee shop closing for a couple of days per week.

But as we reflected on above, we need each other right now. And that can start with our interactions at the host stand.

What do you think?

Mann Educational Opportunity Fund

I've had the opportunity to do some work with this incredible organization and can say from personal experience: it is special—from the mission, to the approach, to the people involved. The board members are heart-centered and deeply caring; the success stories of the students are touching.

Clearing by Martha Postlewaite

Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose.

Instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life
and wait there
patiently,
until the song
that is your life
falls into your own cupped hands
and you recognize and greet it.

Only then will you know
how to give yourself
to this world
so worth of rescue.

Thank you, Andrea, for sharing these beautiful words!

What is the current status of my buckets?
Which of my buckets is currently feeling empty—and do I have water in the others to pull from?
How are my team members doing right now? When was the last time I checked in to ask?
What could it look like to reach out to one person today who might be struggling or dealing with empty buckets?

NEW OFFERINGS: COMING SOON

I am looking forward to sharing a couple of updates with all of you in the upcoming months and will be sharing these updates here first. I can't wait to share more details shortly.

WOMEN'S COACHING CIRCLE: (2022 - enrolling now)

The next circle will launch in March of 2022, and we will meet on Friday mornings.

The women who join these circles are, quite simply, phenomenal.

More specifically, the circles are for women who:

Identify as both heart-centered and highly driven.
Are creative and compassionate.
Lead with a great love and care for their team members.
Have 10+ years of work experience.
Are leading people, projects and/or teams - or have done so in the past.

Please feel free to drop me a note by replying to this email if you'd like to talk more in the upcoming weeks about whether this feels like the right fit for you.

EMBRACING CONFLICT (Feb 2-3, 2022)

Embracing Conflict will be returning in its virtual format in early 2022. This course is offered in partnership with UW Madison. It will be held on two back to back mornings and focuses on how we can embrace and work with the conflict and challenges that arise.

Registration and more details available, via this link.

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