A Happy Hour with a Difference

Each month, I sponsor a Happy Hour with a Difference.  I invite a knowledgeable, supportive resource person to join us, to share part of their story, and to spend time one-on-one in individual conversations with anyone who is interested.

We also get to try a new restaurant each month.  We have already visited a Hawaiian barbecue, a speakeasy, a Mexican restaurant, a Trappist pub, and a place serving traditional American fare.  This month we try Japanese.  We have an opportunity to try something new, or to get back to an old favorite.

And we get to talk with each other.  Leaders often become stressed; focused on details, on implementation, on getting things accomplished.  This focus can make them oblivious to the gifts and talents of the people right in front of them.  It can turn them into resource managers, rather than leaders who bring out the best in the people around them.

The first step is to relax the tensions that have developed over time and find  the perspective needed to recognize the deeper truths of the situation.

We need a space to breathe!

Creating the space to breathe allows us to remember that each of us is a gifted, valuable person; that we are all committed to our overall goals; that none of us is intentionally trying to make things harder.

Each month is different.  Join us this month as Jenelle D’Alessandro (Fresh Green Ink and the Restore LA community) discusses practical ways you and your community can prepare for the unexpected.  Jenelle will highlight what she has learned as a newly-certified Level 1 Community Emergency Response Team member.

Next month we have the opportunity to spend time with Christy Lambertson, who will talk to us about how nonprofit organizations are finding ways to flourish in challenging times.  And each month we meet and talk with more leaders in our community.

Please join me for a Happy Hour with a Difference sometime soon!

[ Image by Dmitry ]