Check-in time!

There was an issue at work last week, where I had the same conversation with the other two girls I worked with about how they were unhappy about some stuff that had happened. So I contacted my boss, and we got to sit down, and meet about it, and talk about the best and most loving way to resolve the conflict so there wouldn't be dissent among the team. She ended up meeting with the other two girls, and talking to them so that they felt like they were being heard, and that the issues would be addressed. (See why I like my job! I can openly and honestly talk with my co-workers and solve things in a positive environment where there's room for growth, and support!)

Later, the one girl I worked with, Thusa, said to me that she thought I should do a seminar on conflict resolution for a work meeting, and that I had life skills to impart. (Really? I get into conflict all the time! I'm very humbled though that she thinks I am an "expert" on conflict resolution enough to do a seminar on it) And Lia (my boss) was asking my advice and input about how she should address and talk to the other people on the team, and listening to the ideas that I had about how to resolve the dissent the others were experiencing. She ended up taking my advice too. I was humbled, again.

On another day, Sarah, the other girl I work with, was talking with me about it, when she said,

"You know what would be really healthy and beneficial to have? It'd be good if we can meet one on one with Lia maybe once a month, and be able to openly address any conflicts, and talk about things that are going well, as well as things that need to be improved."

"You mean like... a CHECK-IN??"* I asked.

"Yeah! A check-in! And then she can know if we're stressed out about other things, and if there's conflicts to bring up, and she can talk to us about things we can improve on!"

"And we can talk about our stress levels! And bring up action requests!"

"Yeah! Check-ins are so healthy! I'm definitely going to bring it up at the next meeting that having a monthly check-in so that there's open communication and honesty about what's going on is a really healthy thing to have!"

In conclusion, it's official. It's been two years, yet YouthBuilders still manages to find a way to permeate itself into every single aspect of my life. That may not be a bad thing though. :)


*We had check-ins every day on YouthBuilders. It was a time we set aside to talk about stress levels, things we appreciated about either the people we met, each other, or anything else (it's always healthy to voice appreciations) as well as to bring up any issues that might be going on, and to address all people's sides of the story, and hopefully come to a resolution of the conflict. The other team apparently, had really great check-ins, from what I heard. Our check-ins were usually quite painful, stress-filled, two-hour long terrible processes that required recuperation afterward. But either way, the check-in is one of the most open and welcoming (depending on who with...) environments I know of to address issues.


Also! On another note: Angela told me yesterday that apparently fish, and soy, are both extremely, very very very good for your skin. This excited me, because sushi is mostly, fish, and soy sauce. Therefore, I should eat more sushi. Take that, Dan Cook!