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Community Conversations - 3/17/2025 - Supported People = Supported Animals: Developing and Maintaining a Strong Team

  • 1.  Community Conversations - 3/17/2025 - Supported People = Supported Animals: Developing and Maintaining a Strong Team

    Posted 11 days ago

    Updated 3/17/25 at 1:47 pm - Recording now available! 

    Please note: All views expressed on these calls are not necessarily endorsed by Maddie’s Fund.

    We hope to see you on the next Community Conversation on Monday, 3/17/25 at 11am PT for "Supported People = Supported Animals: Developing and Maintaining a Strong Team" with Christina Lee, Founder & Principal at StellaFirma Strategies. 

    Our love for animals is what has brought most of us to the animal well-being world. However, animals do not exist in a vacuum; there are people associated with all of them. Many of us do not realize the importance of people in our workplace and communities, and people development is usually an afterthought. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why turnover is such a big issue in the industry. In this talk, Christina Lee will share practical ways in which we can support and elevate the much-needed and essential people that care for our animals. From hiring to firing, from interviewing to checking in, Christina will share her experience and expertise in building and strengthening teams in animal well-being.


    Register for Community Conversations hosted via Zoom: https://maddies.fund/CommunityConvoRegistration2024


    Make sure you are using the latest version of Zoom when you join us!

    If you are unable to make it live on Monday, this thread will be updated with the recording and resources so you can watch and share whenever you'd like.  After you watch the recording on-demand or attend the call live, be sure to complete this new March 2025 entry form to enter to win up to a $5,000 grant: https://www.maddiesfund.org/weekly-community-conversations-mar25-giveaway.htm 


    #EducationandTraining
    #OrganizationalManagement
    #PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

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    Maddie's Pet Forum Admin
    Maddie's Fund
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  • 2.  RE: Community Conversations - 3/17/2025 - Supported People = Supported Animals: Developing and Maintaining a Strong Team

    Posted 5 days ago
      |   view attached

    Thanks to the 182+ people and paws who joined us on today's Community Conversations call! The recording is now available to watch on-demand. Below you'll find a recap of today's call and the resources shared. 

    Call Recap

    Welcome from hosts

      • @Nadia Oseguera-Ramon, CA Program Manager, UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program
      • @Miguel Ruelas, Director, Community Animal Care, Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE)

    • Question of the Day: What's one piece of advice or insight a manager gave you that has stuck with you, and how has it shaped your approach to work?
      • "99 times out of 100, other people don't dislike you. It's in your head, and you just have different forms of communication." -  Jenna Riedi
      • "Hey there! Something that stuck with me was the importance of keeping your work and life balance and not investing too much of your emotions with work. Tough to do in animal rescue, but has helped." - Michelle Thorson
      • "Bring people along through the thought process on decision making. Just because you may know the answer, you need to bring others along to make it a team effort." - Elaine Edington
      • "The older you get, the less you'll care."  Before you think WAIT! I was young and got super emotional about every up and down of our work.  I do find that now I am much more level-headed and I have better ways to care for myself." - Johanna Humbert
      • "Lead by example. " - Joshua Chilcote
      • "I've never had a manager say anything useful. I tell people whom I manage that the business reflects the worst worker, so pick the best person for the job." - April Cannizzaro
      • "Pay attention to detail." - Janette Martin
      • "Treat people the way you want to be treated! " - LK Allen
      • "Perception can be taken as reality."- Christina Kenney
      • "Share knowledge and train so well that you'll be working for your staff one day." - Shonyae Johnson
      • "No one starts from the same place. Begin each task and conversation with compassion." - Lisa Pearce
      •  "Focus on the positive and be in the balance of showcasing animal welfare - there is a whole lot of room for positive marketing." - Christina Urrutia
      • "My favorite was an article in the HBR:  Time is a finite thing, we all have the same amount of time in the day. The energy you have is where the game changer is. So, if you take the time to take care of YOU and recharge, you will have more energy and focus on being productive without overworking yourself." - Jenna Riedi
      • "One of my favorite things a manager ever said was, 'Humiliated and defensive people don't change.'  So, using shame in your messaging will NOT create change, it will alienate the exact people you need to reach the most. It's best to lead with compassion, even for groups of people you may not understand." - Jory Jolivet
      • "For all the hatred towards you.  The biggest revenge towards them is to be successful." - Steve Marrero
      • "Best thing(s) I've been told about - flexibility and support to all employees and volunteers…" - Jean Harman
    • National Updates
      • Doors Wide Open monthly mini-webcast series is all about access to pet care! 
      • Tomorrow at 12n Pacific - Doors Wide Open monthly, half-hour webcast series is all about access to pet care!  Join us with Janet Hoy-Gerlach, Director of Veterinary Social Work at Open Door Veterinary Collective.
        Find out more and register: https://forum.maddiesfund.org/opendoorwebcasts
      • My Dog is My Home virtual conference happening this month! March 25-27th - all online and great speaker line up. Dr. Kwane Stewart and Lori Weise of Downtown Dog Rescue are keynote speakers.
        Registration here https://www.mydogismyhome.org/2025-conference
        Discount Code: MaddiesForum ((the price with the discount is $75 discounted from $140)
      • Maddie's Fund Monthly Giveaways!  Enter here for a chance to win CA$H: 
        Open to all who are watching live or on-demand! Be sure to enter each week you attend!
         https://www.maddiesfund.org/weekly-community-conversations-mar25-giveaway.htm
      • Maddie's Pet Forum Monthly Giveaway: Maddie's Fund® is giving away a $3,000 grant each month to one lucky Maddie's® Pet Forum member. You'll automatically be entered to win each month when you start a new discussion, reply to a new post. More info:  https://maddies.fund/mpfmonthlygiveaway

      • In celebration of Maddie's Fund 30th anniversary, Maddie's Fund and Cuddly have partnered to provide $1,000 in prizes monthly, for engaging on a special anniversary-related post on Maddie's Pet Forum. 

        You'll also be entered to win the usual $3,000 monthly grant giveaway by participating. We're so excited to celebrate Maddie's Fund 30th anniversary with Cuddly and all of you. You can find each month's discussion thread when they're available here: https://forum.maddiesfund.org/30yearsgiveaway

    • Presentation:  
        • Guest Speaker:
        • Resources
        • Key Takeaways:
          • We can do our best work for animals when we support our people

          • Set your team up for success by:

            • Sharing clear expectations
            • Prioritizing their growth
            • Giving timely and appropriate feedback
            • Be open to, and welcoming, feedback for yourself
            • Use objective and consistent practices for hiring, onboarding, and maintaining
    • Highlights from the Chat
      • "Thank you for the Cuddly Prize Pack Giveaway announced last week. I was out ill and not on that call but was thrilled at winning the prize pack!" - Elaine Edington
      • "Exit interviews by HR are so valuable!" - Lisa Pearce
      • "I worked for an org for 14 years, and the "exit interview" was a survey and didn't allow for any open-ended answers. Basically, forced the exiting employee to make their experience sound positive. :(." - Temma Martin
      • Question from the Speaker: "What is one thing about your (favorite) manager that helped you most?" - Christina Lee
      • "Open to new ideas" - Johanna Humbert
      • "Authentic" - Nadia Oseguera
      • "Supportive" - Penny Paiich-Caraway 
      • "Spoke what was on their mind and didn't play games" - Mary Flores
      • "Compassionate" - Nadia Oseguera
      • "Trusting" - Shonyae Johnson
      • "Direct with expectations." - Candice Hinkle
      • "Training with patience" -  Kate Sawyer
      • "Communicated well, open to new ideas, trustworthy." - Katie Jones
      • "Open communication that goes both ways." - Cyndee Smolik
      • "Honest/truthful" - Penny Paiich-Caraway 
      • "Direct" - Allison Cardona
      • "Realistic and part of the team (did actual work when needed)." - Kristen Petrie
      • "Intelligent" - Nadia Oseguera
      • "Favorite manager because he listened responded." - Jean Harman
      • "Understanding, flexible, kind, let me work independently, but available for support when asked." - Jory Jolivet
      • "Asked for input and actually used it." - Emily Wood
      • "Trust staff / treat them like grownups" - Kris Holland
      • "Thoughtful" - Ivy Ruiz
      • "Compassionate, yet direct and honest" - Natalia Glady
      • "This is basic but, greeting you by name every day. Thoughtful and dialed-in." - Lisa Pearce
      • "My favorite manager was super supportive of my growth through education and professional development opportunities and very supportive." - Lola Victor
      • "Flexible. Good listener." - Wendy Montanez-Ortiz
      • "When I was in charge of hiring, I would have every new employee fill out a form that identified their communication preferences, including how they like to receive feedback as well as recognition. These forms were given to their managers and leadership. It was great! An easy, quick addition to onboarding." - Jory Jolivet
      • "Tone of voice from a manager can make it or break it." - Anita Selby
      • "Such good reminders - important and foundational to trust and team building." - Allison Cardona
      • "A good manager is empathetic, has compassion for all, leads by excellent example." - Kathy Johnson
      • "I think even non-profits could benefit from this." - Anita Selby
      • "Thank you for the great information and thoughtful presentation. Communication styles help everyone." - Lisa Pearce
      • "👏🏿" - Shonyae Johnson
      • "Great job, Tocaya!!!" - Christina Avila
      • "Wonderful presentation!!!! Thank you so much!!!!" - Mary Flores
      • "Excellent points, thank you!" - Kate Sawyer
      • "Thank you so much! Great information!" - Jo Lunsford
      • "So great, thank you!" - Temma Martin
      • "This has been so great!" - Jory Jolivet
      • "The self-awareness piece!" - Allison Cardona
      • "I think a lot of managers/supervisors/leaders in animal services get there b/c of reacting to having NEVER had a good manager. Reacting 'against' bad leadership may lead to bad habits (rather than trying to emulate good leadership). Any thoughts on how to overcome not having good role models?" - Emily Wood
      • "Being kind sort of trumps everything else…" - Jean Harman
      • "Something I think that we often aren't very aware of, regarding equity and diversity, is that animal welfare (and nonprofits in general) tend to be dominated by women. I feel like often this creates an environment where we make jokes about men. Men in our industry are under-represented, and their perspectives in animal welfare are important." - Jory Jolivet
      • "Everyone matters all the time!" - Christina Avila
      • "Kindness is not to be confused with nice though. Being truthful and direct is part of kindness." - Allison Cardona
      • "Great presentation, Christina! Thank you!" - Charlotte Otero
      • "Thank you! Really enjoyed this presentation." - Kathy Johnson
      • "Great presentation, does anyone else here run a rescue?" - Alec Colon
      • "Thank You! Great presentation." - Kelly Kays


    ------------------------------
    Sheila Kouhkan
    Senior Education Specialist
    Maddie's Fund
    CA
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    Original Message


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