Hey Cindy, thanks for sharing your thoughts. In my opinion, compassion is super important. But I forgot to mention a key factor which is the importance of combining compassion with healthy boundaries. This is what helps me take care of myself and positions me to make a real impact in our industry.
I want to keep stressing this point: when people suffer, animals suffer too. And right now, people are dealing with some serious systemic issues like racism and classism. These issues are complex and won't be fixed overnight, maybe not even in my lifetime. But I won't let that discourage me. I'll keep doing what I can with the time, energy, and resources I have. I've got to remind myself that what I achieved each day is enough and that I've got a lot to be proud of. It's important to take a break, recharge, and do things other than focusing sole on saving animals all the time.
What I've come to know is that by taking care of myself, I'm actually able to help way more animals in the long run. So I'm ditching the guilt of feeling like I'm never doing enough. It's not because I care any less, but because I know guilt doesn't do me any good. It just leads to burnout, scarcity, and keeps the unhealthy cycle going.
Sending love to everyone on this journey. I know it's easier said than done, but we all deserve peace. And the only way we can make a sustainable difference for people and animals is by being self-aware and prioritizing practices that make us more compassionate human beings.
Jose
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José Ocaño
Founder and CEO
Hatching
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-09-2023 05:13 AM
From: Cindy Huth
Subject: Community Conversations - 6/5/23 - Intentional Leadership: Leading with Radical Acceptance, Curiosity, and Compassion to Engage and Retain Employees
It was a good presentation. To me, one of the most impactful comments was toward the end when Jose said he decided a long time ago that he cannot solve the community's pet problems. That really resonated with me as it removed a guilt burden that I think many of us carry. The daily requests for help or complaints continue to escalate and it seems people no longer want to hear suggestions about how they can help themselves or the situation. They simply want our group to make it go away. They simply want us to say we'll take their pet off their hands. We can't. Plain and simple - we cannot solve all their problems, but we are doing as much as we can to make a difference. We shouldn't have to carry the burden of knowing the problem is much larger than what our group can resolve. So many of us are nearly burnt out. I told our director I need a course on how to tell people no that is more palatable to the person asking and in a way that won't reflect poorly on our organization. As it is, when they are told sorry, we cannot……they get angry and try to make us feel guilty. That burden of guilt should not be ours to bear.
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Cindy Huth
Volunteer
Denison Animal Welfare Group (DAWG)
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-05-2023 03:41 PM
From: Kim Domerofski (She/Her)
Subject: Community Conversations - 6/5/23 - Intentional Leadership: Leading with Radical Acceptance, Curiosity, and Compassion to Engage and Retain Employees
Thanks to the 237 attendees who joined us for today's call about Intentional Leadership! The recording is now available to watch on-demand. Below you'll find a recap of the agenda, resources and highlights from the chat. Be sure to complete this entry form if you joined us live or caught the recording for your chance to win a grant of up to $10k: https://www.maddiesfund.org/weekly-community-conversations-jun23-giveaway.htm
Agenda
Welcome from Hosts:
- @Clare Callison , Director of National Operations, Austin Pets Alive!
- @Ariel Zhang, Vice President of National Programs, Humane Rescue Alliance
Question of the Day: What's one skill you haven't learned but want to develop?
May 2023 Community Conversations Grant Giveaway Winners -- Congratulations to each winner who won $5,000 for their organization:
May 2023 Maddie's Pet Forum $3,000 Grant Giveaway Winner:
National Updates:
- Maddie's Fund Monthly Giveaways: (*Updated URL) Enter here for a chance to win: https://www.maddiesfund.org/weekly-community-conversations-jun23-giveaway.htm Open to all who are watching live or on-demand. Enter each week you attend.
- Maddie's Pet Forum monthly give-away: 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://chewonthis.maddiesfund.org/2022/11/new-monthly-grant-opportunity/
- Webcast from Human Animal Support Services - From Intake to Outcomes: Managing Summer Space Crises with Animal Case Management https://zoom.us/webinar/register/1016775120933/WN_uZP8qMpyTB6mkaT4FMF4uA
- GoodPup Spring Series on Surrender Prevention wraps up with its final installment on Thursday, June 22nd at 2:00 pm ET: "Reactivity to Unfamiliar People." You can register for this free webinar at eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/surrender-prevention-series-reactivity-to-unfamiliar-people-tickets-638955833097?aff=erelexpmlt. Feel free to share this link, and remember that all GoodPup webinars are recorded and available on our website after the live event: www.goodpup.com/shelters. We'll take a short break for the summer, returning in September with a brand new webinar series; see you at the June webinar.
- Call for proposals and speakers for Animal Care Expo 2024 is now open - and we can't wait with everyone's help to make Expo 2024 the best ever in San Antonio, TX! We hope everyone who is interested applies to speak, and the deadline is 7/31/23. You can find more information at https://humanepro.org/expo/speaking-animal-care-expo. You can reach out to me at hhouser@humanesociety.org if you have any questions.
- Save the date for CARE's The Gathering event in Philadelphia. It will be from October 4-7th. Please follow our instagram page for early details @careforequity.
- AlignCare Reno is looking for a Director of Community Engagement, who will oversee and advance AlignCare Health's mission to improve access to veterinary care for underserved families in Reno, Nevada. See the Job Posting here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/program-for-pet-health-equity_aligncare-reno-director-of-community-engagement-activity-7067181287211495424-xdNQ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
- The Association's virtual Solutions Summit is June 13: https://learning.theaawa.org/solutions-summit. Dr. Blackwell is the Keynote speaker.
- Feeding Pets of the Homeless Open House and 15th Anniversary Celebration on July 20, 4-6 pm at 710 W. Washington St., Carson City, NV 89703. Let me know if you are interested in attending by emailing me at gf@petsofthehomeless.org.
- Online Feline Leukemia Conference, July 15: learn all the latest about FeLV in cats. Scholarships are available so it can be free. https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/events/2023-online-feline-leukemia-day/ .
Today's Presentation: Intentional Leadership: Leading with radical acceptance, curiosity, and compassion to engage and retain employees
"Who you are is how you lead" is not a new concept. There have been TED Talks, books, podcasts, and countless articles talking about how leadership first starts with each of us, and here's one more, tailored for the human-animal-wellbeing space! In this week's conversation, we are joined by José Ocaño, Founder and CEO of Hatching, a consulting firm focused on personal, leadership and workplace culture development. Come get curious and learn about how these three things are connected and create an ecosystem for attracting and retaining talent.
Highlights from the Chat:
- "Jose … you made me just think of one of my favorite quotes: "Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer." Rilke" - Marilou Chanrasmi
- "If we support the person, we support the person and the animal." - Vincent Medley
- "Coffee with a friend is like a year with a therapist... This is exactly what I'm getting from Jose. A real conversation. Thank you, sir." - Amy Charles
- "Amazing job being so vulnerable and saying the hard truths that many leaders need to hear." - Angel Guzman
- "One of the tenants of Fierce leadership is being accountable for your emotional wake" - Emily Dolan
- "nothing about us without us" - Staycee Dains
- "Animals suffer because people suffer - the most impactful words." - Hannah Houser
- "We don't need more laws, we need more togetherness and justice." - Vincent Medley
- "a toxic work environment seeps into every corner of your life." - Z Peoples
- "Jose for President" - Connie Kile
- "THIS is how we change the industry, thank you so much!!! - Nichole Boudreau
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Kim Domerofski (she/her)
Community Manager
Maddie's Fund