Tag: work

creativity

Wonder: It’s time for leadership to be an art form

Christa Avampato

I spent this morning on Google Hangout with my Ethics professor, Ed Freeman, and it’s one of the very best work mornings I’ve spent in a long time. We had an introductory call about the book project we’re working on and it left me feeling hopefully, happy, and excited about the future.

This is how we should all feel about our work—glad and grateful to be a part of it. The second that our work lives start to take the turn of groaning as we hop (or begrudgingly roll) out of bed, we’re in trouble. That’s going to happen once in a while. I’m not under any kind of delusion that work is nothing but sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns. Sometimes, it’s just challenging, difficult, and exhausting.

But is a tough day just a tough day or is it a repetitive pattern that makes us feel like we’re going nowhere fast? If it’s the latter, then it’s time to turn a door into a window and climb out of a bad situation by any means necessary. Once this kind of pattern gets entrenched in a workplace, it takes a massive amount of enlightened leadership to change it. And I’m sorry to say that leaders who have the courage, fortitude, creativity, and empathy to take on the Herculean effort of a culture shift are rare.

And that’s about to change. Ed and I are working on a project that makes enlightened and fearless leadership the norm, not the exception. We’re doing it through unconventional thinking and even more unconventional action. I can’t wait to get these ideas out into the world, and I hope you’ll all come along for the ride with us. More soon…

creativity

Wonder: Where to place your time

Christa Avampato

The tug of war between what you need to do and what you want to do can be a challenging battle. I know lots of people working a day job to support themselves financially while working on a passion project during their evenings, weekends, and free time. I also know people who have quit a lucrative day job to pursue their passions full-time. I have done both, and both are challenging. Neither scenario is easy. Neither scenario is as dreamy as it appears to be on the surface. Neither is a one and done solution to anything. Each has its own flavor of stress and anxiety, as well as peace and joy. And it shifts day-to-day, sometimes hour to hour.

Here’s what I know to be true: you are in control of your mind, emotions, and time. Your thoughts and energy are yours and yours alone. No one, and I mean absolutely no one, ever owns them except you. And where your mind, energy, and time goes, your life goes.

Some of you will find a day job and side passions work for you. Some will find that pursuing your passions full-time is the best life. And there isn’t a point-of-no-return on either of these. I quit my day job in 2012 and ran my own business for 3 years. They were wonderful and trying years. In 2015, I took a full-time job again, closed my business, and have have continued to work on a variety of creative projects. This has also been a wonderful and trying year. Yes, there was a huge amount of variation between these two experiences, and yes, they were the right choices for me for those times. Once I made those decisions, I never looked back. I don’t regret either of those choices, and I never will. My life is unfolding one page at a time, and like a good book, I’m savoring all of the words.

If you are in the process of wrestling through these weighty decisions about life and career now, a lot of people are probably giving you their two cents, even if you didn’t ask them for their opinions. The only opinion I have for you is to do what you need to do for you. Right now. Always. Your story isn’t the same as someone else’s story. Your goals and talents are yours. Treasure them. Protect them. Go in the direction that feels right to you. There will be bumps in the road. There will be off-ramps, flat tires, and wrong turns. But there will also be some smooth sailing and many fellow travelers along the route who will help and guide you. You will experience all of it no matter what choice you make.

The only yardstick I use is this: if it all ends tomorrow, am I glad and grateful for the way I spent today? Did I wake up with a purpose and do my best to take one step along that purposeful path? That’s all we can do, and that is enough.
creativity

Wonder: A wrong righted 10 years later

Christa Avampato

 

10 years ago, I interviewed at a large retail company for a summer internship while I was an MBA student at Darden. It was my top pick for an internship and I was proceeding well in the process. The final step was a psychological evaluation that was supposed to be a formality. Instead, the psychologist dug into my family history for over an hour. She asked me a lot of very painful questions and was very judgmental about my childhood. I stood my ground, told the truth, didn’t crack, and stated how I did the best I could in the circumstances I was born into. I didn’t get the internship, and I was heartbroken. I thought the story was over, but it wasn’t.

A few months ago I received a letter from a law firm. A class action lawsuit was filed against this retail company for discriminatory hiring practices. The HR records had been subpoenaed and unsealed, and it was deemed that I may be due a payment for damages. I confirmed that I interviewed with the company during the time period in question, sent the letter back, and never gave it another thought.

When I arrived home yesterday, I had a letter from the law firm.The retailer confessed to its discriminatory practices, and settled out of court. The letter contained a check for damages. Not a huge check, but one that I can put to good use. I was shocked. I’m still shocked. I actually cried a little. And then I cried a lot. Not out of sadness, but out of relief.

I didn’t realize how badly I’d felt about this incident all these years. When you grow up without enough, you think you aren’t enough. It is a painful fact of growing up poor. And as much as I have grown into a strong, resilient, and confident woman, there is a small part of me who still carries around this slightest feeling of shame. I’ve learned to use it to go further, try harder, and reach higher.

That incident 10 years ago with the retailer brought all of those feelings into clear focus. I wasn’t mad that I didn’t get that internship. I was ashamed and deeply embarrassed because I knew that my family history made them turn me down. I was told I wasn’t good enough because I hadn’t grown up with enough. How hard I had worked for so many years to lift myself up didn’t matter to this company. And in fact it was a black mark against me.

So getting that check yesterday was a nice thing financially, but that is such a small benefit compared to what it means to me on a much more profound level. That is karma. That is the universe righting a wrong. That is the reward of standing tall, and not letting small-minded people get you down. That is proof to me that our authenticity, work ethic, and determination to making meaning of our past does get rewarded. It can take time. It can often take too much time. But it happens. It happens.

creativity

Wonder: Getting to work in Washington, D.C.

Christa Avampato
Screen Shot 2016-01-26 at 8.53.57 PM
Rock Creek Park, January 2016

My neighborhood is still buried in snow four days after the blizzard. The Federal government and school were closed on Tuesday, but my office was opened so off I went. The buses aren’t running and the metro had significant delays so I hoofed it. 2.5 miles over snowbanks and through the woods, across snow-packed streets, and through puddles of slush. It was fun, actually. The people I saw along the way (on the mostly deserted streets) smiled wide and said good morning. We stopped to let traffic go by and made bets about how long it would take for these snowbanks to melt. The view was worth it. I finally found a river I could skate away on, in Rock Creek Park. Joni Mitchell would be proud.

creativity

Wonder: You’ve got to set and meet your standards

Christa Avampato

iStock_000001171305checklistThis week I’m dealing with people challenging my gut. I know the right thing to do. I know the standards I have to hold – for myself and for others. Of course high standards are frightening for those who don’t want to be held accountable and don’t have a strong work ethic. I have to push ahead in spite of people who are like this. I know what I need to do and I know how to get it done. The standards that you set for yourself are the ones you have to live by.

creativity

Wonder: Fall in love with your path

Christa Avampato
Screen Shot 2016-01-19 at 11.04.15 PM
Clifton Ross III

“You’ve got to fall in love with your path.” ~Clifton Ross III

On Monday, I went to Eatonville’s celebration of Martin Luther King Day with special guests Clifton Ross III and the Howard University Gospel Choir. Clifton spoke about his challenges getting through college at Howard University and his winding career in music. “You’ve got to fall in love with your path,” he said. I couldn’t agree more. There’s a temptation for us to compare our journeys to the journeys of others. You are unique and so is your path.Revel in that. March to the beat of your own drummer. Enjoy the view. Do things your way on your terms, and love every moment of it. That’s the only work we ever really have to do.

creativity

This just in: Pay attention to what ignites a spark in you

Christa Avampato
Spark!
Spark!

On Friday night I ran a product testing session at work. The evening was filled with excitement and more than a little stress. Once the event was over, I realized a very important insight that will serve me well in 2016: As I seek out new opportunities, I want to be actively engaged in the learning process of others. I felt a spark light up in me when a student discovered something new, and that spark is something I have to honor and nurture.