What do you remember most about your involvement in the course?

I had the pleasure of joining HSC in the summer of 2008 before the creation of our SPEC T-Team.  Having a clinical background and a strong interest in organizational change and development, I was thrilled to learn of the SPEC model. To me it was a therapeutic and holistic version of mental health for organizations, not just individuals. As a person who is passionate about the maintenance of mental health and work-life balance, I immediately identified with the importance of the nonprofit sector incorporating the SPEC philosophy into its internal and external work. The opportunity to revisit healthy communication techniques and leadership theories refreshed my awareness and utilization of these practices.

 Where did you struggle or feel challenged?

CLASS: I sometimes struggled with finding the time and energy to be present in class at the end of a high demand work day. What was so fascinating was that no matter how exhausted or distracted I was when I walked into the classroom, the facilitators and my classmates always helped me to feel more relaxed, present and interested in contributing and learning. Despite the challenge of finding the motivation to get to class, I always left feeling more knowledgeable and fulfilled.

T-TEAM: While the benefits of T-Team are almost endless in my eyes and continue to grow, I experienced a couple of challenges with the format of the meetings and the changes in membership. During the first 6-8 months of T-Team, I was the sole facilitator, which basically left the agenda, preparations, and facilitation up to me. While Daniella and Scot were always helpful in developing the agenda, I struggled to find the time to properly prepare. Aside from the challenge with time, I also felt uncomfortable being the single facilitator of meetings and developer of the agenda and activities. Given the nature of the T-Team, it felt unbalanced to limit shared responsibility and leadership of the group.  I experienced great relief when we initiated the rotation of roles. While the group took some time to adapt to this new way of operating, once they did, the effectiveness and balance of the meetings took off! The group took on shared ownership, which strengthened our rapport and respect with one another and offered opportunities for leadership development.

The changing membership of the T-Team was a challenge for a couple of reasons. About five months into the T-Team process, some staff expressed skepticism and distrust of the intentions and activities of the team. This was a struggle for us as a team and as an organization. The T-Team decided that opening the meetings to all staff was a way to reassure our intentions and eliminate concerns/criticism. While it had positive results in decreasing skepticism, it created some distraction and interfered with the focus and momentum of the team itself. After several months of alternating staff participation, the T-Team came to agreement that in order to be effective and efficient, we needed to have a set group of individuals that met consistently and who displayed ownership, motivation and commitment to accomplishing our mission. Because of some staffing changes, we were able to allow staff to apply for three slots that were vacant. The new and improved T-Team recognized that in order to develop cohesion, team building activities and redesign of our shared mission were essential. The group took initiative and focused energy to accomplish this with great success and has now acknowledged that we are operating as a team!

 What "a-ha" moments did you have?

In December of 2009, HSC staff participated in a study circle dialogue for which we went through a two day period of reflection on the challenges and successes of the organization and its programs. It was enlightening and reassuring to see the personal and organizational growth that has occurred since the T-Team's inception. When I first joined the HSC team, which was several months before the T-Team was initiated, staff displayed less accountability and ownership for the successes and failures of the organization. There was clearly a "victim theme" displayed by many staff which interfered with communication, collaboration and, most of all, productivity. This two day experience surfaced the successful impact of SPEC on our organization and inspired me.  Staff verbalized organizational and community awareness and commitment and most of all healthy, respectful communication. I felt an "a-ha" moment that reassured me that the SPEC work Daniella and I had been involved with and modeling was truly paying off.  We are now a growing group of community leaders.

 What have you gained personally from your involvement - what was your most significant "take-away"?

Personally, I have developed rapport and relationships with other nonprofit professionals who share my values for our community. Along with that I learned through the experiences shared by the SPEC partner organizations. Not only did they learn from their lessons, but we all learned from each others' successes and challenges. Lastly, the safe space that was created in the classroom was a humble, accepting, energizing and insightful environment. The qualities of our space together are something I would like HSC to emulate in all organizational and community convenings.

 How has the course made you think about your work differently? How has the course made you practice differently?

The SPEC course provided me with the dedicated time and resources to solidify my intentions and goals for HSC and the community. I believe that HSC is much more deliberate in the techniques and conditions in which we collaborate as a result of the SPEC experience. Additionally, I have found that my clinical training and background are well aligned with implementing the SPEC approach and in communicating how essential its practices are to the nonprofit sector. As I mentioned in question one, SPEC raises the awareness of organizational well-being and the importance of maintaining its health and balance, just as human beings need to care for their mental and emotional health. The mental health field has spent decades working through the stigmas and avoidance of the impact of mental health on our bodies and life span. We as SPEC community champions need to maintain commitment and momentum in communicating the importance of caring for nonprofits' internal health in order to achieve their missions and community change. SPEC cannot be a close-ended experience but one that continues to transform our organizations and our partners. It is essential that we as champions continue to share the stories of our SPEC experience and mentor/coach other nonprofits to incorporate the SPEC practice into their work with the community.