As most of you know, White Pony Express has
four core values
:
Selfless Service
,
Respect
,
Appreciation
, and
Collaboration
.
All of us, volunteers and staff, strive to honor these values in all we do for WPE. In 2017, we honored the principle of Collaboration by changing how major decisions are made at WPE.
When WPE was experiencing sky-rocketing growth from an idea to a fact, it was probably best to have a single directive leader whose vision could be realized in our programs, processes, and procedures. But in becoming that well-established and well-regarded fact of our community, a different form of leadership becomes necessary, one that draws from several points of view and experience.
So, with the help of
Mary Brooks
,
Isa Campbell
, and
Vince d’Assis
, we formed the White Pony Express
Leadership Team
. To help us really learn how to collaborate, so this transition would bear good results, we asked business coach
Michael Evans
to teach us the necessary principles and be the process manager for our meetings (so that Respect, Appreciation, and other related values would be kept in focus, as diverse opinions looked for their points of convergence).
Jim May
joined the
WPE Leadership Team
this winter, when he became our Chief Financial Officer.
WPE's
Leadership Team
meets for three hours each Saturday, collaborating on strategies, tactics, and making decisions on direction and planning. We are also in touch with each other through the week as issues arise.
Each of us maintains our specific role in WPE, such as the
Executive Director,
Chief Operating Officer
(Isa) and
CFO
(Jim), and we each work on various teams and projects. But when it comes to major decisions affecting the organization or our programs, the
Leadership Team
acts together as one unit. Despite an occasional bump, when one of us speaks about a specific issue, that person can be viewed as speaking for the entire
Leadership Team
.
Beginning in our next newsletter, these notes will come from the WPE
Leadership Team
as a whole, rather than the
Executive Director.
To help us do our work better, please make suggestions or comments that come to your mind about how we can continue to work collaboratively and in alignment with our values and mission. It is a real pleasure to be doing this work with each of you inside of WPE and in the community of our friends and partners.
