On June 1, 2016, we will mark our four-year anniversary! I can’t vouch for how it felt to be a part of the team when the company was born, but I am fortunate to be able to know how it feels to be part of four-year-old Weaving Influence. It feels stellar!

Since we are a mostly virtual team, our meetings are often held via web conference. As we met today, each team member was invited to share their top four moments of their time with Weaving Influence. As each person shared their moments, these themes emerged time and time again:

People and Relationships

Each person who spoke mentioned the power of working with (and for) great people. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to meet in person reminisced about how much these in-person meetings have meant. Joanna Jones praised the “environment we can create together even though we can’t see each other.”

Flexibility

Like many of my fellow team members, I wake up each day grateful for the flexibility I have enjoyed at Weaving Influence. It has made it possible for me to be the caregiver to my elderly father-in-law while doing work I love and contributing to my family’s bottom line. Several members talked about the relief they felt at being able to work and meet their families’ needs. No one takes this flexibility for granted.

Being Stretched and Challenged in Unexpected Ways

When you choose to work for a company that is doing things quite differently from most other companies out there, it can be disconcerting to face tasks which you have no idea how to do, for which there is no road map, using software or equipment that is totally new to you. Several team members talked about how being part of this team has stretched them professionally and showed them abilities they didn’t know they possessed.

I’ve been stretched in more ways than I thought possible. I have learned to lead and discovered strengths I didn’t know I had. ~  Carrie Koens

NOTE: Carrie’s work with us is coming to an end, for now, as she and her husband Peter continue their adoption journey. We will miss you, Carrie. As stars go, you have been a supernova, and we are grateful!

Taking Risks While Being Supported

When Christy Kirk talked about how it is sometimes difficult to find the balance between the pressure to want your work to be perfect and the exhilaration of producing work that, while not perfect, makes an impact on the world, many of us could relate! Not every business supports its workers in the precarious leaps of taking risks which may fail, but this one does.

Families are Valued

Teammate after teammate expressed their gratitude that they could join a child at a school event, leave for a doctor’s appointment knowing they could complete their work on their own schedule, or simply share family developments with co-workers. Speaking for myself, and for many others on the team I am sure, I am grateful that Becky Robinson has worked so hard to sustain a profitable business while recognizing the degree to which family and loved ones matter.

The most significant contributions we make to the world will never be measured in dollars and cents. ~ Becky Robinson

Throughout this morning’s discussion, I definitely had the sense that each person talking felt that their teammates were each “stars.” It takes stars of all shapes, sizes, and brightnesses to light the evening sky, and at four years old, the Weaving Influence constellation is particularly bright!

Image Credit: 123rf/vician

WI Star Word Cloud Credit: Tagxedo Copyright 2016