March Musings

You are probably tired of reading that two of my favorite days in the year fall on the spring and fall equinox – each of them marking the turn of a season. March 19 was the first day of Spring, and it also marks a day when we have equal hours of sunlight and darkness, and for those of us who can look to the horizon, the sun rises due east and sets due west. There are all kinds of science behind it, and it leaves me in awe each and every time. 

There are so many issues that could use my full, undivided attention, and it is one of many reasons why we added new leaders to our team this quarter. I hope that you get to meet and work with both Arlesia Bailey (Chief Transformation Officer) and Hallie Pritchett (Chief Equity Officer) soon. They have joined Nicole Willis (COO) and are ready to help us grow internally and expand our work across the region with partners and the Collaborative Action Network. At a recent event a colleague took a picture of us, along with Cheryl Raser, who is Chairing the Board of Directors. I’m honored to be working alongside such a powerful and passionate group of leaders.

Almost 30 years ago, I was introduced to the notion of ‘tension’ in decision making – that few things fit squarely in an either/or paradigm. Each decision we make puts tension on another end of a string. Examples include, expecting providers to easily share information so that we don’t have to repeat ourselves, with wanting confidentiality and privacy/security held sacred. Or, internally we have a policy about not being political in the workplace, yet we are an empathetic team with values about leading with love, so how do we respond to humanitarian crises? And I wonder just how much the lines have blurred in unanticipated ways with our team being 100% remote. We’re looking for models, and sometimes there aren’t many to reflect on.

We have a philosophy at North Sound, introduced to us by a colleague from Portland, Ben Duncan – ‘failing forward.’ The question isn’t whether we will make mistakes or mis-steps – we will. The real question is what we do after that happens. How do we learn, who do we learn from, how do we incorporate that learning into our policies and guidelines for the future? I hope I’m not surprising you by saying that North Sound ACH will stumble – but we’re committed to learning from and with you about how we can do better. 

The news story that stuck with me this week – thinking about corporations mining the moon as a source for helium. Understanding how the helium shortage is impacting technology and health care, I found myself wondering aloud if corporations understand the impact of altering the moon on this planet we call home – time, tides, and light.  The link takes you to an article of the Natural History Museum in the UK, but it might put some attention to how we have limited sight on how decisions and strategies impact our world and the people on it. 

In our work incorporating the Vital Conditions for Well-being, one of those is a Thriving Natural World. Being interconnected, many factors impact stewardship of the planet that might require us to think from the ground all the way into space. 

We’ll be hosting a learning session in May around a thriving natural world, so stay tuned!  

Be well, and looking forward to seeing some of you on April 6 in Everett to watch the first episode of The Sound!