Welcome to the thirty-sixth issue of CEE News!
By the time you read this, I will have embarked on a week-long cruise to Alaska. If you are opening this on Tuesday, I will be spending the day on the island of Ketchikan, cruising the George Inlet Waterway, then feasting on Dungeness crabs. Wednesday is the Tracy Arm Fjord.
The cruise will be spent with my husband, my mother, my three brothers and their spouses. Nine of us altogether. By my estimate (based on personal knowledge backed by Facebook shares, likes and comments), three have political leanings that are not shared by the other six. I am among the minority.
Admittedly, I have had some tension about spending these six days and seven nights together. Will seeing the glaciers together turn into a debate about what is causing them to recede? Will the topic of oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Artic Refuge come up? Will anyone call “fake news” on anyone else?
My strategy is to apply what I’ve learned from my experience in leadership training to this family dynamic, to-wit: focus on what we have in common.
- We share a family bond by birth or by marriage
- We all pulled together to help my mother survive cancer four years ago
- We all had an Alaskan cruise on our bucket list
- We all love our country and the opportunity to wonder in its natural beauty
So, I’m keeping this message short. Both personally and professionally, humanity requires leaders who can bring others together by reminding them of what they have in common. In the end, we all are in the same boat.
Sheri Nasim | President & CEO
