Letter from Elizabeth, Spring 2025

Dear Co-conspirator,

What if our strongest professional communities operated more like mushrooms than machines?

Mycelium is the undergrowth of fungus that occurs beneath the ground, part of the complex system of diverse mushrooms that form in the shadows of varied trees and other surfaces. The author adrienne maree brown outlines this in the book Emergent Strategy, as an inspiration for the trust and interdependence that feeds movements toward justice. 

If you have approached your professional career with the intention to make a positive difference in others’ lives, you may be finding yourself facing extraordinary moral quandaries as the U.S. federal administration unleashes its web of tactics meant to stifle democracy and solidarity. The choice points that MindOpen’s client organizations are facing have major implications for organizational culture:

• How does board and executive leadership communicate funding vulnerability and uncertainty, internally and externally?

• What actions should HR and direct supervisors take in support of staff whose rights and safety are threatened?

• How are staff adapting their approach to building relationships with program participants in an environment of hostility and family separation?

In times of immediate danger, we humans are wired to jump to answers. But what makes us uniquely human is the ability to recognize this, slow our pace, and strategize. MindOpen’s supervisory professional development program is called Reflective Resilience, in counter to the idea that resilience is an individual characteristic that you either have or don’t. Resilience is a collective dynamic— a capacity, like mycelium— to respond to threat, continually move between rest and action, and continually reach toward receptive others. 

In Reflective Resilience professional development, participants reflect on personal core values, those approaches to life and living that don’t change even when knowledge and actions might. Core values are not rigid but they are strong and influential, and may adapt in different circumstances. And this word- value- has another meaning, of course: that to which we attach currency: money, time, attention. Consider the story of how you came to your core values. How might you respond to these questions?

• How am I communicating my personal core values to those I work with?

• What are my organization’s core values? What is the role of core values in organizational decision-making?

• How do my personal values and the values of the organization I work in align?

• What patterns do I notice, without judgment, about my thoughts in response to these questions?

As the Founder of MindOpen, after three decades of in-house roles in diverse social impact organizations, I have the privilege and opportunity to decide the values at the core of both my personal growth and the direction of my organization. They are Connection, Compassion, Courage, and Critical Thinking. With this newsletter, I hope to communicate these values and keep in touch where time and attention is precious. I don’t take it for granted for a moment when you choose to press “open.”  In this edition, you’ll find:

• Information on upcoming special events

• Just-in-time resources for responding the sociopolitical moment

• Insights from our Learning at Work survey

I would love to hear your response to anything in the newsletter, and most of all to connect meaningfully as we chart new pathways forward. Just email me at elizabeth@mindopenlearning.com and we’ll set up a time!

Warmly,

Elizabeth 

P.S. Interested in exploring how MindOpen might support your organization? Visit our services catalog to see our full range of offerings, from Reflective Resilience to our other professional development programs and consulting services.