Reflection Reboot: Re-thinking how we look back on (another) unprecedented year

by Emma Ramsbottom

Whether you’ve already marked a cultural new year, won’t celebrate until much later this winter, or have plans to ring in 2022 next week, the dwindling days of December can feel like a complete blur for the nonprofit professional.  Offices may appear to be quieter than usual, but there are still programs to wrap up, budgets to forecast, and volunteers to coordinate, all under the specter of pandemic uncertainty and the weight of concern for our collective well-being.  For those in the habit of pausing to “take stock” around this time of year, reflecting on another year of unflagging challenges–during which many of our community’s nonprofit organizations and social sector workers were focused primarily on survival–might increase feelings of anxiety, sadness, and overall burnout rather than put folks in a festive mood.

With all of this in mind, how do we take a meaningful look back at another year’s worth of nonprofit work?  Here are a few reflections on reflection for 2021.

Celebrate the micro while holding the macro.

The concept of celebrating “small wins” is nothing groundbreaking. However, in a context where many nonprofit organizations have been expected to deliver the same outcomes under extraordinary circumstances, it can be refreshing and even radical to reframe what success looks like after a long year. Our organizations and the communities we work with have done incredible, beautiful things this year, including simply continuing to show up and try.

Success is absolutely passing desperately needed eviction prevention legislation at the State Capitol. It’s also neighbors commiserating about how terrible the Vikings are at your grocery distribution site, and a case manager getting a good night’s sleep. In recapping our annual results, let’s embrace the myriad measures of progress available to us beyond conventional performance metrics.

As we celebrate accomplishments, we also know how essential it is to stay cognizant of the complexity behind these wins.  Whether in our external fundraising efforts or during internal team building moments, well-intentioned efforts to champion the resilience of folks navigating compounded social inequities often distract from the root causes that demand this endurance.  Many of our colleagues are deeply exhausted, and as we reflect on 2021–for those of us with positional power and race privilege, in particular–it’s important to make room not just for positivity and solutions-orientation, but also clear-eyed analysis of the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors’ origins and continuous drivers: entrenched racism, capitalism, and oppression.  Striking this balance isn’t always easy, but it’s our willingness to confront complexity and find purpose in the midst of it that makes our profession so powerful. 

Make reflection a routine practice. 

The tradition of pausing to consider the past twelve months can be a healing one, but if it feels daunting to try and make sense of a year that for many resembles a hamster wheel of activity, the good news is that we may have even more to gain by finding small ways to integrate reflection and learning into our regular workflows.  For organizations that aren’t able to carve out the time and resources for a monthly retreat (so…all of us?), free web-based platforms like Google Jamboard and Kudoboard are quick, user-friendly ways to engage your colleagues in some fun and interactive reflection, even from a virtual distance.  If setting up a few key reflection questions for discussion in your monthly staff meeting is more your style, rotating facilitation roles around your team can build internal capacity and ensure that the perspectives of colleagues from a variety of backgrounds are centered in these conversations. Overall, lowering the stakes by making reflective practice more frequent and fun increases the likelihood that organizations will benefit from the insights that emerge, and goes a long way toward cultivating a culture of learning at your organization.  

Check in on each other. 

Career nonprofit and social sector workers are very good at making the best of difficult situations and digging deep to keep going when it feels impossible--and while strong strides have been made over the past year to increase the visibility and decrease the stigma around mental health and well-being at work, many of our colleagues still manage burnout, anxiety, and depression in silence.  As 2021 draws to a close, consider making meaning of the year by checking in with someone that has been doing the work alongside you and inviting them into conversation.  Send someone at the office that you don’t know very well a Noodle the Pug post or a Covid-safe coffee invite.  Mail a card to a former colleague you haven’t seen in years, expressing how what you learned from them affected your work of late.  If you’re a supervisee, take a chance and ask your boss how they’re really doing; if you’re a leader, encourage and model rest and rejuvenation this winter.  If you yourself are struggling, or you’re worried about a colleague, know that you are not alone—and if you’re able, reach out to someone on your team or in your community.  

However you choose to acknowledge the passing of another year, take time to honor your accomplishments, connect with those you care about, and do the things that refill your wells of energy and purpose.  Thank you for all you gave to your work and the sector in 2021!

- Emma Ramsbottom -