Tell Your Story
Heather Stanton visits Washington, DCHeather Stanton is the Director of Resident Services at Seabury in Bloomfield, CT and a 2015 Leadership Academy Fellow. LeadingAge invited her to reflect on her experience during the 2015 PEAK Leadership Summit.
Heading into the PEAK Leadership Summit, I was feeling anxious and excited to see the 2015 Fellows. Beginning with our first time together at the Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN we had begun planting the seeds of trust, friendship and community. Those seeds were just beginning to blossom. I was also excited and nervous about advocating for the aging services field by going “on the Hill” with my state delegation.
In order to prepare for the experience we were briefed by Academy alum and LeadingAge North Carolina President & CEO Tom Akins as well as Tommy Goodwin, Leading Age Director of Member Advocacy. Their message was clear: “Tell your story!” Numbers and statistics are great but the experiences from those of us that are working in the field are at the heart of the issues.
We then heard from Cheryl Phillips, Senior Vice President of Public Policy & Advocacy for LeadingAge who furthered this message. She reminded us that there are two aspects of our jobs in aging services: one is to serve and the other is to advocate. This was an a-ha moment for me. I had never imagined it would be my job to advocate. I had thought someone else must do that, but it was clear that as leaders, we have the responsibility to do both.
I felt empowered as we made our way to the Hill. That day we were the voices for our residents and for the future of aging services. I was awed and inspired as I watched colleagues from across my state speak to the issues at hand and tell their own stories. I walked the streets of D.C. with a strong sense of pride and accomplishment.
I have taken that sense of pride back to my community. It has raised a number of questions for me about how we currently work and what we can do better. Should or could we develop job descriptions with an advocacy component? How better can I work with my state to enact change? Am I educated enough on all the issues that affect our field? Is my staff? Can multiple provider types, including CCRCs, HUD, etc. collaborate and share resources to benefit all those we serve?
After returning home I find myself reflecting on Ronald Heifetz’s balcony/dance floor analogy in his book Leadership Without Easy Answers. During the Academy year we are gifted with the opportunity to step back from our roles and engage in “balcony time,” allowing us the opportunity to reflect and ask big questions about our work and the aging services field. I know that many of these questions will find their way into action. Those actions will further my own opportunities to create innovation, collaboration and growth. As I sit with all these questions I am reminded of the last sentence in Heifetz’s book, “One may lead perhaps with no more than a question in hand.”