Since this crisis started, I keep thinking back to one specific moment from my early twenties. One of my first jobs was at a small nonprofit.

At one point, budget got tight and furloughs were on the table. How the ED handled it, would shape me forever.

There had always been a regular culture of financial transparency. When things did get bad, there was never a “shock” moment. We were just always in communication about the state of the budget.

I always felt like we knew just as much as him. I felt trusted, so I trusted him.

Staff were always invited to the board meetings. When the budget conversations got hard, we were still there. I remember board saying, “maybe staff shouldn’t here for this.”

But the ED said, they can handle it and they want to be here. Again, I felt trusted, so I trusted him.

When it came time to discuss how the furloughs would be implemented, we were given choices 1) less healthcare contributions, 2) less retirement contributions 3) two weeks off unpaid, etc.

I felt trusted to make my own decision on how this would impact me.

Not once did I think: this is a sinking ship and I need to get off. Instead I felt closer to my team than ever.

And while I can't quite remember if furloughs ever actually happened, how long they lasted, etc. I do remember how I was treated.

Fast forward to 2020 mid-March as all of this was going down.

I could see Pollen losing all of our event revenue for the remainder of 2020. It was scary.

But like that first job, Pollen has always had constant, complete financial transparency. So I knew what to do.

I asked the team how they wanted me to lead.

Did they want full transparency? Did they want to be protected from harsh truths?

In unison, they wanted 100% transparency. They wanted access to all the information. They wanted to be part of the decision making.

So that’s what we’ve been doing. The pollen team knows just as much as I know and just as much as the board knows.

We’re all in this together. I trust them with my whole heart and that makes me feel like the luckiest executive director in the world.

While reflecting on all of this, yesterday I sent a note to that former ED of mine (who is now retired).

@RichCowles, I can’t thank you enough for that formative leadership and mentorship.