Happy and sad
I’m back from a Think Week and a family Spring Break trip to Chicago. I feel rested, reconnected to myself and my family, and I still feel full from all the deep-dish pizza. I also feel emotionally ready for what will be a happy and sad 34 days ahead.
After nearly 14 years as a cleaning company, this is the part where we act on the final phases of our plan to transition out of cleaning. This is the part where we have 34 days to give our student team members the best send-off imaginable and where we say goodbye to clients who have been with us since the beginning. This is where we have our last all-hands meeting about the transition and where we have only a few weeks left to refer to Student Maid in the present tense. This is the part where we celebrate the ending of the only chapter we’ve ever known while also mourning it.
Happy and sad.
The next 34 days also hold the first big steps toward our new chapter. I told you I’d have exciting news to share with you this week, and here it is: Today we welcome 300+ students as our first-ever Student Made class! We have partnered with Cardinal Group—an incredible leader in the student housing space—on a six-week student leadership program in which all of our Student Maid team members have also been given the chance to participate. We will cover six foundational topics: leadership mindset, trust, communication, resilience, self-compassion, and impact, and our first session kicks off tonight. I can’t imagine what it will feel like to look at the members of our leadership team on Zoom along with the faces of the 300+ students joining us and realize that our dream isn’t just a dream anymore. It’s happening. On May 9th, we will finish cleaning and will no longer be Student Maid. On May 11th, we’ll congratulate the first class of Student Made graduates, including some of our own.
Happy and sad.
…notice the “and.”
I feel both.
I want to be honest about that because I don’t see people model it often. It may look like rainbows and butterflies when you see someone chasing their dreams—but not for me. It’s been so hard and it’s been so beautiful, and never one without the other.
At times in this journey, I have shamed myself for how I’ve felt. I’ve told myself that it’s “wrong” to want to grieve a 14-year journey when I am listening to my heart, following my dreams, and getting to develop leaders on a greater scale. Isn’t that something to be happy about? I’ve also told myself that it’s “wrong” to feel excited about the possibilities and the things coming to fruition when there is so much (and so many people) being left behind. Isn’t that something to feel sad about?
There’s a tugging feeling that can come from having one foot in one chapter and one foot in another. Maybe you’ve felt it, too. You feel opposing emotions and aren’t sure which one is “right.”
Well, maybe the answer isn’t to choose one or the other. Maybe the answer is to choose both.
I want to feel both. I think you NEED both. Feeling both means you are FEELING. It means you CARE. It’s REAL.
This is something I’m not only thinking about on an individual level, but also as the leader of a team. I want our team to know that every emotion is okay, and I want to encourage them to embrace their emotions instead of feeling shame for what they may be feeling. I want to see opposing emotions. When I see both, it tells me that our team feels safe expressing what is actually going on in their hearts. It tells me that people feel safe being authentic.
And so, here’s to the next 34 happy and sad days ahead. I’m giving myself permission to feel all of it, deeply. The next time you find yourself in a similar place, I hope you’ll give yourself permission to do the same.
Hugs through the screen,
Kristen
PS: Exciting news! We have extended early bird pricing for our brand-new Human Leadership Program through April 15th! It’s a virtual, live program to help you elevate your authenticity and humanity as a leader, and it’s going down on May 5th and 6th. Learn more and get your tickets by clicking here!
PPS: I’m back on with our LIVE this week! Join us Wednesday, April 7th, at 11 a.m. ET! We share everything from news and stories from behind-the-scenes of our pivot to what we’re learning, what we’re struggling with as leaders, and how we’re meeting this unprecedented moment in our history as a company. You can register here: https://bit.ly/3kWe2kT. It’s the same link each week. Hope to see you there!
