The Power of Two

I recently learned something about staffing and organizational behavior that I am calling "the power of two." KIT has been experiencing rapid growth over the past year, and we have added staff throughout the year. We are now lucky enough to have 2 digital content producers who work on social media, our website, our learning management system and translating our curriculum into a variety of digital formats. These two creative talents taught me this lesson, which I believe can be applied to any type of organization. Maybe another way to think of it is the "Noah's Ark staffing model." Here is how it goes- previously Michael was our solo digital content guy. He has a lot of expertise in his field and while we are all interested in technology and social media we do not speak his language. When he talks to us he probably always feels like he is teaching us! Which he kind of is. Enter our second digital content expert, Dora. The second Dora and Michael were introduced to each other I saw sparks fly. Because they share the same knowledge, experience and interests they can collaborate with each other in a way they can't with the rest of us. Seeing them work together, and what they have already produced with each other as a resource has really taught me the "no person is an island" lesson. It makes me think that two is more than twice as good as one, in some situations. It also makes me think that we should be intentionally creating these synergistic relationships among staff members, so that they each have their own sounding board. When I think about the organizations we serve, I think the child, youth and recreation providers would also benefit from this kind of pairing. It isn't mentoring, but more a peer-to-peer relationship that fosters creativity, problem-solving and shared experience. Now that I have learned this lesson, I hope to be able to use the information to plan for staffing. It's also something I will use when helping our affiliated organizations plan for and sustain their inclusive practices.