President’s Message

Tanya Solomon As I sat down to write this month’s article, I knew I had more to say about what I wrote last month. And apparently many of you also wanted to hear more. In fact, I received the most emails and texts from you with comments and questions for this story, so I knew we were not quite finished with that story. But first, a quick summary - last month I told a story of my friends Joan and Gene, and an epic walk. Joan, Gene and I walked approximately 7.5 miles and were getting tired, cold, and cranky as we headed home. At one point, we split up to finish the walk, as Joan and Gene were arguing about which route was better. We had different reasons for taking different routes; Joan felt her route was faster and Gene felt his route was safer, and both criteria were crucial measures of success. Gene and I took what was considered the safer route, Joan took what was considered the faster route, and we all ended up safely at our meeting point. Joan beat us by seconds. I could not quite shake the feeling of wondering that, although we all ended up in the right place, I was unsure if we had arrived there in the right way, and I wanted to make sure I could be open-minded the next time something like this came up from a conflict resolution standpoint. So, I went back and walked both routes from the point where we split off at the same speed. Joan’s route was indeed shorter, as she had insisted. Not by much over the course of the entire distance, but by enough that it made a difference. Gene, Joan and I came together on our next walk to discuss my findings and for a debrief. As I shared the results, Gene and I congratulated Joan on making a correct choice. In the end, the ability to generate good will was a more desirable outcome than anything else, since the actual issue had been solved in the moment. As the tie-breaker vote, I wanted to not only learn from the process of the spirited debate, but also to learn how to feel confident in arriving at the decision which was made. I have written often about problem solving over my term as president. As I wrote last month, we tend to agree on what we want to achieve, but the difference is how we get there and how to measure our successes. Knowing this, I have tried to have as many voices heard as possible and to build consensus through the process of airing our different proposals. I am fortunate to work with a dynamic group of staff, lay leaders, and congregants. The new slate of officers will be posted this month. Our volunteer lay leaders are excited and engaged to take on the new challenges they will face. We have many new names and faces for our Board of Trustees who bring with them original ideas, perspectives, and energy. We continue to strive for balance between maintaining our proud traditions and innovating and evolving by bringing in new leadership to blend with our current group. This leads to a more meaningful experience for us all. Tanya

Rabbi Ferratier (left), Eric Golberg, Director of Youth & Young Family Engagement (center), & Stacy Ybarra, Director of Education (right) dressed as Rock, Paper & Scissors for Purim

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