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VENTURA — VISIONALITY CEO Emily Barany says, “Take Small Steps, Daily: We are NOT going to solve all the world’s problems in one sitting. In 2021, I really focused on taking small steps towards big goals. In the moment, that small step doesn’t feel like much, but after a year of small steps, you’ll realize you’ve gone far.”
Barany recently sat down with Senior Project Manager, Kristiana Almeida to discuss 2021 reflections and 2022 predictions. While their complete two-part discussion covering their perspectives on business, leadership, development, and the much used term, pivoting, can be found on the company’s website – www.visionalitypartners.com/resources, they share a few of their top level take-aways from 2021 and predictions for 2022 below.
• Emily says, “LIFE IS LONG: So, build the life you want. This is true for your work/life balance, but also true for building the type of company I want. We’ve been pushing the nonprofit sector HARD to pay people what they’re worth. This sector does some of the most physically and emotionally draining work, and people deserve to be compensated for that.”
• Kristiana adds, “THRIVING WAGES: I’ve loved the work we started on this. I think thriving wages directly impacts Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) work. If you aren’t paying people a thriving wage, you will only attract job applicants who can “afford” to make less. Let’s stop that cycle and stop making excuses. Pay your people more!”
• Emily adds, “DOING THE RIGHT THING ISN’T ALWAYS EASY: VISIONALITY stopped being a “politically neutral” company last year, and while that scared me, I also realized I don’t want us to be working with people who won’t say Black Lives Matter or who don’t believe there is a real gender pay gap. And, while I thought this was going to be hard, it’s been awesome. We have great clients, people who align with our values, which makes my employees much happier.”
• Emily concludes, “TRADITIONAL WORK CULTURE IS DEAD: People will be attracted to your company’s values more than they’ll be attracted to a job posting. If you rainbow wash your logo for Pride, but don’t have LGBTQ+ friendly policies, or give to political campaigns that directly fight against progress, you’re going to lose employees. And this is across the board. Employees care that your values align with theirs.”
To see all of Emily’s and Kristiana’s reflections and predictions, including their thoughts on the Great Resignation, the Millennial Moment, and #WFH (that’s “work from home”) is now the norm head over to www.visionalitypartners.com/resources. Emily is also available to speak at your next organizational meeting, board retreat, or company strategy session – 805-500-6610 / info@visonalitypartners.com.
About VISIONALITY — Emily Barany founded VISIONALITY in 2011 as a one-woman passion project with a mission to help organizations, particularly non-profits in her local community, to transform dreams into reality by offering Marketing, Development and Strategy services. After 10 years in business, VISIONALITY is now a growing team of innovative thinkers and creators with over 60 years of combined nonprofit experience who are dedicated to developing and implementing creative solutions that change the way nonprofits in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties succeed.
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