Be For Each Other
Since BPD specializes in healthcare marketing, our company-organized activities outside of work often involve health and fitness. We’re currently competing in a FitBit challenge as people prepare for another company activity, the annual Mercedes Benz Corporate 5K. It reminds me of something that happened during last year’s 5K − a story illustrating a crucial BPD principle that makes this a great place to work as well as an effective partner for our hospital clients.
Halfway through the event last year, I was on the verge of having a mid-race meltdown. Winded and tired, I was ready to give up my goal of jogging the entire 3.1 miles and instead switch over to a nice, leisurely walk. I’ve never been a runner, and probably never will be, but the thousands of people breezing past me on the streets of Fort Lauderdale inspired a nagging voice in my head to say, “You’re giving up already?” I wanted to tell the nagging voice, “Yes.”
I glanced to my left and saw Pam, a fellow BPDerrr, jogging beside me. After a few paces with her, I couldn’t go on any longer. I slowed to a walk. Pam stopped to walk with me, but I waved her to go ahead. She gave me the infamous “Pam look of disapproval” and I knew I wasn’t going to easily shake her. She continued walking beside me, harming her own race performance, but refusing to resume running until I did so, too.
Because of her encouragement and patience, I was able to jog to the finish line and finish with my fastest 5K time yet. Pam is a competitive runner and could have easily passed me by without a second thought and finished with a much faster race time for herself. Yet she stuck through the struggle with me. This is how BPDerrrs are: they’re there for you always, even when the struggle is real.
BPD recently held a seminar where we learned more about Emotional Intelligence, which is often applicable to teams. According to Daniel Goleman, who wrote the pioneering book Emotional Intelligence, the important difference between effective teams and ineffective ones lies in the emotional intelligence of the group. Everyone contributes. A sense of trust among members is crucial to a team’s effectiveness, and BPDerrrs display this strength time and time again. Whether it’s covering for someone while they’re on vacation, helping a coworker who has a lot on their plate, or going out of one’s way to make another person’s day better, our team is highly emotionally intelligent. Not to brag or anything!
When you have the support of your team members, it makes it that much easier to be effective. That’s something all organizations should take seriously. And it’s why the BPD Basic “Be for Each Other” is considered an essential key to our collective success.
Sarah Brown
At the time of this post, Sarah Brown was the Executive Assistant to the CEO at Brown Parker & DeMarinis and the agency’s social media content director.