You never know what other people are dealing with privately. I work in a positive, supportive work environment. I am directly responsible for a small but mighty team. In the last few years, at any given point in time, I had staff members performing their work admirably while they were also going through:

• supporting parents with Alzheimer’s
• feuding siblings
• adult children who wouldn’t talk to them/ let them see their grandchildren/ get to know their new partners
• cancer treatments
• surgeries (so many surgeries) and recoveries
• divorce
• deaths in their families
• their children going off to college
• arranging support for aging parents
• significant health concerns for themselves or their loved ones
• car accidents
• sick children
• deaths of pets
• worries about their job status due to temporary positions
• financial worries
• moving homes

These are just a sample of things I do know, because my staff members shared their hard times with me during or after the facts. I am sure there was even more going on under the surface that I never knew. Every once in a while, when someone I don’t know well seems to underperforming based on my own private judgment, I remind myself that you never know what else is going on. It is not my job to judge anyone. I work hard to coach and support, to celebrate and inspire, to listen to and love the people around me. I share this list as a reminder to myself and to others to be aware of that which we do not know. I share this as I grieve for all the losses we are seeing in Los Angeles right now as they continue to battle multiple wildfires and massive devastation. I share this after just having visited the Laihaina area of Maui, which is still suffering from the horrific fire that swept through there over a year ago. I share this for myself when I get impatient. I share this as a reminder to listen to what is being said and what is not being said because you never know.