You’re moving on

“You’re moving on?”

“What?!”

“But we work well together?”

“You’ve grown.”

“We’ve grown.”

All of us have been there, employees and clients moving on.

I used to take it very personally.

Disappointment.

Sadness.

Defeat.

But now, I’m more accepting.

Things change.

Employees desire new challenges.

Clients’ business needs evolve.

It’s our responsibility to grow and develop employees and clients.

But if we’ve done our job, there will come the point when they move on.

It’s natural.

This spring, a robin built its nest on my patio table.

The table is only 10 feet from my office desk.

I had a unique vantage point to see nature unfold.

First, it was the nest building.

Next came the eggs (four to be exact).

Then came the mother brooding.

Finally, the eggs hatched, one by one.

The baby birds were the size of a quarter, eyes closed.

Momma and papa flew to the nest nonstop with worms.

The hatchlings grew fast.

Within days their eyes opened.

Feathers started to form.

Their chirps got louder and could be heard on my Zoom calls.

I grew fond of my new roommates.

But soon, I knew nature would be calling for them.

Two weeks after hatching, I went to the patio door to take a picture.

From the beginning, I documented the progress each day.

But this time, the fledglings leaped out of the nest.

Each flew in a different direction.

And then I saw the momma bird fly to the nest, worm in her mouth.

She looked down into the empty nest, puzzled.

What she was feeling, I’ll never know.

What I do know is how I felt.

Proud.

I had a front-row seat to the miracle of life.

I’m privileged that my home provided a safe space.

I’ve read that if robins have nesting success in a place, they may return.

I hope she does.

The same is true of employees and clients.

If you’ve treated them well, they may return too.

Give those you care for wings to fly and roots to come back.