Thanks for the best wishes Barry, and may Advocacy keep going strong in the new year. And Diana, always a pleasure to speak with you.
There are things I think I ought to say in light of being resigned as I'm not sure I'll really have much opportunity to say them again. I find it hard not to be demoralised at the moment as I see what I'd regard as warning signs that the peoplecare principle might become forgotten among the hype about where PSN is headed. I've tried to avoid talking about this as I know it's not in keeping with what people want to be the spirit of the season, but my instinct is that it has to be said and even if it turns out to be wrong I think we can learn something. If I'm being vague, it's because I'm not sure how well this concern would be handled next year.
There are also things I think I ought to say on how the photographer position was handled. I seem to have made quite an impression earlier this year when I made noise about not being told I had been appointed photographer - I've since come to accept not being told as part of the difficulty smaller nonprofits can have with internal communication, but I think it can be taken as a lesson in taking care with introducing something new, for the good of everyone involved.
The role as was envisioned this year needed someone with more connections and professional development than I have. I had quite a struggle with trying to gather enough interested people together to make ideas happen and most ideas either had to be dropped or got lost in communication. There seemed to be an expectation for much of the year that I be an (effectively) independent operator as photographer. That's fine, but not easy if you're not familiar with what can be done solo and what can't. I know committee members were at pains to point out that I could do as much or as little as I liked, but in practice that meant doing little no matter what as I couldn't keep up trying independent designs (like group emails for photography) by myself. I hope the changes next year go some way towards solving this.
If I was able to be photographer in 2011 all over again, what I'd do differently would be to always try to cultivate at least 3 different options for a course of action - it was common that I'd act after getting one option, and then be stopped dead when something went wrong with trying to use that one option. I found it instructive that the best working relationship I formed as PSN photographer, was with someone outside of PSN. It's the power of multiple options that there's more room for things to go well.
It's not clear to me whether or not I was taken seriously as photographer. I know of only one instance this year in which photos I took were used by other members. Whether that's a success or failure might depend on how you measure it, but it is a little disappointing to me given how many dramas came up during the year that were at least partly rooted in me being photographer.
The changes in the committee for next year mean I'm not sure there's anyone I can talk to appropriately about my concerns. I know who I can expect a fair hearing from, but to be honest I have no confidence that they won't be overruled by what one person thinks of my personality. I don't have to put myself in the line of fire and particularly since I'm expecting a stressful year ahead, making sure I'm okay has to come first for me, for the next while.
There are people I'd like to thank individually who I haven't done so already. Andrea for always being a beacon of compassion (also for responding to login problems at a busy time!), Janna for also being very helpful to me. Peter W. for always being easy and stimulating company. Leo for enlightening me about large file transfers. Others I know I'd like to thank but have gotten blocks on writing about in putting this post together - Penny, Doug, Geoffrey and the Advocacy team. Anyone else I want to thank but can't remember at a busy time. Hope the holidays are good for everyone.
