GROWing Up. What's Next for the Women of BrightView

We all know the saying — “Keep your head down and work hard.” 

Work hard, yes; but what do we miss when we don’t come up for air? What opportunities to learn, grow, and improve pass us by? 

That’s what we sought to find out with our recent GROW Programming Opinion Survey. Building GROW has been an incredibly gratifying journey, and many of you have been a part of the hard work that has us brought us to this place. It’s time to come up for air, and learn how we can evolve our efforts and strive to be even better. Here’s what we learned: 

• You’d like more team building and personal skills development
• When it comes to technical skills, you’d like to learn more about operations and receive hands-on training in computer programs
• Improving personal communication and confidence are areas of interest
• Work/life balance is one of the most important topics

In the coming months, we’ll share more on these plans. In the meantime, I’d like to offer a humble suggestion. Don’t keep your head down. Be part of the change. The indomitable Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “If you want to be a true professional, do something outside yourself.” Let’s make that our challenge.  Step outside your comfort zone with one of the following: 

• Volunteer to host a GROW event in your branch or office
• Reach out to a woman at another branch in your area, and invite her to coffee or lunch
• Offer training (one-on-one or to the GROW community) in an area you have expertise
• Get involved with our newsletter

Think of what you can contribute, and better yet, what you stand to gain. I’m proud to say more than a third of BrightView’s female employees responded to our survey. That figure represents an impressive number of colleagues who are actively invested in the success of GROW and each other. As you consider how you might step outside your comfort zone, know that you’ll do so with the support of the entire GROW community. 

What can we do together? The possibilities are endless.