The Purposed Professional Blog

10/2/25
I'm sure we all know what actual fruit is. The kind you eat. But have you ever heard of the kind of fruit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23. This kind of fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I heard about this kind of fruit growing up in church, but I never knew the depth and truth of it until I began my career working at a foster care facility.

My role was the Ministry Assistant and I was the first face you'd see when you entered the office. I was the first point of contact for our standard of culture. My supervisor was the Executive Director and that meant I had firsthand access to what her expectations were regarding our culture.

Each time we would meet she would casually drop the words, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our conversations. Over time, I would come to know these as the Fruit of the Spirit and how important they were for our standard of culture.

Now, to be fair, I also interned at this organization so I had already experienced this fruit/culture... just from a different perspective. I was a recipient of the culture as an intern, whereas a paid team member, I was responsible for sustaining the culture not just experiencing it.

My supervisor showed me what it looked like to:

• Love herself and other people.

• Exude and share joy with people.

• Bring peace to chaotic situations.

• Be patient with people.

• Be kind to people.

• Be good to people.

• Show faithfulness in the way she showed up for work.

• Be gentle with herself and other people.

• Have self-control in her words and actions.

This was a standard she set. When you walked into our organization, you would see the evidence of it. I believe that this is a strong foundation for a fruitful workplace. When we all get on one accord and realize that we are in this together, we can begin to see shifts in the climate of our workplaces.

This is the type of work that I do at The Good Spirit Center. My mission is to help create and foster environments in which everyone, specifically the next generation, thrive through innovative learning and development. I see a future where workplaces thrive as healthy, empowering spaces that encourage individuals to excel and equip the next generation to grow, develop, and lead with purpose.

I believe that you are a Good Spirit. Someone who can be a culture sustainer and help your workplace become a space where people feel safe, seen, supported, and equipped to grow.

If you believe that's you, I challenge you to pick one fruit and put it into practice today.

9/18/25
What do volunteers have to do with culture?

EVERYTHING.

After working with volunteers for the past decade, one thing I know for a fact is that volunteers can either make or break your reputation.

I believe that your culture is simply what people experience when they have an encounter with or in your organization. An experience made up of moments. Positive and negative moments. Moments that can either lead to people wanting to get more involved with your organization or never returning again.

When I first began my undergrad service learning experience in a nonprofit, I would notice how drastic my experience would differ during the weekday versus weekend. My ears were tuned in to how leadership would speak to us as service learning students, versus the staff and also the clients.

Without even knowing it, I was experiencing their culture.

I took those experiences back to campus and shared them with my class and other students. I was positively adding to the organization's reputation in the community.

Volunteer Experience

What you should realize about volunteers is that for the brief time they come into contact with or in your organization they have access to:

• Internal processes, policy, and procedures

• Direct access to your staff and their opinions, perspectives, venting sessions, and gossip

• Sensitive and confidential conversations

• Organizational/team challenges

These are just a few, but the bottom line is that they have access to moments, whether positive or negative, that make up your culture.

At countless community and career fairs, I have noticed that organizations with strong reputations often have strong volunteer engagement. They have consistent and dedicated volunteers that over the years naturally become advocates and ambassadors for your organization.

The formula for a good reputation in the community starts with culture work. The positive moments have to outweigh the negative moments. No organization is perfect and we know there will be negative moments, but the key in not allowing negative moments to create stains is how they are stewarded.

Culture work is people work, and you must steward people well. The work cannot be done without people, and for the work to be done well, the people must be prioritized. How are you ensuring that your culture is one where people are stewarded well, so that volunteers walk away with positive moments?

What story would your volunteers tell after spending a day in your organization?

9/11/25
People are experiencing difficulty looking for jobs, and employers are overwhelmed in the search for talent.

The struggle is on both sides, and I believe there is a talent pipeline being overlooked or underutilized. VOLUNTEERS.

Hear me out. Last year, I conducted 108 volunteer interviews, and 60% of those volunteers stated they were looking to gain skills. Many were also either in career transition or unemployed. Some even had high hopes that one day they would move into a paid position within the organization. Over the course of my career, I've seen that happen and it does work. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing an email come through welcoming a new team member who first started as a volunteer.

CULTURE

I've said this 1,000 times and I'll continue to say it. Culture affects everyone that steps foot inside your organization. That includes your volunteers, who work alongside your teams, gifting their time and talents to complete tasks that help achieve organizational goals and move the mission forward.

If your culture is healthy enough to keep people showing up without a paycheck, then it is worth keeping it top of mind. Especially now, when many people are choosing to volunteer as a way to fill the time and continue sharpening their skills. Including volunteers in the pool of talent creates a culture where volunteers feel seen and valued.

HERE IS WHY IT WORKS

Volunteer Coordinators don't just fill the shifts. They have to be strategic and intentional. They recruit, conduct interest interviews, and assess for skills and aptitude. They ensure the volunteer is a good fit for the role. Some volunteers even share their resume during the application process. I often meet many volunteers who would be a great fit for paid roles, but are interested in simply volunteering.

Existing volunteers:

• Are already interested in your mission

• Have experienced your culture and choose to keep coming back

• Have gone through some type of training and have a working knowledge of your systems

• Have built relationships with your people

With so many people being laid off, people are turning to volunteering to keep learning and stay engaged in meaningful work. Employers, hiring managers, and recruiters, please don't overlook this untapped talent.

Some organizations can hire from the volunteer pool and some can't. If you can, please don't be afraid to reach within. Send your Volunteer Coordinator the available roles and ask them to help identify volunteers who may be interested. Because the hire you're externally looking for just might already be inside your organization.

4/6/28
In last week's article of The Purposed Professional I shared my perspective on programs and the belief that in order for your people to do good work they have to know 4 things:

Their strengths and areas for improvement

The importance of their work

How their role fits in the team's workflow

How their work supports organizational goals

This week's area of focus is processes.

Many of the organizations I worked for gave me no role specific training manual. The standing statement across a few of them were, "It's like drinking from a fire hose." or "You're just thrown into the fire." Strangely, everyone was ok with that. I always found it odd that there was this unspoken rule of, "we don't really know how to train you, so let's just hope you figure it out and this works". It's definitely a longstanding issue in nonprofits.

It wasn't until I was about four years into my career, operating in an administrative capacity, that I realized I was being asked the same questions repeatedly. Eventually, my frustration with having to continuously repeat myself led me to create manuals, how-to guides, and need to know documents. I didn't realize it then, but those were my attempts at creating processes.

What exactly is a process?

The definition of a process is a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. A lack of procedures and processes within an organization can lead to a number of issues including frustration and confusion among employees. When people know what to do, how to do it, where things go, who to report to etc... they feel more confident in themselves and the work they do.

I needed our team to know what the steps were in the event I could not help them. I also needed the team to be more empowered to use the resources that were created for them. I needed them to know that there were specific processes they could and should follow to achieve their desired result.

Here are a few types of effective processes:

Clearly defined roles and responsibilities

Documented workflows & SOPs

System for accountability and ownership of task/projects

Updated policies that reflect team needs and organizational growth

Strategic plan goals and objectives

Processes aren't about micromanagement or control. They are about creating clarity.

Take a moment to reflect:

Where does your team need clarity?

What areas could a simple process make communicating and collaboration easier?

What processes can you put in place today that will help ensure your team is confident on what to do and how to do it?

3/28/25
Last week I shared one of Good Spirit's areas of focus, people. Today's area of focus is programs.

One definition of program is a plan or system under which action may be taken toward a goal. Whatever organization you work in there will always be some type of goal in which you will need to develop a plan to achieve, whether it's called a program, project, or initiative, it will always be considered the work you need to get done.

In the nonprofit world, we would often use the word program to describe a variety of services, opportunities, or events that meet the needs of a particular group of people.

Programs often include:

• Goals & objectives

• Service, product, or resources to be delivered

• Targeted demographic & partnerships

• Teams, roles & responsibilities

• Budgets

• Assessment

All of that is work. Nine times out of ten, the work I was responsible for was completed. Prioritizing your people and getting to know who they are will always lead to production. When I say getting to know who they are, I mean, assessing their strengths and areas for improvement.

Over the years, I've seen many programs not be as successful as they could have been because the person heading it was not working from their strengths. If a program thrived on data and the team member was not good with data, the program did not succeed. If a program depended on relationship-building in the community and the assigned team member struggled with interpersonal relationships, the program did not succeed.

I've shared how my role wore multiple hats, and one of those was volunteer engagement. The relational aspect of the volunteer program thrived, because I was good with people, managing schedules, and organizing and completing projects. The data for the program? Not so much. Numbers were not my strength, so over the years, I had to either fine tune that skill or partner with a team member who was skilled in that area.

For the work to be done effectively, you must have the right people in place who can get the work done. People with the necessary gifts, skillset, training, or talent. This comes from knowing your people.

What do your people need to know in order to do good work?

Their strengths and areas for improvement

The importance of their work

How their role fits in the team's workflow

How their work supports organizational goals

As you consider your people and programs (work), take a minute to assess whether your team has the support they need to succeed. Next week, we'll take a look at the HOW, the processes that help your people get the work done.

3/21/25

One of my goals for Good Spirit is to create safe and empowering spaces through tailored sessions, workshops, and training programs, designed to foster personal and professional growth. My services strengthen relationships, build team cohesion, and improve communication and connection. I do this in three areas of focus: people, programs, and processes.

Let's start with your people. I am a firm believer that your people are the bottom line. In order for your organization or business to operate, there have to be people to run it. When I think about the teams I've worked on, here are a few things I believe are important to know about your people:

• Skills, gifts & talents

• Strengths & areas for Improvement

• Work styles

• Communication styles

• Personality traits

It's easier to navigate work when you've built up rapport and know your people. Most organizations make a hire, send that new hire through training, do a round of shadowing, and then send the new hire for a "special" staff lunch. The lunch is filled with, "tell us a little about yourself" questions and side conversations about work, because, if we're honest about it, work doesn't stop for a new hire. Once lunch is over, everyone heads back to their office, business as usual. Three months later, the new hire still doesn't know the team, or how they work, but yet is expected to show up, produce, keep down confusion, and their questions to a minimum.

Most organizations work backwards and wait until complaints arise to begin team building. I believe that team building should happen whenever there has been a shift in your team or organization. A team member is hired or resigns. A new program begins. A new policy is created and enforced. Anytime an action occurs in your organization that may cause a disconnect among your people, team building is necessary.

Note: The welcome lunch you have for the new hire is not a team building activity... UNLESS the conversation at the table is strategic and intentional.

Team building and connection is crucial to fostering a team that actually wants to do the work. When I felt valued and seen by my team members, I performed better. Collaboration was easier. Projects were completed more effectively. Conflict was resolved quicker. When I felt connected, my supervisor never had to worry about whether the work was getting done.

I hope you see your people as worth the investment. Strengths, skills and personality assessments aren't just check box exercises, they are tools that, if used correctly, pay off long-term. Team building isn't just an activity, it's an opportunity to invest in your team's development.

When you take the time to truly SEE your people, you create the foundation for a more engaged and effective organization.

Next week we'll take a look into processes.

2/20/25

I was having a conversation with an associate a few weeks ago, and she made the statement that, in a particular organization she worked for, that there was no room for her to grow. So, she made the decision to quit, and that made me think about the seven fruitful years I worked at a foster care group home.

It also made me think about this term, "job hopping," that I've been seeing more and more lately over the past few years. Job hopping is a strategy used to negotiate and increase your salary. This term is a bit unsettling to me because I grew up watching both of my parents work the same job consistently for 20+ years. I learned early on: you get a job, stay there, work, and gain job security. That's your career.

The definition of what a career looks like has changed drastically since then, but there are still certain work principles I simply cannot let go of and one of them is: either you're working your way up or out. What I mean by that is, either you're growing in the organization and working towards promotions or higher roles, or you're working until a better opportunity comes along that is outside the organization.

As someone who started at the foster care group home as an intern, then was offered a job as the interim Ministry Assistant, then accepted that role full-time, and later was given additional responsibilities along with a title change to Ministry & Volunteer Coordinator, I knew what growth looked like in this organization. I was working my way up. By year five, I realized that I had gotten extremely comfortable. I knew the role like the back of my hand. Everything became routine, and I was on autopilot.

But I had no plans to quit, you see, because my parents laid the foundation for what a career should look like. Over the course of the following year, I came to find out that one of our Director positions was opening up, and by the grace of God, I served in that position in the interim for thirteen months.

As that year came to a close, I realized that, although I enjoyed working for the organization, I couldn't ignore that I wanted more, but in a different way. I also missed working specifically with the volunteers and interns. It was then I knew that I was working my way out. So, in 2021, I resigned.

One thing I believe that organizations must understand is that if there is no role or space for your top talent to move into, eventually they will leave. If they see no room for growth, they will leave. They will also leave when they feel their contributions are not valued or appreciated.

Fortunately, in my journey, I felt highly valued and appreciated, which made me want to stay and continue to work my way up.

As I reflect back on that season in my career, I realize that whether you're working your way up or out, both are okay. We must normalize individuals doing what is best for their careers. We must normalize individuals transitioning from one organization to another. (And to clarify, this is not about people who resign due to grievances and organizational issues.)

A FEW THINGS ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD DO:

• Be honest if there is no upward growth in your organization.

• If there is no room for upward growth, help team members identify areas in which they can grow in skills, knowledge, and learning.

• Don't string team members along providing false hope of growth.

• Help team members as they work their way out. Any individual should always leave better than they came.

• Take care of the hopeful ones. These are team members who are committed to the mission and want to stay working in your organization. Many of them are waiting on someone to resign, waiting on the department to grow, or waiting for revenue to increase so you can promote or hire to support growth. These team members should be handled with care and careful consideration.

Whether you're working your way up or out, I believe the bottom line is the same for both: GROWTH. Individuals are seeking growth, and when they cannot find it within your organization, they will seek it elsewhere. In 2025, let's work together to create opportunities for individuals to thrive.

1/30/25

The definition of the bottom line in business is a line on a financial report that shows the net profit or loss.

I had heard this term used occasionally, mostly on TV and in movies, but I was fully introduced to it when I started working in a nonprofit. That's when I realized my role would involve frequent cross departmental collaboration.

One of those departments was the Development Department. Sounds pretty scary, right? Well, to me, it actually was. In full transparency, I don't do well with numbers and spreadsheets, and this department was full of them.

Every event had its own spreadsheet, with multiple sheets, full of names of donors, sponsorships, and numbers. Numbers, numbers, and more numbers. It was overwhelming.

Not only did I collaborate with the Development Department, but I also worked with, dun dun dun... the Finance Department. It felt like God had it out for me. Just as I was getting the hang of all of the Development language, we then experienced a number of staff transitions. Suddenly, we no longer had a finance manager, and gaps needed to be filled. The work had to go on.

In order to fill part of this gap, I was tasked with helping enter receipts. That meant learning QuickBooks. Again so many numbers. I was trained on how to do it and eventually, got into a rhythm, but little did I know that there was still so much more to learn.

Enter budgets. This is when I was introduced to the "bottom line". No one had ever asked me this directly, but hearing it used in various meetings piqued my interest. What was this "bottom line" everyone seemed so concerned about?

Over the years working in the nonprofit sector, I'd come to understand that those who were concerned about the bottom line focused on costs, profits, losses, and revenue. They cared about whether we were in the red or not. In terms of the budget and the organization staying afloat, I get it.

In 2025, however, I'd like you to consider that your people are the bottom line. Another definition of bottom line is the primary or most important consideration. With a Bachelor's in Child & Human Development and a Master's in Counseling, I naturally view the work I do through a people first lens. After years of collaborating across departments, assisting team members, supervising interns, and managing hundreds of volunteers, I've come to the conclusion that people are the bottom line.

Without staff, clients, donors, sponsors, or volunteers, there would be no "bottom line" for you to review. People are essential to effectively running your organization. People need psychological safety. They need to be built up, encouraged, valued, seen, and heard.

Here's the hard truth: How you treat your people affects the work they do, and that directly affects the bottom line.

I'D LIKE TO KNOW:

EMPLOYERS: How you are prioritizing your people. In what ways do you show care to those that work for you?

EMPLOYEES, STAFF, TEAM MEMBERS: Do you feel valued by your employer? How does your workplace prioritize you?

1/23/25

Good Spirit originated from a conversation I had with an older gentleman who was volunteering where I was working. He began doing landscaping, and I immediately noticed that he was going above and beyond what I had asked of him. I took a bottle of water outside to him, and it was then that he shared with me that it was because of Jesus Christ that he performed his work the way he did. He said, 'Whatever work you do should be done for God, and you should always do your best at it." He then asked me how I became involved at the group home and told me I had a good spirit. As I continued to serve in my church and community, others would tell me the same thing. I'd hear it often, but I never truly understood what it meant then, or how much it would mean now. That interaction humbled me and changed me forever. Less than 15 minutes after that conversation, God began to plant the seed of Good Spirit in my heart.

The thing about volunteers is that when you find a special one, you don't let go. So, I called to check in and see if he would return in a few weeks to do the lawn again, but I received no answer. Over the next few days, I called and texted, but still, no response. With our initial conversation fresh on my mind, I couldn't help wonder if this man was a angel sent by God to show me what true selfless service looks like. Maybe he was sent to show me what it looked like to have discipline, a good attitude, strong work ethic, and also maintain good character while you worked.

I firmly believe he was sent to give me the foundation for The Good Spirit Center, whose mission is to create and foster environments in which everyone, specifically the next generation, can thrive through innovative training and development.

For volunteers, this means continuing to show up to do the most social good while being willing and flexible to help wherever needed.

For interns, this means showing up to give your best as you learn all you can about yourself and the field you work in.

For employees, this means continuing to develop not only your strengths, but also your areas for growth.

For organizations, this means creating environments where your people can truly thrive and perform at their greatest capacity. It means continuing to offer opportunities for learning, training, and development.

Ultimately, I want to help bring out the Good Spirit in everyone. I want you to embody the volunteer who showed up authentically and performed to the best of his ability while being of service to others. I want you to understand that personal and professional development go hand in hand. Together, they can help you become a well rounded individual, or what I call, a Good Spirit.

1/16/25
I've always been at the intersection of development and programmatic teams. It often felt like I was being pulled between two worlds. With a background in child and human development and counseling, I fully understood and appreciated the programmatic world. At the time, my title was Ministry Assistant, and I supported the organization in various ways. I recognized the needs of the individuals being served, and together with the staff, we formulated solutions to meet those needs. My approach to the programmatic world was always putting people first—service first.

Then, in that same role, I had the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities, such as mentoring and tutoring. Talk about nervousness. I had no clue what I was getting into, and that's when the stretching began. I was being drawn into a world that revolved around money. The people still mattered, but it seemed like money held a little more significance.

Or at least, that's what it felt like. It was as if every conversation was centered around donors, sponsors, fundraising, campaigns, and appeals. It was an adjustment that presented various challenges. I struggled to see how raising funds were crucial for the programs to run, but eventually, I settled into this new reality.

I started familiarizing myself with development terms such as constituents, solicitation, charitable gifts, grants, foundations, and acknowledgments, to name a few. I became highly aware of how my role as a volunteer coordinator supported the development team. Eventually I realized that I thoroughly enjoyed the ways in which my role contributed to the development team. Consequently, my title changed to Ministry and Volunteer Coordinator. In this role, I was able to grow and expand the volunteer program initiatives, increase volunteer retention, develop and execute internship programs, coordinate numerous service projects, build deeper relationships with corporate volunteers, advocate for program efficiency, and generate buy-in for the mission, among other responsibilities.

I experienced unexpected growth in that role, which has led me to this point in my entrepreneurial journey, helping organizations enhance volunteer and intern programs by identifying areas volunteers can provide support as well as help bridge the gap between development and programmatic teams.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have you ever found yourself navigating between two worlds in your career? Feel free to share your insights and experiences!

Welcome to The Purposed Professional. Over the past two years, I’ve truly been trying to get clear on my messaging. I’ve been trying to, as my content creating associates put it, “niche down.”

Now, the thing is, how do you niche down when you’re passionate about so many things? Over the course of my career, as a professional, I’ve come to care about many things. As I stated in my profile description, I care deeply about:

People, programs, and processes
Personal and professional development
Healthy/safe cultures, spaces, and environments
Helping employees thrive
Creating meaningful and beautiful events
Healthy and growing volunteer programs
Interns and program development

As I started niching down and focusing on what area I wanted to develop, I began to feel quite suppressed.

It was as if I was bound to only discussing one topic, and that felt stifling. I simply had much more to say. When I began to share my journey with others, I couldn’t ignore how all of the topics I cared about threaded together so effortlessly.

When I began my career, I started it on a whim as an intern. While I did care about the organization’s mission and values, truth be told… I was quickly approaching graduation and needed my hours.

Andy, undergraduate student in 2014. The beginning of her purpose journey.

Little did I know, that internship would set the trajectory of my purpose journey.

It would set me up for success as a Purposed Professional, someone who cares about fulfilling her purpose and doing meaningful, mission-focused work. Work that helps further an agenda of seeing a world operating and doing the most social good.

Looking back, when I received the email stating I was accepted as the organization’s clinical department intern, if you’d asked what my niche was, I probably would’ve said, “helping people.” Because that’s simply what I wanted to do. I wanted to see a world in which individuals and families thrive, and so I aligned myself with the type of work that would help make that happen.

Today, my view is pretty much still the same, I want to help others thrive. The only difference is I now see the need for them to thrive in the workplace.

As someone who started her career as a volunteer intern, who was highly green and knew very little about the workplace, my goal is to help develop students and young professionals thrive in the workplace.

In order for anyone to thrive in an environment, they must feel safe, seen, heard, and valued. They must understand the gifts, skills and talents they bring to that environment. My mission is to leverage my expertise in workforce development and my passion for people-centered environments to empower the next generation of professional to thrive and make meaningful contributions to their organizations.

Again, welcome to The Purposed Professional. I’d love to partner with organizations to share my journey and insights, equipping their interns, new hires and emerging professionals with tools to thrive in the workplace.