2020 Wrapped: G(irls)20 Edition
As we close the chapter on 2020, I want to stop and reflect on how this year has changed G(irls)20 as an organization and how we have adapted to and have risen above the challenges that 2020 presented.
This past week, I virtually sat down with the Acting co-CEOs of G(irls)20, Bailey Greenspon and Miriam Buttu, to discuss how the organization has adapted to the new ways of living and working, the highlights they cherish from an eventful year and what G(irls)20 has planned for 2021 and beyond.
Taylor Piotrowski (TP): This year has forced all leaders from around the globe to pivot and learn how to navigate through new ways of living and working. Now that we are closing off 2020, can you share some of the ways this year has challenged the organization and how you have changed because of it?
Bailey Greenspon (BG): Unfortunately, it has taken a global pandemic for me to learn that there is nothing noble about working yourself sick. For leaders of organizations, this requires more trust in their teams. If a team member tells you they are under the weather or need a mental health day -- believe them! And then follow their lead. This year's challenges have forced me to take real self-care, including meditation and full nights' sleeps, more seriously. I hope this radically changes the way we all work going forward.
Miriam Buttu (MB): Change is hard, and it’s even harder when it’s forced upon us. Butin difficult circumstances that are outside of our control, our problem-solving human brains turn to creative thinking and innovation. After we accepted that COVID-19 was no short-term setback, we kicked into gear and started considering all of our options.
Within a few weeks, we began offering virtual training webinars for the first time, within which we responded to the current challenges of young women in the G(irls)20 community. We also transformed the Global Summit into a virtual Summit with incredible success, although as with anything you do for the very first time, we learned a lot!
These challenges, along with our responses to them, reminded me that in all areas of our lives, creative thinking and innovation are tools we have access to for solving the problems we face. It’s easy to get comfortable and do things because they’ve always been done this way. But as we learned with the Summit, there is so much beauty and wonder when you step outside that comfort zone and do things differently.
TP: G(irls)20 seems to have not let this year slow the organization down, if you were to pick one or two highlights from 2020, as the Acting co-CEO, what would they be and why?
BG: On the final day of our virtual Summit, one of our delegates asked "is it possible to miss people you've never actually met? because I woke up missing all the other delegates". To me, this is the greatest indicator of the Summit's success! We know that the value of the Summit friendships last a lifetime, and going into this year's Summit we knew it would be the most challenging of Summit experiences to replicate online. But that one passing comment confirmed that our team created a program that let delegates momentarily forget about the challenges of 2020 and invest in a deep, caring community.
MB: You’re right – we haven’t slowed down! The work we do is more important now more than ever.
My first highlight, in the pre-pandemic portion of the year, was the Leadership Forum. It was my first ever G(irls)20 event, and I was amazed by the G(irls)20 community and blown away by what our small and mighty team had created. It was truly magical, and it gives me a lot to look forward to for when we can return to in-person events!
Girls on Boards, Young Directors, Cohort 4 and the G(irls)20 team at the Girls on Boards Leadership Forum, 2020
My second highlight was at the Summit. As I sat in my home office, watching all of the team’s hard work come to fruition so beautifully, I was overcome with emotion. Together over the months that had preceded the event, we put our brains together and worked tirelessly to create our most impactful Summit. That was our goal, and it was in that moment that I realized that we had actually achieved it!
On that note, I want to give a huge shout out to the entire team for their commitment and hard work this year! Margaret Mead said it best:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
TP: Lastly, as G(irls)20 enters the new year, what are you most looking forward to and can you share any insight into what G(irls)20 has planned for 2021?
BG: If disruption breeds innovation, then in 2021 we will be innovating to boot! The pandemic creates new demands for G(irls)20 programming and advocacy, but has also affirmed some of the core beliefs underlying our programs -- that young women need to be in the spaces where decisions are being made. Next year, we get the chance to go back to the drawing board on the programs we love, and re-imagine them in a digital context. In early 2021, expect to see a new advocacy strategy, an online board-ready program... and so much more!
MB: I’m most looking forward to seeing the ways in which we innovate in 2021! There were many exciting new things we did in 2020 that we will continue to build on over the next year and beyond.
I know that 2021 will be another challenging year, and while many of us (myself included) are in a rush to have this pandemic become a thing of the past, I also know that we’ve grown a lot. This growth will allow us to be better and do better in 2021 and I look forward to what’s ahead.
In terms of what’s coming…I can say this: Stay tuned for some big announcements in January! G(irls)20 has a brand new strategic plan in place for 2021-2025 and I cannot wait to share all of the details with you in the new year!
2020 has most definitely been an eventful year, but one key takeaway from this interview was that G(irls)20 is more than ready to continue to shatter global glass ceilings into 2021 and beyond.
If you are wondering what we have planned for 2021, I invite you to sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with all things G(irls)20.
On behalf of the entire G(irls)20 team, I wish you a happy new year.
By: Taylor Piotrowski, Communications Coordinator, G(irls)20