As I was putting together the 2022 edition of our Annual Year in Review video at Footers Catering, I asked our team to reflect on what growth means to them. For most companies in our industry “growth” was a common theme in 2022 as events came roaring back with the pent up demand to gather and celebrate. And while growth is easy to measure in terms of revenue or head count, there is a deeper meaning to the word that our team embraces and is why it is one of our
core values at Footers.

Our team will tell you that growth is about being comfortable in the uncomfortable. Embracing the discomfort but still feeling supported and optimistic. It’s about pushing the status quo, coming together with the goal of making things better every day and innovating. It’s refusing to be complacent and being intentional about the collective drive to spark positive change. It’s the act of improving yourself little by little. Like a child’s growth chart on a doorframe, it’s not necessarily something that you notice immediately when you wake up the next day. Rather, it’s knowing that being a little better each day will eventually make a huge difference and result in something worth being very proud of.

As our team shared the individual growth that they experienced this year as well as the growth they saw in the company as a whole, I was struck by how much we evolved over the course of 2022 and the what they learned along the way. Lessons like the importance of saying “no”, how critical it is to ask for help and embracing a growth mindset instead of fearing it. I was also impressed by how much our team valued helping others grow. Sammy T said it perfectly; “I am learning to let go, which is really learning to let-grow ;) I’m finally beginning to allow others to contribute, and not being surprised, disappointed or discouraged of failure in their pursuit of success. People will not learn if never given the opportunity. I’m beginning to teach, suggest, and advise, rather
than do, do, do.”

At the mibe Summit my breakout group had a discussion about empowering others and how difficult it can be to “let go”. When we are accustomed to doing a job (and usually doing it really well) it’s hard to watch someone else do it and not immediately perform to the level we personally were operating at. Ultimately though, the consensus was that we have to find ways to stomach the proverbial step back, in order for the people around us to make giant strides forward.

Incredible growth is only possible when you cultivate an environment for it to happen. I’m proud to work with a team that knows in order to create those conditions - we must utilize our strengths, commit to our role in being part of something bigger than ourselves and we must love and care for the people we work with. We must also have patience and provide room for people to learn along the way. In other words
“Let go to Let Grow”.