We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Becky McCammon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Becky thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

To get to the “moment”, a bit of story and context.

My very first email account was a 1994 Hotmail account that my best friend from high school encouraged me to open. I’m certain that my dog’s name was somehow part of the address.

These days, my email is basic and biographical. [email protected]. [email protected]. And, I used to have an email attached to my work in schools.

To the tale: It was a day like many others where the impulse to check email, to make sure all was well in the professional world, was humming. Perhaps like many people, even emails I hadn’t received or read represented a to do list, a direction, and an imperative. On this auspicious Friday, I opened an email from a colleague and felt a flurry of unpleasant emotions. I went on to re-read the email, as we are wont to do when faced with a reality we can’t quite believe, and then I closed the laptop and closed out my day with family ritual. Still, even in bed, the email replayed over and over in my mind.

And then I made a choice: I didn’t want to receive emails like that any longer. I decided to resign from my job at the end of the season.

What happened the next morning was beautiful– like the kind of exhale one takes when looking at a body of water. Relief. Gladness. Possibility.

I opened my laptop- technology owned by my then employer- and started a new spreadsheet. In it, I created one column that included myself and my two children. I created a row for my coming year and my children’s respective ages. In the row below that, an added year for all of us. I did this to bring my 45 year old self all the way to 50. In the column to the right, I wrote what values I hope the 3 of us are living into. In the column next to that, what that might look like in practice. In the final column, a dreamy way that could take shape.

And the miraculous, ridiculous and freeing part of this? I had never before been able to write down such hopes and dreams. Wed to a paycheck to paycheck life, anything outside of our monthly bills and needs was out of the question. The simple act of saying, I can leave a job allowed me to vision a bold new life.

These days, my email reads with a playful diversity. Penzey ad for spice? Check. Dick’s Sporting Goods sale? Yep. A work email that brings a sense of possibility amidst a bright collaborative community partner. Absolutely.

Becky, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

From years in the English classroom teaching to learning abundant as an educator coach, facilitation of equity-dedicated professional development, and growing as a circle keeper and leader of restorative work in schools and community organizations, what I do varies day to day, but always centers thoughtful relationship building and collaboration. For a sample of the what and why of my partnerships, below is a sample/typical picture of a restorative week:

Monday: Facilitate a community building circle w/ an elementary school’s leadership team in support of their energized start to the school year and visioning.

Wednesday: Collaborative coaching lunch w. a local artist of color as part of their grant supported workshop development. Having met in an affinity space dedicated to the healing amongst Asian women of color, this one-on-one mentorship and coaching invites restorative reflection for both the artist and the workshops of the future.

Thursday: Facilitation of virtual community building circles for a local social services non-profit for the staff. As with many organizations who shifted to hybrid/remote working spaces, the monthly virtual community building spaces re-energize relationship building and community building across many locales.

Friday: Facilitation of a BIPOC cross organization community building circle. One of my dreams when I started Restoratively Yours were spaces that connected people across circles!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

How’s work going? Is your schedule full? How are you managing your time?

Cue the internal worry about how I’m spending my time in this new work life and if it “matches” social expectations.

Modern day work culture includes platitudes like, “You have to put in the work” and constructs like a 40 hour work week. Paid time, unpaid time, overtime, donated time, and prep time all speak to our time having a particular value- paid and unpaid.

Being the sole staff member of my “team”, I am responsible for maintaining my health (sick days are absolutely not paid), the “office” management (who else would send invoices), and the artfulness and quality of my interactions, content, and the facilitation I provide (mostly paid).

So I’ve had to ask myself: What about a first impression conversation with a potential new collaborator is supported by attaching no cost/billing? Does prep time include travel time? Is the design of materials- which meaningfully involves pause, consideration and revisions- billed by project or hours? How do I start and stop a timer on my thinking and reflection when there is rarely a linear path for creativity and innovation?

What does all this musing mean? That a critical lesson for me to navigate has been releasing and re-imagining my beliefs about time at/in/focused on work and most critically, what time I dedicate to open spaces for my reflection, rest, time with loved ones and beyond.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I am abysmal at advertising and promotion. My website is genuine, but static. It is not my personality nor my skill set to maintain and lift up my work. I admire any and all folks who have generated business through marketing.

For me, the most impactful strategy is two fold: I am fully myself when I am in my work and that invites people to stay in touch or think of me when new projects and possibilities emerge. Since 2017 I have been a trainer for the Minnesota Department of Education, as well as Education Minnesota. Both of these spaces welcome and support educators from across the state and through their storytelling and word of mouth, opportunities have come my way. I have also absolutely been discovered through work when people reach out to elders and respected veterans in restorative work, people who in many cases, I have had as mentors for years.

So, in simplest terms of strategy:

Where can you share your gifts and way of being with a diversity of people?
Who in the community are you in healthy learning relationship with and who might, because they’ve been witness to your learning journey, recommend your services to others?

Contact Info:

• Website: restorativelyyours.com

Image Credits
Happy to provide captions for the photos once the alignment/order of them is situated.