Joining Forces to Bloom Together
Collaboration is in our DNA. We know and have experienced that we work best when we work together with people and organizations aligned on mission and values. Not only does working together allow us to do our best work, we also bloom in our professional, personal and spiritual growth at an accelerated rate through what we learn from one another. As people created in the image of a triune God, we were created for community in every aspect of life. We need each other to experience a meaningful, productive and impactful work life. As it says in Romans 12:4-5, “just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
It was a spirit of collaboration that led me to become Executive Director of WiM in 2021 after Kathy Book and I discussed what it might look like for us to partner in serving more women across the country. God led us to merge Christian Women in the Workplace, which was serving women in Northwest Arkansas, with Women in the Marketplace, which was founded in Cincinnati and had already reached women in other states.
In my first month as Executive Director, God connected us to the Polished Network. What started as an opportunity to share my conference experience to support the first Boldly Conference evolved into a full-on partnership in which both organizations equally invested in producing Boldly 2022. Our teams work seamlessly together, navigate decisions prayerfully and bring a greater breadth of skills to the work we do. Boldly 2022 was a wonderful success for all who participated, and we have not missed a beat in working toward an even better Boldly 2023.
For the last two years, God put it on our hearts to make TOGETHER our One Word for the year. In part, I believe it’s because we need more voices reminding us that we were not created to work, navigate life or wrestle through challenges alone. We need each other to overcome the pervasive divisiveness, and navigate increased isolation that many are experiencing so we can connect in community and encourage one another to lean on God at work.
Through this process, we’ve seen:
The power of holding our own plans loosely in favor of what we can create through collaboration.
Alignment and unity among the team as a result of committing decisions to prayer.
God leading us to places we could not have imagined as we seek His direction and guidance.
Which led us to seek God for what’s next last fall …
Leaders from both organizations came together to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance for our ongoing partnership. God’s leading was very clear—our next step would be to join forces as one larger and more robust organization.
We are excited to announce that Women in the Marketplace is joining forces with the Polished Network!
What this means for our friends, partners and all those we serve:
Our team just got bigger! We will be able to provide even greater support for the working women and partners we serve.
You’ll have access to more resources in one place. From Unleashed and The Confidence Cornerstone to The Storyline Project and other studies by Kat Armstrong and even more.
You can find all the resources offered by WiM and Polished in one place PolishedNetwork.org—from events, community and small group resources to leadership development workshops and peer groups for you and your team.
We work better, accomplish more and experience greater meaning and purpose when we work TOGETHER as the body of Christ. That can look different ways of course. In this case it means the two organizations becoming one. All of us couldn’t be more excited about what God is doing to encourage and equip His daughters in workplaces across the country!
You can learn more at polishednetwork.org/merge-faq.