And the Award Goes to… Our Teams

The Big Picture editorial staff  looks forward to the month of May each year as a bit of downtime between issues. I’ll take my vacation in May. We’ll focus on that larger project in May. Maybe I won’t skip lunch in May. The more things we add to the month’s to-do list, the more we joke the downtime we long for may not actually happen. 

And for me, it definitely didn’t. From the end of April to early June, I added the role of editor-in-chief of sister publication Screen Printing to my resume; recognized the winners of the inaugural Best of Wide Format Awards in Las Vegas; found full-time tenants for a property I help manage in Louisville, Kentucky; traveled throughout Croatia before heading to FESPA in Munich; moderated a panel of commercial printers who have successfully made the move to the world of wide format at Ricoh’s Interact user conference in Denver; hosted a bachelorette party in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; got engaged (!); and accepted Folio: magazine’s Top Women in Media award in the Up and Comers category in New York City.

And while I was busy all over the world, my editorial team impressively stepped up to the plate. Not only did Anya and Kelsey take the time and energy out of their extremely busy schedules to nominate me for the detail-specific Folio: award, but they handled all major day-to-day tasks while simultaneously getting two magazines through production for your reading pleasure.

In my Top Women in Media award speech, I thanked them both. I looked around to the tables filled with journalists representing major brands like ESPN, Harvard Business Review, People magazine, Meredith Corporation, Essence, Bloomberg News, etc., and was so proud of Big Picture. I would not have had this once-in-a-lifetime experience without Kelsey and Anya. 

As leaders and managers, we spend so much time executing and dealing with “big picture” (no pun intended) tasks. How often do we thank those around us for allowing us to do so? Without our trusted teams, industry events would be missed, offsite sales meetings wouldn’t happen, and much-needed downtime would be a distant memory. Don’t forget to show your appreciation for the people who help run your business day in and day out. And make sure they get some downtime, too.