#olark

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: polyamory

Fandom: Smallville

Relationships: Clark Kent/Lois Lane/Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan

Summary:

So what if Oliver is a grown man, big and strong, actual superhero - Clark knows all that, first hand. Still, there will be moments - when he goes quiet, gaze loses focus, mind goes wondering... chasing ghosts. And Clark notices his face change, those muscles tense, looks into unseeing deep dark eyes - and what he sees there makes him want so badly to just grab that man and fold him into tight embrace, use that ridiculously big frame of his to shield the smaller one from the world, from anything and everything bad, from ghost - past, present and future... Fly him away, to a place where nothing and no one could ever hurt him ever again.

If he could, he would, in a heartbeat. And if he can't, he damn sure keeps trying to get close enough. To chase away those ghosts, with words, with touch, with silent reassuring presence - whatever Oliver needs. He doesn't even need to ask. Clark will always be there.

You're a Happiness What?

I’ve had a career full of jobs that were challenging, interesting, valuable, and fun; yet almost impossible to explain to strangers (in the amount of time strangers want to spend hearing about your job). My current gig as a Happiness Engineer for Automattic is no exception. That having been said, our Happiness Lead, Andrew Spittle captures the essence of what we do quite well…

Last month, Madalyn Parker, a developer at Olark sent her team the following message: ‘Hey Team.  I’m taking today and tomorrow to focus on my mental health.  Hopefully I’ll be back next week refreshed and back to 100%.’ Madalyn.

Now in many organisations, the top leadership team would frown upon this. Whilst the company’s values might espouse a supportive, great-place-to-work ethos, the reality is somewhat different. You can’t talk about mental health. Sure, you can be sick, but the kind of sick that needs antibiotics. The response from Ben Congleton, Olark’s CEO was surprising to many: ‘Hey Madalyn. I just wanted to personally thank you for sending e-mails like this.  Every time you do, I use it as a reminder of the importance of using sick days for mental health—I can’t believe this is not standard practice at all organizations. You are an example to us all, and help cut through the stigma so we can all bring our whole selves to work.’ Ben.

Action Centred Leadership nurtures leadership at all levels, but without a clear steer from the Strategic Top Team, it won’t work.  The imperative of the executive team is to provide direction, to build and release corporate spirit, to be clear, and to make it happen.  This helps others in the organisation to interpret the rules and to follow the example set by those leaders. It means the Task can be achieved through people and Individuals working as a Team.

As Ben Congleton says on the Olark Website: ‘We've grown and changed so much since the beginning, but at our core Olark has remained about the people: our team, our customers, and our customers' customers’.

On the same page, Madalyn writes: ‘I've benefitted first-hand from Olark's #assume and #practice values as I've had to take significant time off work to address my mental health and have had complete support from my team.’ For the record, Olark’s values are: 

Chill Out - Help Each Other Grow - Assume Good Faith - Make it Happen - Practice Empathy - Speak Your Mind.

Olark are practitioners of Action Centred Leadership.  They might not know it, but they have the three circles in balance.  And their leadership teams are providing the leadership functionality needed by the broader team.  And it is great to hear.