At the end of 2021 I had the honor of attending the retirement ceremony of a close friend from college who had just completed twenty years of active duty serving our country in the armed forces. As I was leaving, his wife told me, “Y’all always show up!” For the hour drive back home, I spent time reflecting of these simple words… they struck a chord and led to reflection over the holidays. What does “showing up” really mean, and how can we apply the idea to our daily lives?

Early in my career one of my mentors, Harvey Schmitt, former President and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, had a saying, “You can fake sincerity, but you can’t fake being there.” As Harvey showed me during my time working for him, it was critical to show up and to spend time connecting with others – making them feel seen and heard. Harvey always seemed to remember the details about individuals – their companies, families, etc. – and it was the care that he put into remembering those details that helped make others want to be part of his team. During a 40-year career, Harvey was a builder of communities and by showing up, Harvey built consensus and solutions for getting things done.

At LS3P, our CEO, Marc Marchant, illustrates the idea of showing up when he speaks about connecting to our communities. Everyone can show up in some capacity – at a soup kitchen, on a non-profit board, as a coach of our kid’s soccer team – the possibilities are endless, and the reach is endless. By showing up for our communities, we expand our horizons and our understanding of how things fit together.

We are always committed to showing up for our clients. Showing up is not just at the ribbon cutting when the new building is completed. Showing up for our clients is also about listening and participating in the design and construction process with them to help them see to it that their vision is possible and working with them throughout the process to make sure it becomes a reality. Showing up for clients gives them confidence that we are invested in their vision for the project and that we care about its success.

Showing up for our co-workers is a critical part of teamwork.  Let’s face it: the last few years have been hard – the pandemic, civil unrest, political division, work from home, etc. etc. Showing up for each other as colleagues is not as easy if we are all on the “Brady Bunch” Zoom screen of faces, but it has never been more important. Showing up for our co-workers communicates that we are in this together and we are better together – and that makes LS3P the special place to work that we all share.

At this time last year, I had just begun conversations about joining LS3P. During my conversations with others in the firm, I heard the important words – relationships, community, connection, strategic, partner, trusted advisor, etc. Like many, I want to feel inspired by the work and by the people I get to do it with. As we continue into 2022 and beyond, I hope we can all find new ways to “show up” for one another, our clients, our communities.