Why I’m Thankful for Lucas Group
I recently had the opportunity to connect in person with my Lucas Group colleagues for the first time in quite a while. It was our annual year-end meeting, and for two and half days, the company’s top performers for 2021 gathered in Atlanta at a vineyard to celebrate our successes. We honored our award-winning colleagues, from those who achieved our “President’s Club” award all the way up to our million-dollar recruiter and special contributors.
This celebration of our colleagues and their accomplishments means so much to us every year, because these awards are symbolic of the impact we’ve made both as individual recruiters as well as collectively as a company. This is one of my favorite things about recruiting and Lucas Group. When we help a company find a talented candidate for a role, everyone wins—from the candidate who levels up their career in a new role to the company that welcomes amazing new talent. And this year, it was a special celebration of what we’ve been able to accomplish in helping others grow during a unique season of work and recruiting.
Celebrating these wins this year had special meaning, because it was the first in-person meetings we’ve been able to attend in almost two years. After the time we spent away from each other, it was even more fulfilling to come together and celebrate.
Of course, because of the time we’ve all spent working remotely, it was a little weird at first to be looking at people in person instead of through the window of a Zoom screen for the first time. We went quite a stretch without seeing each other. But our culture helped us get through a difficult time. This is, in part, because everyone at Lucas Group would describe themselves as a “people person.” We all get energy from working with and helping each other. Our culture is one of the reasons these meet ups and celebrations are extra sweet. Within the first hour of our time together, you could feel that energy building and the nerves falling away. That energy and joy we have together is one of the reasons I’m thankful for my colleagues and Lucas Group.
In no time, we fell back into the rhythm of being together. I got to see people that I had not been able to catch up with face to face since the pandemic. And after more than a year of working on a placement with one colleague, I finally got to meet them in person.
Because of who we are and the culture we’ve created together, there were so many times during this in-person celebration that I paused and thought with gratitude about how special Lucas Group is. From the trainings and the speakers that enriched our minds to the happy hours where we caught up socially or the community service project we worked on there’s an energy I feel when I’m around my Lucas Group colleagues. It’s an energy and a vibrancy I have so much gratitude for.
I returned home from the celebration feeling so reenergized, inspired and ready to charge new hills. I feel revitalized after a year that has been wild for the recruiting profession. It was such a gift and one that I believe could only be possible at Lucas Group. Even though the end-of-year celebration is over, the special energy I get from my colleagues is with me every day I log in to work.
In this season of gratitude, what I’ve been reflecting on the most is the culture at Lucas Group and what makes it the most special. We like nurturing relationships. Lucas Group has been really intentional about trying to keep everyone together for meetings, video chats and even a few in-person happy hours here and there. The community and transparency of leadership helped us stay connected, too. We are a distributed team. And just like with any other company, there may be different subcultures among are different regions and areas of practices, but you could go to any of our offices and feel like you’re with friends and colleagues. We’re similar and diverse at the same time.
What we have in common is that we’re competitive and supportive. As much as we want to win as individuals, we also want to see everyone else win. If you’re my colleague at Lucas Group, your success is my success. And we’re just as excited when someone else wins as when we win as individuals. We all want to be better than we were yesterday. We all want to celebrate each other. It’s truly remarkable and something I am endlessly grateful for, this season and every day.