Troy Bronsink founded the Hive in 2016 and, after 5 years, is stepping away as Executive Director at the end of 2021. This is a transcript of a conversation between Troy and incoming Interim Director, Geralyn Sparough as they look forward to what’s next.
TB: Tell me about when you first encountered the Hive and what it was like to be invited into deeper involvement?
GS: Well, I first encountered the Hive in my dining room. Someone had suggested you meet with Tom and me as involved Northside neighbors. We talked about the vision and possibility of a center for contemplation, art, and action. And then Tom facilitated a storytelling event, Matthew Lyons had set it up. The photo from that is still on the website, I believe. And then my mom (Joan Hoxsey) was facilitating a course and she kept talking about her experiences. Finally, she suggested I apply for the Curriculum Development role. And, well, now it's been three and a half years!
TB: It has been a while! You’ve been through the old building, the move, and COVID. Over these years, what’s a gift you’ve received from the Hive?
GS: I think probably the greatest gift I’ve received in my whole time with the Hive is encountering people who are willing to go on the journey of curiosity that I’m interested in for my own life. A community of curious people, drawn to ask questions that don’t have easy answers— simply open to discovery and growth. I’ve said over the years I’ve been looking for a place where I could bring my whole self… and I experience that regularly at the Hive, integrating my spiritual, work, and interpersonal self.
GS: How has your experience with the Hive shaped you for the future?
TB: I think the Hive has brought together four passions of my life that have mattered a lot to me, but didn’t get to truly inter-interpret each other: creativity, small groups, justice, and contemplative practices. I’ve always been passionate about creativity as a path for courage, insight, and participation. And other than music, I rarely got to see this play out as a longer-term, community journey. I’ve always appreciated the power of small groups. If you go back to what I did right out of college and since, I’ve seen small groups as an essential tool for community building aiming after long-term inner or outer change. Ever since I was a kid, my family has always been blessed with relationships at the intersections of racial difference, and justice, and city life in general. The Hive has opened doors for me to convene some of my most meaningful encounters in what we call “brave space.” The fourth one is the power of contemplative practices to build confidence, insight, wisdom, and regulated presence… and in my tradition, an inner awareness of the divine. For the Hive to connect all four of these, to develop a shared vocabulary between them, has changed me forever.
I’ve heard folks describe normal life as a “two-pocket” experience. That we have our internal spiritual selves and desires in one pocket, and we have our quest for external safety and security in the other. And that the two rarely meet. I guess the Hive has taught me that, this doesn’t have to be the case. That it’s possible, even more, it’s sustainable to live the inner and outer life together. We really don’t have to go it alone.
GS: So a similar experience to mine, but maybe with a different investment?
TB: Yeah, from the management, or start-up side, I’ve learned how important it is to ask for help. And I’ve learned through trial-and-error what it’s like to build agreements and allow people to freely come and go from agreements. So I’ve definitely gotten more seasoned at leadership and management from the challenge of wanting to be a “mindful director” while directing a center for “mindful community.” Even when I screw up, it’s just about returning to the present and getting back into the game.
TB: So when we were shaping this structure with the Lead Team, Advisory Board, and Wisdom Circle, and I invited you to consider the Interim Director role, what led you to say yes?
GS: Well, I’ve been thinking about that. I realized I needed to hear myself first, to realize that I don’t necessarily have the drive to be the one in charge. But as I thought longer about it I thought, before you take something on you have to be mindful about taking it on. Not just because it needs to be done, or because you’re the one with the most experience. That can lead to resentment, to a story like “I had no choice.” But I do have a choice. And I’m in.
You know I’m doing this Ignatian Retreat. As I was preparing this morning, I was touched by the notion of call, “this is the thing that is good for me and good for the Hive.” I believe my past leadership roles can be brought to the table to keep the soil of the Hive active so it can continue to flourish. Or… going with the metaphor of the Hive, to keep producing lots of honey, nourishment, and supportive insulation for our gathering and sending. That’s gonna be more necessary than ever.
TB: Let’s dial into that a little. Tell me about what inspires you about the next year and why you believe our work at the Hive is more necessary than ever.
GS: Well I see how different changes have happened in our past few years, between Black Lives Matter, and COVID, and climate changes—I was with someone last night whose daughter was a block away from the devastation in Kentucky. I was in awe at the inner work he had to do to release his anxiety. And then I had this great conversation yesterday with a woman who found us on Instagram, all the way from Santa Fe! Looking for a place like ours! We have so many wonderful offerings that address these real changes. So many fantastic facilitators, and opportunities. Our Hive is sending out a message, “come and join us!” at a time when we are building safe places for ourselves and others to be courageous in the world.
GS: So, why don’t we go ahead and ask the big question? When did you know it was time to make this transition? What led you to that?
TB: I think that as COVID became more of a reality, we pivoted so quickly to online, it was like we were building an “other Hive” all over again. Sure, it matched who we had been before, but we were addressing a lot of new challenges in terms of the building, revenue and donations, training, and organizing without the same momentum of place. I realized that the structures that we had put in place at the beginning weren’t going to be enough to carry us through this transition; that we needed a clearer sense of shared responsibility for concretizing the vision, and that we would grow the most if these were no longer seen as structures to support the visionary. And there were probably other ways to initiate that shift, but at the same time at the level of my family and career, it became clear that I needed to open the door to other opportunities that being fully invested in the Hive would have prevented me from saying yes to. And so it felt like this was the kind of inflection point, to call into commitment a set of shared agreements to carry the Hive into this next stage and use that opportunity to step out from the visionary center and allow my own vocational doors to open up.
So in late July, when we began to have these conversations as a team, I remember calling you and other leaders and stakeholders and sharing, “here’s what I think is coming.” And we all dealt with the shock of it. And that next week was when I felt it was possible. On our leadership retreat in Hope Springs when, around the circle, I heard a group say “there is a we” and “we are committed to this.” It was a powerful point in a powerful weekend together. I suppose that's when I received y’alls yes as a release and permission for me to put the pieces in place, and not to ditch, but to prepare for that shift personally and organizationally.
GS: So what are your plans for the Hive post sabbatical?
TB: Well, my sabbatical officially ends at the end of February, and then, that next weekend, there is an Enneagram event at the Hive that I’ll be leading with Niki. So I’m jumping right in. And we have plans for me to continue to co-facilitate Courage to Connect with Daniel and Shanda in April and beyond, as well as other opportunities for weekend events and online courses, as they arise. And I plan to just take some classes, to enjoy the Hive from that standpoint! And last, perhaps most importantly for continuity, there’s our Advisory Board. Right now there are five of us, we may add a few more in the months ahead. I’m a member of that board and working closely with the chair, Jane Gerdsen, supporting the efforts in overall vision, curriculum trajectory, and ensuring that our existing relationships with partners and donors remain steady in the transition. So I’ll be around, just less involved in the day-to-day.
TB: As we wrap up, I’m wondering what sending thoughts we might have for each other?
(we both pause to reflect)
TB: I can go first, and say, the gift of your presence is why this is the time for you to step in and lead. Not because you’re like me. It’s the gift of your presence. The way you are when you hold space. I would say, keep trusting that. As far as what I’ve learned that I’d like to pass on, it is to lean into the confidence to make big calls, that done is better than perfect, to admit when you’re wrong, and keep including people, keep inviting input, inviting another set of hands and a wider community of possibility to be in it with you. Because I’ve experienced the Hive to be a community that does say yes, and does really feel belonging at the point of co-creation.
GS: Thank you. Yeah, at the holiday party I would, as an introvert, step into the kitchen at times to wash a few dishes. And I was struck that there were always others there already doing them. And it wasn’t the same people each time! And that’s such a great example of the broad sense of shared responsibility that keeps the Hive on the move.
I think what I would share with you comes from my own family experience. I wish you the ability to trust the possibilities that are coming. Openness is the key. It can be scary, but the trust that you and Kelley (Troy’s wife) share- pay attention to that, and to each other, because a lot of the success I’ve experienced is due to trusting my inner strength and the strengths of such strong, strong bonds.