Real Leaders - Relate, Grow, Listen

We all crave connection and belonging. Our conversation will focus on how intentionally prioritizing connection creates an atmosphere of belonging for the staff we partner with and the families we serve. When our programs were afforded the opportunity for coaching from a trauma-informed lens, we understood this must also include the program leadership. We highly value the idea of professional and personal growth, and we realize that we must be willing to be vulnerable to the growth process in order to partner with our staff to grow in their own ways. In turn, our home visitors partner with families in this same growth process, so one of the core concepts we have embraced is that our work is a parallel process. We value the relationships we have with each other and with each individual staff member. We imbed strategies into our work to ensure there is space for relationship building. We utilize reflective supervision on a consistent basis to make every effort for each person to feel seen, heard and valued. Reflective supervision is a concrete example of where we listen with the intention of hearing that person’s perspective, and we actively listen for opportunities for affirmation. Apart from individual relationships, we work to create a culture of community care, a place where all staff members feel safe and open to exploring change in the way we do our work. We are grateful to have the opportunity to be part of this work with the groups of people we are privileged to work with, and we have learned to focus not as much on what we do, but how we do it. We know it is who we are as people that makes the difference to all of our relationships, both in work environments and outside of work.