Staff Values
Check out this excerpt from our staff training about staff culture and values at Justin’s Place!
Ownership
Yourself. Taking ownership of ourselves looks like putting our best effort into things we can control and letting go of things we cannot. This is a challenging request that requires presence, patience and self-awareness.
Thoughts: Awareness of our thoughts is crucial. Staying positive mentally will affect everyone around us. If we become aware of negative thoughts, we should run them through the filter of emotions and logic. If they are negative and valid- voice them! Voice them to the person that is directly tied to the thoughts or feelings. We want to maintain a policy of not talking about people in ways you wouldn’t talk to them to their face.
Feelings: Owning our feelings can be helpful for the whole team so we can support people where ever they’re at. This also looks like owning our feelings as solely our own and when needed, separating them from the tasks at hand.
Actions: We are each responsible for our choices and mistakes. Mistakes should be openly discussed and often celebrated! We don’t learn much from successes, we learn loads from mistakes! Anytime we make a mistake, we can feel free to squeak the mistake monkey in the office if we’d like some applause.
Candor- the quality of being open and honest; frankness.
The Farm: We hope that all staff will view Justin’s Place as their farm. It’s “your house” and “your animals”. Take pride in it and care for it as your own. We are each responsible for our space, lessons, animals, etc. This affects how you speak about the farm, how you engage with it while you’re here and how you leave it. If we ever have concerns, then we speak up and take ownership to address the concern.
Warmth
Just as we want our participants and volunteers to feel welcomed at home at Justin’s Place, we want our staff to feel the same. Staff will make an effort to greet each other by name. Just as we offer specific positive praise to our volunteers and participants, we will take time to notice and bring attention to specific positive qualities in each other.