Whether we realize it or not, we all have inherent beliefs about our abilities, talents, and our capacity to change. These beliefs form our mindset and that mindset impacts everything. Developing a mindset that acknowledges that life will present challenges and certainly, moments of failure, while still believing that it can be overcome with grace, confidence, and persistence, is where we believe the magic lies.
Over the years, we have worked hard, both as individuals and as a team, to develop a growth mindset. When we think about what this looks like in application, we filter the things that may come our way differently. Challenges are an opportunity to thrive, failures are not an identity, but instead a springboard for growth and development of our abilities. For us, striving for excellence while avoiding the pitfalls of perfectionism is key to what we do. Perfectionism has an endpoint. It is linear because you either attained perfection or failed. With a growth mindset, there is an ongoing process of acceptance and removal of judgment, and when living with a severe mental illness, this is especially valuable. We are always looking for ways to improve what we do and how we do it. At Help in the Home, our purpose is to support individuals with a severe mental illness which makes the sustainability and longevity of our work important. There has always and will always be a need to support the SMI community and cultivating a legacy that outlives us and continues the work we do is crucial. We want our families to know that caring for their loved ones with dignity and respect is more than a job, it’s our purpose.
There is value to continual learning and growth in the workplace
For many years we’ve worked with business coaches and consultants when we’ve needed support navigating change and how to implement it. We’ve come to understand the enormous value of using resources outside of our organization.
The development of our team members is a must as well.
At our monthly team meetings, we regularly invite therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists and other experts in our industry to speak on different topics ranging from self-care, behavioral principles, understanding medications used for severe mental illness, boundaries and many more topics. We also seek consultation on complex cases a community member may be navigating.
As a team, we are vigilant about not being complacent. One of the ways we do this is through our performance improvement plans for excellence. What may more commonly be known as “disciplinary write-ups”, we’ve changed to “performance improvement plans”, and have proved to be much more productive. We welcome feedback as a way to improve, void of punitive or negative reprimand, and instead striving to create an atmosphere where growth is good and feedback is necessary for improvement. We remind our team that feedback is an opportunity for input and input is necessary for collaboration and moving forward. Our servant leadership model creates an atmosphere where feedback can be shared because our organizational chart has clients and staff at the top and leadership at the bottom. This allows for the feedback to be funneled down in a way that’s non-threatening and without fear of retaliation. More than anything, we really want our team to know that their thoughts are valued and that they are cared for.
Some fun ways our team and company are growing these days…
Leadership Team
- Shannon Harris, our Outreach Representative, has more than a decade of experience in business development in the behavioral health field. Shannon has already demonstrated her commitment to excellence by completing her Master’s Degree in Business Administration. She is now adding to her expertise in the behavioral health field by returning to school for a second master’s degree in clinical social work.
- Our founder, Stacy Derrick, participated in the Goldman Sachs 10KSB Program in 2021 and continues to build off that program. Back in 2017, Stacy participated in the Interise program and since then has completed multiple trainings; most recently being a network champion for Interise. She is on the Board of Directors for Temple Beth Ami and the Co-Chairperson for Temple Beth Ami’s Mental Health Initiative.
Trainings
- We strive to find ways to provide continuing education opportunities for our staff. The Center for Motivation and Change Foundation’s Invitation to Change (ITC) approach combines science and kindness to help people change. This method is in-line with our values of honoring where clients are at in their process of change and helping them meet their goals through dignified support. This past month, five of our team members completed this training, and we are looking forward to more in the future.
Workshops
- In September, we participated in Oh Yes Communications’s Clarity in Your Messaging Workshop. Clarifying our message is a way for us to ensure that we’re communicating and creating content in a way that helps our ideal clients find us. It also exposes potential blind spots while creating common language that we use both internally and externally to communicate our culture, values, and what makes Help in the Home different in the marketplace.
Clients
- We use a client-centered and team-guided approach with our clients that focuses on their strengths and how to use those strengths to achieve their goals. Having a growth mindset with our clients is really about finding ways to support them in a way that makes sense for them. Often that involves getting creative and thinking outside the box – which we love to do!
What are ways that you’re pursuing a growth mindset? We’d love to read in the comments below.
Developing a mindset that acknowledges that life will present challenges and certainly, moments of failure, while still believing that it can be overcome with grace, confidence, and persistence, is where we believe the magic lies.