teams gathered together at our Fort Wayne offices for two days (July 19th and 20th) to explore our company’s history, culture, systems, and service expectations. This annual treat offered Pamela and I a chance to spend time with a mostly new administrative team sharing our deeply held values and commitments. We view that effort as the most important thing we do each time our team has a chance to gather. Our organization functions best when each person charged with an administrative or professional role understands that he or she functions as a steward for the dreams and visions that inspired the creation and two decade plus experience of our special organization.Working the “YFN Way” represents a hard challenge for many folks who pass our way. Our services have always been guided by a strong service philosophy, the contours of which occasionally collide with one another and otherwise press us well beyond the regulatory requirements to which our services are subject. We think it important that our professionals understand that meeting governmental regulations represents the bare minimum of that which they must do; it is hardly unique nor significant when it happens. Retaining our accreditation status is likewise not enough--there are others who can achieve that level of performance without breaking a sweat. We look for something much bolder; as our mission statement says, “we hope to make a positive difference in the lives of every person our services touch.” That mission cannot be met if we leave any person (person supported, the staff, or an outside party) discarded along the road with needs or interests unmet.
Our workshop got off to a great start through the facilitation efforts of Jo Krippenstapel. She led folks on day one as the built a shared version of the organization’s historical timeline from it founding in 1985 by Ethel Beal to its current configuration, including recent expansions in northwest and central Indiana. Each person brought something to this exercise as we identified the historical moment that we joined YFN and the events that were then occurring. With energies high from this exercise, we explored three critical YFN systems. By evening, folks were ready to play...and they did! Day two focused on tools that facilitate some of our uniqueness. Folks were challenged by Pamela and me to undertake a special project using some of those tools that we believe with transform the organization across the next 24 months. I plan to write specially on that assignment in a few months. Meanwhile, check out the great pictures taken throughout our learning exercise.
You can find our 2007 Professional Retreat photos at:
www.flickr.com/photos/42254846@N00/sets/72157600994927573/.
