Skill or Character?
There may be a variety of factors that go into why one chooses to go into a particular role (work, volunteer, or other). For many, it’s the utilization of skills, abilities, or strengths that draws them to their work. Additionally, one may feel drawn to an organization’s mission or vision. Likewise, for entrepreneurs, it’s the fulfillment of a personal purpose that motivates them to start something of their own. Yet, what maintains one’s work in their respective role(s) isn’t skill alone. Character is just as important, if not more in particular contexts.
Character as it relates to this writing can be defined as one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual; the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation; moral excellence and firmness; or reputation (Merriam-Webster). For me, these definitions speak to that which separates individuals from others, including the choice to stay true to oneself and/or others and one’s values.
A leader or a hiring professional may not always know the breadth of qualities individuals coming on to a team possess but when considering individuals who have similar skills, the attributes or features that may set someone apart, or their character, could make the difference. As time goes on in a role, skills and/or character may become more apparent, further solidifying the value that individuals bring to an organization or mission/vision. On the other hand, challenges in skills and/or character may be more evident over time, prompting one’s position or role to be reconsidered. If skills are lacking, it is certainly possible to find out where someone’s skills may be best utilized or where additional training and support may be needed. In other words, skills can be learned or transferred. However, if someone’s character is in question, particularly as it concerns ethical decision making, morals, or reputation which negatively impacts one’s work, this could jeopardize one’s position or role, regardless of the skills that could be utilized or gained.
The character of individuals in leadership or ownership of a business may also be what sets organizations apart for individuals looking for opportunities to utilize their skills or strengths. Especially at this current time when individuals are seeking changes in the workplace, the quality of their experiences matter. It is less likely for someone to stay with an organization where they feel undervalued, overworked, and/or mistreated. What do you look for in others’ character? What do others say about your character, and what is its impact personally and professionally? Lastly, how are you building both skills and character?
I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share a comment or reach out if you’d like to connect, have questions, or are interested in partnering.
Healthy Messages™ helps professionals, leaders, and business owners in human services improve, craft, and implement communication within and across systems.
Learn more about Healthy Messages™ mission, vision, and outcomes.
Boundaries in Helping Fields
Setting healthy boundaries is a huge topic of importance in helping fields, particularly mental health. Boundaries have a great significance for a number of reasons. For one, they represent personal values, preferences, and ideas, especially within relationships. Secondly, they communicate value for oneself and others and help to establish trust.
What prompts a need for boundaries? Typically challenges present themselves in which someone’s personal values, preferences, and ideas are not respected, or the participants involved have different expectations of one another, which can result in feeling misused or abused. On the other hand, they can be one’s stance to proactively set expectations and/or demonstrate care for themselves and others in establishing and maintaining a relationship. This is certainly the goal but unfortunately does not always take place. In either case, there is an intentional effort of one participant or more to not only identify what’s important to them, but to communicate this to others, and put this into practice.
All, if not most, people have experienced challenges with boundaries on some level personally and/or professionally. This can be difficult to navigate, more so at times professionally due to the nature of workplace culture, learning to understand different personalities and work styles, and other complexities that exist within organizations. At the same time, organizations in helping fields are in a great position to support both clients and professionals in that organizations have a responsibility (and opportunity) to foster and model healthy boundaries.
However, a concern that I’ve had often in my experiences working in helping fields, especially community mental health services, is the lack of boundaries established between professionals and clients and/or between professionals and the overwhelming burnout that professionals can experience. This is often due to gross use of services on the part of the client, even demands of leadership or society at large, yet enablement of such on the part of the organization. In this dynamic there is often a missed opportunity for clients to develop personal values, preferences, and ideas that encourage them in their growth and for professionals to likewise be supported. We can see this in relationships that involve providing assistance one to another personally as well.
Personally and professionally, how are you communicating value to yourself and others towards growth and change? What does this look like in your role either in serving clients directly, supporting a team, leading an organization, or other area of influence?
I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share a comment or reach out if you’d like to connect, have questions, or are interested in partnering.
Healthy Messages™ helps professionals, leaders, and business owners in human services improve, craft, and implement communication within and across systems.
Learn more about Healthy Messages™ mission, vision, and outcomes.
Integrity of Heart
Aligning words and actions is foundational to the work of Healthy Messages™ in helping professionals to craft, implement, and improve healthy messages. It’s not only integral for organizational health. It’s crucial for building character, and ultimately for adding value to the lives of others. Ever find that you say one thing but do another? This can be challenging personally and professionally. On one hand, it creates doubt, uncertainty, and confusion, particularly as it relates to others being able to trust and depend on you. On the other hand, it limits the power of the message that you want to convey to others and your overall impact. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and fair, the state of being complete or whole (Merriam-Webster). It’s about your words and actions being consistent. How are you walking in integrity in your life and work?
Integrity in your life and work is shaped by your personal values - what is important to you, what motivates you, and what inspires you to do the work that you do. Consistency between values, words, and actions is necessary for maintaining integrity. A huge inspiration for me in offering Healthy Messages™ was the general lack of cohesion and discrepancies in the messages shared in helping professions/organizations which result in both professional and organizational challenges and poor client experiences. For helping professions in particular where individuals served may be experiencing a number of socio-economic and/or health/mental health issues, providing the best services possible is quintessential. The idea that clients receive less than optimal experiences in services intended to enhance their wellbeing is disheartening and unfortunate given the potential for growth and transformation.
Consider challenges to maintaining integrity in your life and work. What gaps, if any, do you see between your values, words, and actions? Or how are you representing the message(s) you’d like to convey and what is its impact personally, professionally, and organizationally?
I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share a comment or reach out if you’d like to connect, have questions, or are interested in partnering.
Healthy Messages™ helps professionals, leaders, and business owners in human services improve, craft, and implement communication within and across systems.
Learn more about Healthy Messages™ mission, vision, and outcomes.