Each month, Latham Centers focuses on one of our core values (belonging, mastery, generosity, and independence). Gina Sheehan, Director of Adult Services, offers her perspective on independence to welcome the New Year:
INDEPENDENCE: When a boat floats along with the current, it takes great courageousness to say we need to pause and change directions. It’s that time of the year to assess our currents and paths and become the catalyst for change if warranted. Independence isn’t just about setting goals and reaching them, or about New Year’s resolutions. It’s a mindset.
As part of the Latham team, we share the same agency mission and are part of this giant current together. Can we be independent and also part of a team, residential suite, group residence, or shift? The answer is a resounding yes!
Within our teams, I encourage our staff members to be empowered and authentic. When a staff member feels a needed shift in direction or feels it’s time to get “uncomfortable” and try something new: speak up. Share with your team. Great ideas come from variant thinking; they don’t come from silence. Perhaps the idea doesn’t get off the ground, but maybe it jump-starts a solution the team has been seeking all along.
At the adult services holiday party this year, I addressed the guests and explained how thankful I am to be a part of this team. The Adult Manager team pictured above is an example of independent thinkers who are authentically themselves and still belong to a team. Each house is a team comprised of staff members and residents who play a role, bringing themselves and their strengths openly to attain the larger mission of the agency. The incredible care we provide to our residents is something that has kept me on the Latham team. As we start this new year, I encourage our staff to be kind and gentle to themselves, to know that they are enough, and that what they are doing is noticed. And to use this as a comfort to speak up, bring new ideas to their team, and try something different.
Thank you to the entire staff at Latham for everything you do. ~ Gina Sheehan
