What would you say when asked what your 3 Guiding Words are?

This week, we have had the pleasure of hosting 70 of our team leaders here at Welcome Home for our Winter Conference.

Yesterday, we had a wonderful beginning session with a friend of ours, Steve Gasser. Steve is one of my friends and is an inspiration to me in many ways.  I invited Steve to come and speak to our group about the 3 Guiding Words, a program I started working through after being introduced to it by Steve and a few friends two years ago.  My personal guiding words are my replacement for a new year’s resolution. Over the past two years, I’ve participated in a group that did this exercise from a personal level, and I thought this would be a great exercise for our team to do as well.

Steve walked the group through one of the more fascinating and impactful sessions we’ve ever had at our conferences.  All throughout yesterday, team members continued to approach me and told me how his session was maybe one of the best they had ever heard.

That’s pretty high praise, but you know what?  It really was.

At the end of yesterday’s session, Steve asked our team leaders to do this exercise for themselves.  We heard a few of the words, and to say we were impressed was an understatement.

We decided to take it one step further and have our friend, Lena Mowlem, take the words and write them in to a story that would be just as impactful for them.

This morning, Lena came and read the interpretation of their words.  What follows comes from our team members 3 Guiding Words.

This year I will take action.

I will be adventurous and expand.

I will motivate and be motivated.

I will experiment and create, challenge and support.

I will encourage quality success and step out of my shell with confidence.

I will rejuvenate, relax and have fun.

I will enjoy life and share kindness and joy.

I will give generously and unselfishly.

I will connect with my community and embrace it with understanding.

I will believe in belongingness and charity, dependability and continuity.

I will have patience.

I will communicate, plan and prioritize.

I will simplify and eliminate, practice self control and step back.

I will present balance and practicality, thriftiness and organization.

I will slow down and practice cessation.

I will move, and focus on health and fitness.

I will enjoy the outdoors, ride, embrace a healthy lifestyle, and inspire growth.

I know I can achieve these new accomplishments.

I will be social, and commit the time and tools to do so.

I will live, laugh, learn, breathe.

I will thrive on trust and truth, and find strength in my faith and family.

I will love more, believe more, respect more, please more with a genuine passion.

I will create new memories and be fulfilled by the ones I already have.

I will cherish bravery and peace and honor me.

I will dream.

Want to talk about inspirational?  Thoughtful? Amazing?

Yeah, we thought so too.

We may be biased, but we really believe we have the best team members out there.  This has been one of the most amazing groups of people to work with.  Each of them care in a way that should set the standard of care for senior living communities.  We are proud to call them a part of our team and in many ways, a part of our family.  Thank you to our team for all that they do, day in and day out.  Your work is inspiring to us and is very much appreciated by the residents you care for, and by their families who have chosen you to care for their loved one.

Roman Bloemke, Chief Operations Officer, Welcome Home Management Company.