Since it’s December, it seemed like a good time for the Connect4U Australia team to reflect on the things that have moved us forward in 2022, and those things that have held us back. We used a Sailboat analogy to gather a rich tapestry of perspectives from our Support Coordinators and Admin Team.
Author: Margie McNamara, Manager – Business Support and Development
In terms of things that have move us forward, represented by the “wind”, I was surprised (in a pleasant way, not a Yikes! moment) to see multiple comments around:
- Our collaborative team culture – the strength of our team, the supervision and support provided by Area Managers, as well as the focus on mentoring others within the team.
- The value of our commitment to a thorough orientation process and ongoing professional development opportunities.
- The importance we place on the relationships we have with trusted service providers and local community connections.
It is a testament to the commitment of the team to the collective vision of Connect4U Australia to see that our people are consistently recognising and celebrating our strengths.
It is a testament to the commitment of the team to the collective vision of Connect4U Australia to see that our people are consistently recognising and celebrating our strengths.
- It is harder to talk about things that have held us back, represented by the “anchor”. Our team members came up with things like:
- NDIA delays and inconsistent approaches
- Time constraints and competing needs
- Needing to learn new ways of working – as we have gained ten new team members this year, it has been a steep learning curve for Support Coordinators and Managers alike.
It is important that we acknowledge the risks and potential threats to the success of our business, and understand that our ability to influence the things that hold us back differs. External factors will require different approaches to internal challenges.
Strategic planning is the key to continuous improvement. It supports organisations to be proactive rather than reactive, increases operational efficiency and gives organisations a competitive edge – goals equal results (5 Benefits of Strategic Planning – Envisio)
Everyone wants to be part of something great, and each person has the right to be heard. The information from the Sailboat session will feed into our strategic planning processes for 2023, as we take our strengths and leverage these to open up new opportunities for us to be able to deliver the best independent registered support coordination services that we can.
