When our team started, we grew quickly from 2 to 4 and then even more quickly we multiplied! Through this growth, it was very important to ensure that all team members understood our culture, vision and values. Before we grew past 4 it was important to us to collaborate and identify what our core values were and came up with what we have termed ‘Our Commandments.’ These encompass a group of rules, so to speak, by which we regulate our behaviours and actions.

These commandments incorporate our vision, culture and values as an organization. They have undoubtedly contributed to our success and growth across the province. Through a series of blog posts, I will share with you some of our commandments and why they are an important piece of our organization.

The first of our commandments is ‘Always maintain a positive attitude.’ As the saying goes: Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. In our space a positive attitude is a must, it’s an actual game changer! Positive energy will most certainly produce more significant outcomes than negative energy ever will.

Whenever our team is faced with a difficult situation we always take a step back, enter into solution mode and, rather than focus on the problem at hand, we seek a solution. Anyone who has ever been exposed to a few days with the A team seems to catch on rather quickly and conduct the same behaviour.

There is an energy behind a positive attitude, a cheerfulness, something that other people connect with and gravitate towards. While we take each and every task that comes our way seriously and with the utmost of professionalism, we work hard and have fun doing what we do at the same time.

Positive energy will attract others and we as a team embrace that fact. Relationships are important to our organization as they should to any organization. When outsiders deal with an organization of happy, energetic and positive people, they are bound to want to continue the engagement and perhaps even bring that same energy into their own space. Our President and CEO, Sheri Tomchick, often says it’s like perfume, I can’t spray it onto myself without getting some on all of you. I can certainly say that you will find dose of positive energy in each and every role at Plan A – whether it is with our frontline nursing and PSW staff, our recruiters, our management and of course replicated in every Plan A location.

Maintenance of a positive attitude and thus a positive culture and team trickles down from the top. Those in leadership roles at Plan A certainly practice what is preached and we work hard to maintain that positivity throughout the entire organization.

I encourage everyone to add a healthy dose of positivity into everything you do, you will surely be pleased with the results!

Cheers!