How to strengthen your connections
by Family Councils Ontario
Throughout May, we’ve been discussing strength in connectedness. Not only is that our theme for Family Council Week, it’s also an underlying principle of Family Councils and FCO. This week, let’s shift our focus to ways that we can develop and maintain strong connections within Councils.
Just like building muscle takes effort, so too does building and maintaining a strong and connected Council. Strong and effective Councils make time to take care of their members and build the strength required to carry out the mission of the Council. Here are a few key ways to do that:
- Provide time and space for social connections at meetings. Council work and meetings often deal with difficult or emotionally taxing issues. Providing time and space for members to engage socially and connect on a personal level helps them to work better as Council members. When people feel a personal connection to their peers, it helps develop a stronger group. There is strength in connectedness.
- Practice peer support. Listen to your members and offer understanding. When people feel heard, understood, and valued they are more connected to you and your cause. Read more: https://www.fco.ngo/blog/power-peer-support-engaging-families-changing-lives and https://www.fco.ngo/blog/principles-working-together-advance-culture-change
- Pay attention to and learn from sources of conflict. While conflict is a normal part of group work, letting conflict go unresolved can lead to greater conflict and a breakdown of the group. Resolving conflict as it arises will have the effect of strengthening the connections among group members and between members and the Council. Read more here: https://www.fco.ngo/blog/common-sources-family-council-conflict#overlay-context=blog/strength-connectedness
- Practice compassion. Compassion allows us to understand when others are in need and to work to alleviate their pain or suffering. This does not mean that we condone or overlook bad behaviour; it simply means that we operate from a position of seeking to understand the reasons behind the behaviour and to help people express their pain. Compassion tells us to be gentle and let people know that you are there for them, while reinforcing that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and kindness. Compassion reinforces good behaviour by demonstrating that we all deserve to be heard and supported. Thus, compassion helps us give and receive support when we need to. Read more: https://www.fco.ngo/blog/compassion
- Show appreciation. Saying ‘thank you’ is a simple but powerful action that goes a long way towards building a strong connection. Making a point to thank your Council members for their contributions (attending meetings, preparing materials, bringing up a point for discussion, assisting with an event or activity etc…) will show that you appreciate them and their contributions to the Council. This will go a long way towards building a strong and effective Council.
How steps does your Council take to build its strength and connections? Let us know on Facebook!