We all need boundaries.  At home and at work, we need to know how far we can go, when we’re successful, and that we’re a part of something bigger than ourselves. 

While excessive rules are, well, excessive, success is impossible if we don’t know what success looks like. 

At Country Maid, we’re blessed to have our Pillars of Achievement to serve as our guidelines.  The Pillars serve as our core values and are of greater important to us than any policy in any handbook. 

The Pillars themselves include Faith, Integrity, Attitude, Discipline, Relationships, Growth, and Balance.  Faith is the ability to believe without evidence.  Integrity means doing right, even when it’s hard or when no one is watching.  Attitude means not that we have to be happy all the time, but that we will always strive to look for the best in any situation; we’ll view adversity as opportunity.  Discipline means resisting knee-jerk reactions and being reliable.  Relationships, for us, mean developing strong trust, being compassionate, and being respectful of everyone around us.  Growth means changing before the world forces us to and constantly striving to be better tomorrow than we are today.  Balance means having equilibrium between mind, body, and spirit and maintaining harmony between home and work. 

The Pillars give us freedom to operate in our roles within the company however we need to for the betterment of the team, but also let us know just how far we can go with that independence. 

They ensure we all subscribe to a common language and have a shared understanding of the expectations of our behaviors.  They help us connect with one another and remind us that what we’re doing is important. 

They give us something to believe in, something we share. 

You’ll find that many of the posts in this series relate to our Pillars of Achievement and about how, when we not just believe in something great, but we work to never stop running towards it, we can build a world of work where people do more.  Where we achieve together.  Where we can help those around us not hate work. 

I apologize that the launch of this series has seen only sporadic posts. I should now, provided my muse stays active, be posting weekly. So until next time, rock on, and keep doing amazing things.