Person-Centered Discovery as an invitation to show up in your work, not just “at work.”

I have discovered that bringing my whole self to work is a conscious choice I make each day, an invitation I choose to accept or decline every time I wake my computer up from sleep mode. Sometimes the invitation is a warm welcome from my team. A reminder that we work together. In doing so we lift each other up, we “have each other’s back” and this brings forth our best work. Sometimes, the invitation is a trumpet’s call to courage. Most days involve both. I am learning that I am invited multiple times in a day to bring my whole self to work.

Person-centered thinking skills such as Rituals and Routines and Good day/Bad day has given me new ways of discovering information about people, including myself, and a framework, in the form of a person-centered description, to share this information. I have experienced firsthand how this is not only valuable for me as a person who has a disability and receives supports but also as a colleague, facilitator and PCT trainer candidate. The introspection and understanding around what is important TO me and what support I need gives me a solid foundation to show up as my whole self at work and ask for what I need. I am also better able to be present, compassionate, and supportive with others in my life by learning about what is important TO them and what support they need.

I believe PCT practices aide me to better clarify and communicate who I am, who I am not and what I need. And in doing so I am also better able express what I am passionate about and how it informs what I say and do and how I show up in my work and the world.