Let’s talk about Service. In the world of the helping professions, this often gets translated into the various programs that are offered through our respective organizations and agencies. It is understood more in terms of what we offer as opposed to how we offer it.
We talk about the different formats that our services take. We spend time thinking about outcomes, the intentions of the service or program, the processes, the practices, and the paperwork!
Efforts are made to ensure that services meet needs. We talk to people who access the service – we ask questions. What do they need? What would be helpful? How can we better reach as many people as possible?
We write the reports. We balance the budgets. We provide the evidence to support the necessity of what we are doing.
All of this is a part of it. I am not going to sit here and deny that. I realize that we are working within a current structure that places demands on us in order to keep functioning. I just wonder sometimes about where our energy is focused.
Service is not just about the what of it all – it is about the how.
To me, service is a function of spirit. What do I mean by that?
Well, let me try to explain.
True service involves a few key ingredients. Creativity. Compassion. Connection.
You can write all the program reviews you like, take all the surveys, compile all the statistics, and you still won’t have the evidence of true service. How do we measure connection? How do we quantify compassion? How do we prove creativity?
I think the challenge here is that we are trying to take something that really is intangible and make it tangible. We are trying to take something that is abstract – something that is felt – and make it something concrete and intellectual. In doing that, we tend to miss the boat and find ourselves focused on things that don’t really matter at the end of the day.
Quality vs. Quantity
That is the truth about helping professions though. Usually, the most significant and powerful contributions cannot necessarily be measured in quantifiable evidence. They are felt. They are experienced. It is often something that we cannot necessarily put our fingers on.
Let’s break down the three components of service that I mentioned previously.
Creativity
Being creative within service can certainly be bolstered by a rich knowledge of resources, tools and strategies. However, this means nothing if it is not of benefit to the person who is accessing service – if it doesn’t meet their specific needs. Creativity in this sense is about intuition. It is about the ability to see people as capable and whole. Creativity makes it possible to hold the vision and to hold space for another’s process.
Compassion
Building on the role of creativity, compassion allows us to be in communion with another according to their expressed needs and to read between the lines. Compassion indicates a willingness to be with an individual and to be with their experience long enough to learn from it. Compassion does not jump to fix, advise, or take away the other person’s process and instead holds the person in the highest regard with a view to their developed resiliency and sense of hope.
Connection
In order to cultivate the energy of compassion and creativity, we must be in a place of connection. Self-connection first – connection with others next. Connection implies presence and engagement. Connection occurs in the moment – not in the future. What is happening now? How can I be of service right now? Yes, the resource or the referral may be a future consideration, but what is the need in this moment? Start there and build the foundation for service.
As we pay attention to the tangible form that service takes in health care and human services, let’s give equal time to the spirit and essence of service. Make the joy – the fulfillment – the sense of meaning – experienced by professionals as important as the outcomes experienced by those accessing service. This balanced approach will lead to high quality outcomes that we can not only measure, but more importantly, feel. I am convinced of it!
Let’s get started!
What do you think about the spiritual element of service? Does it resonate or stir up resistance? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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