Charlie’s Corner: Fairness

Fairness as a Core Value.

Let us start this message by defining fairness, and why has been chosen as one of the Core Values of community Homes (the other Core Values are truth, responsibility, hope, respect, compassion, and safety).

Fairness is a noun, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination.” The quality of having an unbiased disposition is important to us in an environment where individuals and couples who occupy the 287 apartments under our management are all different and equal at the same time. Issues present themselves, and the way we deal with them must be fair to all concerned.

One example – We had to close the community rooms during the Covid 19 pandemic. It was a fair and just decision because of our responsibility to the health and safety of our residents. The resident community for the most part recognized that this decision was totally fair and just due to circumstances beyond our control.  Some decisions we as management are faced with are not easy, but we always must be guided with a promise of fairness each time.

Core value in action.

When you serve residents living in 289 apartments, each with their own individual identity, the core value of fairness is an ongoing challenge. It requires skill in being a good listener and learning to communicate in a verbal style that gives the impression of getting the appropriate point across with compassion and empathy, as opposed to a “giving directives” style. We lost a resident who was bi-polar and off her meds as a result of this kind of miscommunication. We learned from it, and are better at both listening and conversing when we communicate with individual residents. Fairness is at the core of this attitude. Learning never stops.