Perhaps it comes too easily to add flourishing to everything I encounter as a descriptor; yet I remain confident in my experiences as shared in What’s Your Word? that the Lord is offering me a gift when it arises in research, fictional reading, Scripture, and in conversation. Until the flourishing fountain runs dry, I will Sit and Savor it’s nourishment, drinking in the all opportunities to connect concepts and ideas to embrace an attempt at developing the Habits of a Flourishing Life, even if that pilgrimage spans a lifetime. Deep in my heart, I believe we all aspire to live a life of abundance, to work in places that inspire, and to establish Relational Equity with others so that we can thrive and flourish.

Whether the places we inhabit are related to our vocation, our sports teams, our families, or our learning communities, what if they could all be described as a Flourishing Culture? And what role might we play in making that dream become a reality? While immersing myself in the process of preparing to share on the topic of human flourishing to a first-year college English course, and brainstorming with a colleague about connecting grit (Habit of Resilience) to flourishing, I came across an article on flourishing workplaces as established by the Best Christian Workplaces Institute. Not only did I embrace their use of eight essentials which spell out F-L-O-U-R-I-S-H, I could not resist pondering how these ideas might be applied to various organizations, teams, families, and communities.

The question that will be posed to the college students in the presentation is this: “How do you define a flourishing life?,” and I propose that the eight essentials can be applied to helping students form their personal answer and to consider if organizations they are choosing to be a part of would fulfill the definition for a Flourishing Culture. BCWI outlines the “objective measures of a healthy, Flourishing Culture…” where people desire “to be the best in their workplace, ministry effectiveness, and kingdom impact” as follows:

“Fantastic Teams. Fantastic teams are those that are effective, engage in passionate dialogue around issues, resolve conflict, and strive for excellence in what they do.”

“Life-Giving Work. Work is inspirational…”

“Outstanding Talent. Flourishing [Cultures] recruit and retain high quality talent…”

“Uplifting Growth and Development…feedback, recognition, and the opportunity to learn and grow.”

“Rewarding Compensation…fair compensation…medical, retirement, and paid-time-off benefits.”

“Inspirational Leadership…Christian faith in action…transparent and create high levels of trust in the organization.”

“Sustainable Strategy…meeting the needs of those they serve in a high-quality way…nourishing long-term loyal relationships.”

“Healthy Communication…active communication and employee involvement…staff feel free to voice their opinions, diversity is evident, and they are encouraged to innovate.”

Without taking the space to breakdown each one of these essentials to a personal perspective, I challenge college students, and other readers, to ask ourselves how we might contribute to a Flourishing Culture by establishing the Habits of a Flourishing Life? Because when these habits are developed on a personal level, they will create a ripple effect to impact our entire sphere of influence. BCWI shares, “Creating a Flourishing Culture takes time and effort. Yet be encouraged: Each of these factors is accessible and attainable for every organization that seeks to be more effective, productive, and committed to being their best.” Sharing the wisdom of King Solomon from Scripture, BCWI offers, “Applying this wisdom to our workplaces means that we have a responsibility to pay attention to the people in our organizations and know what they need in order to flourish—as individuals and as teams.” How can you enable others to flourish today?

Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments on creating a Flourishing Culture in the comments below. Which organizations do you see currently embracing this philosophy?

Reference:

BCWI. (2019, July 9). 8 factors of a flourishing workplace: How to cultivate your culture to achieve Kingdom impact. Best Christian Workplaces Institute. Retrieved from https://www.bcwinstitute.org/engagement-ideas/8-factors-of-a-flourishing-workplace-2/