Staff Covenant

We enter this covenant to forge and to maintain strong positive relationships for the staff and for the congregation in support of its mission and vision.

This covenant is intended to encourage and promote healthy behaviors in both the staff and congregation. It will give strength to our teamwork and cooperation. When necessary, our covenant will give strength to our making difficult statements and responses that honor the challenge of doing so. We ask for the congregation’s support in helping us to sustain this covenant.

We the staff of the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, make the following commitments to each other:

1. We agree to be respectful, honest, open and intentional in our communications, assuming good will and striving to be worthy of it.
2. We affirm the gifts each brings to the staff and will seek to support each other in fulfilling our varied responsibilities.
3. We will express and maintain clear personal and professional boundaries while respecting the boundaries of others.
4. To maintain healthy relationships, we promote open, direct, and honest communication, and work towards resolution. For handling complaints, conflicts or concerns, whenever possible we will speak directly with persons involved. When a conflict is not resolved directly, people involved will take their concerns to the Head of Staff.
5. Privately and together, we will engage in constructive (not destructive) conversations intended to enhance teamwork, and we will deal in issues and behaviors, not personalities.
6. Sensitive information will be held in confidence and will not be shared inappropriately.
7. In our deliberations we expect and welcome differences of opinion, and will attend to power dynamics in our process. Once we have come to a decision, however, we will all support it.
8. We will be accountable to the congregation, its mission and Ends, this covenant, and each other. We will also hold each other accountable to these commitments.

Revised September 2018