Henrico’s New Capability Model: The Courage Capability

In our ongoing commitment to meet our workforce’s and residents’ ever-changing needs, Henrico County has implemented a new Capability Model beginning in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023. This model replaces the previous County Competencies and focuses on the knowledge and skills needed to successfully lead and serve in a rapidly evolving workplace and community. 

The Capability Model is modeled around seven capabilities, with many former competencies woven into it. 

The four capabilities outside the circle – Courage, Customer Engagement, Communication, and Inclusion – are foundational to success and create opportunities to excel in the three capabilities within the circle—Leading Self, Leading Others, and Leading the Organization. The seven capabilities promote “Future Readiness,” as you see in the circle’s center.  

You may be wondering how each of these capabilities is defined and how they apply to your role. To help you better understand, the County Connection will feature a series of articles focusing on a different capability each month. 

We’ll start with the Courage Capability.

While some may think of courage as bravely fighting battles or standing up for a person or belief, the model refers to a slightly different definition. For county purposes, it is defined as a “Willingness to navigate uncomfortable situations, adhere to vision and values, take action and initiative on new ideas, and question assumptions and processes to improve outcomes.” 

So, what might the Courage capability look like in the workplace? Here’s one example: 

A team is responsible for presenting important information to all employees. One team member recognizes a segment of information that could be potentially interpreted as questionable or even offensive by certain audience members and realizes this could harm the County’s credibility. This employee shows courage by respectfully approaching the team leader, sharing the potential negative impact of the information, and suggesting an alternative approach. 

In turn, the team leader demonstrates courage by being open to the teammate’s feedback, challenging their own assumptions of how this information could be perceived, asking for input regarding alternative solutions, and actively making changes to the presentation based on their conversation with the teammate.

In this example, both employees are stepping outside their comfort zones with the shared goal of success. The employee with the concern did not simply present the issue – they also proactively came up with a suggested solution. The team leader remained open, curious, and engaged in healthy dialogue with the teammate to explore solutions that would benefit the organization. 

You can find more examples of the Courage capability on our resource page.

Courage in the workplace fosters employee engagement, decision-making, problem-solving, and innovation. As the County transforms to meet current and future demands, courageous employees play a crucial role in our success.

For more information on the Capabilities, visit our resource page.

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Sun Safety: Protect Your Skin

Summer is full of outdoor activities. So, of course, you probably put sunscreen on yourself and your kids when you go to the pool or the beach. But do you know you should protect your skin with more than just sunscreen anytime you’re outside?

Sun protection is essential all year round, and it’s best to use several different kinds. When you’re working in the yard, watching a ballgame, or taking an afternoon walk, make sun safety an everyday habit so you can avoid sunburn and lower your chance of getting skin cancer.

Here are some tips to help make sure you and your family stay sun-safe:

Why is sun protection so important? Overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays causes most cases of melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer. Protect your skin from the sun and avoid indoor tanning to lower your skin cancer risk. Here are some skin cancer fast facts to be mindful of:

  • Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and includes different types.
  • The sun’s UV rays can damage unprotected skin in as little as 15 minutes.
  • Even if it’s cool and cloudy, you still need protection. UV rays, not the temperature, do the damage.
  • Anyone can get skin cancer, but some things put you at higher risk.
  • The most common signs of skin cancer are changes on your skin, such as a new growth, a sore that doesn’t heal, or a change in a mole.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features/SkinCancer/index.htm

Publication Date: 4/25/2017

Last Updated: 5/23/2017

Attribution: Content provided and maintained by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Please see our system usage guidelines and disclaimer.

 

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The Division of Fire Continues Their Reign

The May 6th all-employee kick-off reenergized the sixth anniversary of the Public Safety Games season. Forty-six registered athletes between Police, Fire, and Sheriff began to compete for the 2022 Fittest Public Safety Division bragging rights by accumulating as many points as possible over four weeks. There were three individual events, four team events, and ten mini-event challenges for the athletes to attempt. (Visit our SharePoint page for a complete list of events.) The top teams with the most points earned them a spot in the head-to-head final obstacle course challenge, and the division with the highest total number of points was declared the overall division winner. The energy and motivation surrounding the events by each athlete was invigorating and really turned up the heat of the friendly competition. (Check out our SharePoint page to see pictures of each challenge.)

There was a lot of anticipation going into the final team challenge as there was no clear overall winner at that time. Thus, the first to finish the final challenge would be the decide the winner for the entire Public Safety Games season!

The final competition was the consummation of many performance tasks a tactical athlete could endure: teamwork, communication, tactical awareness, mental acuity, dexterity, maneuvering, endurance tasks, strength tasks, and the overall ability to work for an extended period in a high-stress environment. Zachary Sayles and Nathan Beahm from the Division of Fire went head-to-head with Dustin Hazelgrove and Trevor Holmes from the Police Division for the title by completing a seven-part obstacle course with a mental twist:

View the Final Obstacle Course Event recap video.

Congratulations to Zachary Sayles, Nathan Beahm, and the Division of Fire for claiming the Fittest Public Safety Division of the year title for the fourth time! Their names have been added to the Public Safety Games “Fittest Public Safety Division” plaque inside the lobby at the Henrico Training Center. We look forward to the 7th anniversary of the Public Safety Games in 2023, as our vision continues to unfold.

If you are sworn public safety personnel interested in either the Public Safety Games or joining our sworn-only fitness programs, please contact Joshua Gaskins at [email protected] or 501-7218. 

For more information about all of our programs, please view the Fitness and Wellness Division Sharepoint page

 

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