SNN_Dec 2021 Issue_web low res

SPINAL NETWORK NEWS 3
A ‘This is Your
Life’ experience
Peter Thornton
Editorial
The NZST team are more than a team. We are whānau. NZ Spinal Trust Team.
This time last year I attended a NZ Spinal
Trust Culture Club day at the Christchurch
Golf Club, and it’s not an overstatement to say
it’s a day I’ll never forget.
I had set my alarm for 7am with the intention of getting up
for a run. Instead, I wake at 6.15am to a flurry of text
messages and I knew something is up.
My wife and I had been trying for a few months for our
third baby and after the up and downs each month, it had
finally happened.
The text messages were from my wife. A series of photos
of the pregnancy kit and comments from Katie about how
she couldn’t believe it and how much of a blessing it was to
have another child on the way.
I lie in bed for a few moments and look up at the ceiling. I
say a prayer of thanks. I feel like crying.
It was this emotionally charged morning that started my
first Culture Club day experience and there was more to
come.
I may be biased but I believe we have a unique team at the
Trust. It is more than a team, it’s our whānau and it’s full
of people who genuinely care about you and the work that
you do.
I guess that’s what makes them the ideal people to help
New Zealanders find their hope and independence after
being dealt a rough hand.
In the past few weeks, we have announced a landmark
time for our Peer and Whānau Support programme around
New Zealand. This news is widely celebrated in this issue.
It’s fitting I’m writing about encouragement and culture.
That is exactly what this programme is built on. Helping.
Mentoring. Supporting. Listening. Encouraging. We know
it makes a world of difference.
A culture of encouragement
At the Culture Club event, every member of the team was
asked to draw a name from the hat and tell that person in
front of the group what they mean to them and thank
them for what they bring to the team.
I wasn’t ready for this. It was like a ‘This is Your Life’
experience and to hear people say what you mean to them,
and how proud they are of the work you are doing, and
how lucky the Trust is to have you in the role, well that is
incredibly special. And it shows too. This December, I am
completing six years of working for the Trust. That’s
plenty of late nights writing stories with a cuppa and a few
Superwine biscuits. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I
hope there are many more to come.
I love to make a difference but it’s more than that. I love to
be part of a team who wants to achieve something special
together. I am not alone. There are seven of our team who
have been working at the Trust for 10+ years and in today’s
market that is quite incredible. On that day, it just so
happens that I pulled out our fearless leader’s name (Hans
Wouters) from the hat.
It was the easiest commendation I would ever have to
make. I am proud to call him a good mate and the culture
of encouragement and inclusivity I am talking about
comes from this man.
He is a legend. He has a heart of gold and nobody puts in
more hours and effort into making the Trust thrive than
Hans. The best quality about this man is he is loyal to a
fault and he ALWAYS has your back. No matter what. And
that is a great quality to have in a leader.
Being in that environment, it was such a refreshing
change. We live in a world where criticism and negative
comments are rife. Spend any time searching social media
and you realise that being negative and pulling people
down is the norm.
It doesn’t have to be.