Tag: Company Culture

BUILDING FUTURES: Hiring Summer Students

Paul Wagenaar

Every summer, organizations hire students to fill short-term roles. Few stop to consider that they are shaping long-term futures.

For many students, a summer job is their first real encounter with responsibility, accountability, and workplace culture. It is where reputations begin. It is where habits are formed. It is where confidence is either strengthened or quietly eroded.

For employers, hiring students is not simply a staffing decision. It is a leadership decision. It is a choice about whether to treat young people as temporary labour, or as emerging professionals.

When approached intentionally, summer employment becomes more than seasonal work. It becomes mentorship, community investment, and the foundation of someone’s career.

“A Reasonable Expectation of Humanity”

Paul Wagenaar

We move through and interact with dozens of organizations and people every day, healthcare, government, work, housing, commerce, and community spaces. Most interactions are brief, yet over time they quietly shape our sense of dignity, trust, and belonging.

This post explores a simple idea: a reasonable expectation of humanity in those interactions. Not perfection or special treatment, but clarity, respect for time, basic human regard, competence with humility, fairness, and accountability when things go wrong.

As you read, notice where these standards are present in your own interactions, and where they quietly fall away. And if you work inside an organization that holds power over others, consider how humanity is supported by design, not just individual effort.

As with most of my posts, this is a little longer than most, thank you for taking the time to read.

“Seasonal Home Care Through Attention, Rhythm, and Practical Wisdom”

Paul Wagenaar

Homes speak quietly. This is a longer post, I know, but it’s worth five unhurried minutes. Drawing on witchcraft philosophy and generations of folk wisdom, “Burping Your House” explores how paying attention through the seasons can prevent bigger problems later. Blending practical Canadian home care with mindful observation, it’s a reminder that care, timing, and gratitude are a kind of everyday magic.

Atypical – Just Another Word for Discrimination?

Paul Wagenaar

Point of view … perspective … life experience … and what we learn each day. The more I learn about other people, their challenges, and their resilience, the more I am determined to help illuminate what many of us do not see. Please take a few minutes to read this post and to share it; the people in all our communities who live with disabilities and barriers could really use our help.

Do You Remember a Time When Your Life Changed?

Paul Wagenaar

More than a hundred years ago a book was written that continues to reverberate with many people, myself included even today. In a world full of negative commentary and conflict, it serves as a source of positive influence and hope.

Take a few minutes … its lessons might change your life.

Redefining the Perfect Hire: Who’s in Your Blind Spots?

Paul Wagenaar

Does the best candidate always get the job?

Does everyone who can do the job get equal consideration?

Or do our unconscious biases, misconceptions, and traditional image of the “ideal candidate” create hiring blind spots preventing us from seeing different and perhaps better hiring solutions?

Building Culture is Building Success

Paul Wagenaar

Culture isn’t built in meetings. It is built in moments – every minute of every day and in every action – culture can be nurtured, strengthened, and lived. The way we treat people when no one’s watching determines the strength of every business. Start small, stay kind, and keep building. It isn’t easy, it can be hard work, frustrating, fraught with setbacks; however, it is worth the time, and it is worth the investment … every time.

Consider this post to be an introduction, a starting point for building your team through one of the areas that is entirely within your ability to influence.

Starting your Journey to becoming a Servant Leader

Paul Wagenaar

Becoming a manager of any type of organization is a big accomplishment for anyone. My challenge for anyone in this position is to strive to be more than a manager … become a leader … and most importantly become a servant leader. The road ahead for a new manager is full of danger and chances for failure; however, as an aspiring servant leader, your chances for success increase dramatically when you put serving your team ahead of your own aspirations.

Building Teams by Developing People

Paul Wagenaar

High performing teams are often desired by most organizations; however, it is remarkable how few of these organizations take the time to put all of the building blocks for success in place. Effective organizational dynamics and “how” teams function doesn’t happen by accident. Creating an inclusive and evolving “team charter” should be one of the first “building blocks” all organizations have on their “to do” list.

What is accessibility? Are we compliant or complicit – Accessibility in 2025?

Paul Wagenaar

We notice the ramps, the braille on some washroom signs, we all sometimes use the power door options when we have large items to get through doors, but do we notice the places that aren’t accessible?

More than 20 years legislation became law that guaranteed accessibility standards for people who live with barriers and disabilities. The law promised action. It has been hit or miss, there have been some improvements, but not enough. We need to ask ourselves are we compliant or are we complicit? We also need to advocate and take action.