How a Plan Restored Shardone’s Focus
At Goodwill, we believe supporting our team members means providing a path forward during life’s toughest challenges. For Shardone, a dedicated Team Member at Goodwill Delray Store, personal family struggles began to affect her work. She felt her focus and performance slipping, overwhelmed by stress and unsure how to regain her footing.
She found the courage to reach out to her supervisor, who connected her with Good Partner Coach (GPC) Carlos. That connection became a partnership built on a simple, powerful idea: to find clarity, you sometimes need to create space for it.
The Partnership: Creating Space for Clarity
Carlos’s first step wasn’t to solve the problems for her, but to give her the tools to solve them herself. Recognizing she needed room to think, he suggested a practical, immediate action: requesting PTO. This wasn’t just time off; it was strategic time on—dedicated to stepping back, assessing her priorities, and developing a plan without the pressure of her daily routine.
The Strategy: Breaking Down the Overwhelming
With that space created, Shardone and Carlos worked together to deconstruct what felt like an insurmountable situation. They broke down the overwhelming “family struggles” into smaller, identifiable parts. Together, they established a clear order of priority: Shardone’s own well-being had to come first. Only once she felt restored and confident could she effectively address conflicts with her husband, then her parents, and matters with her children. This strategic framework transformed a cloud of stress into a series of manageable steps.
The Transformation: A Ripple Effect of Positivity
The results were profound and visible. Within two weeks, her coworkers saw a change—Shardone was smiling again, motivated, and even planning a birthday celebration. More importantly, she methodically worked through her plan, healing relationships in the order she had set.
The transformation didn’t stop with her personal life. At work, Shardone evolved from someone struggling to focus into a source of motivation for her team. She now actively encourages her coworkers to maintain a positive attitude and reminds them that support is available, often sharing her own experience and encouraging them to check in with their GPC.
A Testament to Proactive Support
Shardone’s journey underscores a core principle of Goodwill’s culture: Prioritizing People. Proactive, practical support strengthens the entire team. “We set up a plan for her to have time to clarify her thoughts and establish her priorities,” says GPC Carlos. “The PTO was a tool for clarity. She learned to release what she could not control and honor her own limits. To see her now, uplifting others, is the best outcome possible.”
This story is a powerful example of how Goodwill invests in the whole person. By providing strategic, compassionate partnership, we don’t just help team members through difficult seasons—we help them emerge stronger, more resilient, and capable of inspiring those around them.
Need a partner to help navigate a challenging season?
Goodwill’s on-site support team is here to listen and help you build your plan for stability and success.
