AC Power is a growing team that places a high emphasis on building a supportive and positive company culture. Each week, we kick off our Monday staff meetings with what we call our “Grounders,” which act as mantras and guiding values intended to help guide us through each new week. (You can see this week’s grounder every Monday morning on our Instagram!) We then engage in a discussion on how the grounders can be used to bolster the work that lies ahead of us.
Due to the nature of developing solar on brownfields, landfills, and other previously disturbed sites, the AC Power team is constantly faced with new challenges, because every site is different and demands a unique approach. With this in mind, we must push ourselves to stay open-minded and creative to accomplish our collective goals. The weekly Grounders (we rotate through 30 of them) range from how to grow interpersonal and professional relationships to how to work more efficiently, from how to deal with unexpected issues to how to manage ourselves.
Regardless of what this week’s focus is, the Monday morning ritual of receiving a new grounder acts as a crucial way of centering ourselves and our work, and we use them as tools for improvement and being the best at what we do. In this, we can bring our best selves to the table, acting as responsible stewards to the communities we occupy, the land we’re reenergizing, and the relationships we’re cultivating inside and out of the office.
As a new dad of two young children under three years old, I’ve started to realize that the grounders have slid their way into my personal life as well. I was recently on paternity leave and found myself, during bedtime or nap time (just kidding, nap time doesn’t exist), reading the grounders and using them to aid my job as a dad. I was struck by how applicable a lot of the grounders were not only to my life at work, but also at home. Who doesn’t need motivation, advice, or the feeling of being a part of a team that works together to win, even outside of the office?
Using the grounders in this way gave me a new appreciation for how much work and home life are intertwined, especially at a mission-driven company like AC Power. I am always navigating through the thorns of self-doubt and anxiety, as many of us do. That AC Power understands the importance of maintaining a good company culture as we continue to grow and works hard to support both personal and professional growth, keeps me motivated to always put my best foot forward and do the best I can do every single day.
Our commitment to nurturing both the individual and the collective, to remain "grounded" amidst change, underscores everything we do here at AC Power. These guiding ideas fuel our dedication to transforming challenged properties into sources of clean energy and hope, demonstrating the power of shared values in driving success both within and beyond the office walls.