Radical Honesty: How transparency empowers women at Five Acres

Dream a little dream with me. You show up for work each day feeling comfortable, positive and proactive. It feels safe. Safe to speak your mind, your feelings, your heart. Safe to say you have a life outside of work that’s important to you (be it with your family, your side-hustle, your partner). It’s safe to say you disagree with your boss without fear of being scolded or punished–matter of fact, you might just be rewarded for your contradictory contributions. You work somewhere that supports you when you need a mental health break and/or time to decompress between creative work. You’re seen for the person you are, are encouraged to push hard and be your best, but not at the expense of your health or personal wellness. 

When dreaming up Five Acres, I wanted all these things to be true for anyone who works here. For years, we women have had to hide our truths for security at work. In the confines of patriarchal systems, we have held back so many of the beautiful strengths that make us the humans we are for fear of judgment or lack of “enoughness”. Talking about our feelings, our fears, our ambitions, our pregnancies could spark reason for judgment and scrutiny. 

But not here. 

At Five Acres we have built a culture founded on radical honesty, that not only supports trusted and transparent client relationships, it empowers the women that work here. We believe honesty breeds empathy and empathy is a skill to be valued. We see each other through kind, compassionate eyes and create a warm space to show up as our human selves. 

As Brene Brown says, to be clear is kind. Here are some things we’re ALWAYS clear about:

• Our Personal Values

  • When you live into your values you are never silent about hard things. Values are the North Star that guide us towards our truth.

• Our Boundaries

  • Boundaries let us set each other up for success by knowing how to work with what we all need individually. We feel ok to draw a line if we need to.

• Our Work Quality

  • Honesty helps us push each other to be our best so the quality of work never suffers. We love doing great work and know it takes collaboration to get there.

• Our Worth

  • We have open communication with each other about the value of our time. Money is not faux pas.

• Our Health

  • From prioritizing time to move our bodies to making therapy appointments, we know great physical and mental health leads to holistic success.

I’d like to take today (and quite honestly everyday) to celebrate women everywhere. Keep being the badasses you are (and reach out to us when you’re ready to work with some).

With deep gratitude, 

Halleh