By Chris Thomas, Chief of Staff, Goshen Valley Foundation
At Goshen Valley Foundation, our mission-driven work requires more than technical ability—it requires people whose behaviors, motivations, and soft skills align with a culture rooted in empathy, teamwork, and service. At Goshen, our culture is critical, and we are zealous in our nurturing and protecting of that culture. This focus is core to the systems we have put into place regarding the hiring, training, and retention of staff.
To support this effort, we use three core tools from TTI Success Insights®: DISC®, Driving Forces™, and Competency Modeling. Together, these tools allow us to understand how a candidate behaves, why they are motivated to act, and what soft skills they naturally bring into their work.
Understanding Behavior Through DISC®
DISC® helps us understand how a person naturally behaves by assessing four behavioral tendencies: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance. Rather than viewing these tendencies as strengths or weaknesses, we consider them an individual’s natural operating style. Reviewing a DISC® profile helps us anticipate how a candidate communicates, approaches challenges, adapts to change, and responds to the structure of our programs.
Understanding Motivation Through the 12 Driving Forces™
While DISC® reveals how someone behaves, the 12 Driving Forces™ help us understand why. These motivations uncover the internal values and drivers that guide a person’s decisions and energy. One of the most significant motivations for success at Goshen Valley is Altruism—particularly when it appears among a candidate’s top Driving Forces™. In the TTI Success Insights® model, Altruism refers to a genuine desire to help others without expectation of recognition or reward. At Goshen, if Altruism isn’t one of your top four Motivators, we need to have a strong compensating reason (like growing up in foster care) before we hire you. We know the work is hard, and if you aren’t driven by Altruism, you will eventually burn out.
Identifying Key Soft Skills Through Competencies
Beyond behavior and motivation, we evaluate the role-specific soft skills needed for success using the Competencies model from TTI Success Insights®. Competencies capture a wide range of interpersonal, emotional intelligence, leadership, and decision‑making abilities that directly influence job performance.
We collaborate with hiring managers to identify the essential competencies for each role and record them directly in job descriptions. We then integrate these competencies into behavioral interviewing, asking candidates to share real examples that demonstrate how they’ve applied these soft skills.
“As important as DISC and Driving Forces is to our process, it really is the use of Competencies in our hiring process that makes the biggest difference. It is often said that most companies ‘hire for hard skills and fire for soft skills’. Using Competencies helps us ensure that staff brings both the required hard skills, training, and education as well as the soft skills to help them succeed in their job.” Chris Thomas, Chief of Staff, Goshen Valley Foundation
How This Looks in Action
Of all the roles at Goshen, none are more critical than those front-line roles involved in the direct care of youth. At Goshen Valley Boys Ranch, this starts with the role of the Houseparent. Goshen uses a family model, where we hire married couples to live in homes at the Ranch with 5-7 boys. The family model is core to Goshen, as we believe healing best happens within the confines of family. As these houseparents are on a 3 weeks on/1 week off rotation, this is a demanding role and requires unique talents.
To aid in recruiting and retention, we developed a “job benchmark” using 5 of our strong houseparents. In this benchmark, we have a model of what success in the role looks like. As we recruit new houseparents, they take the same group of assessments which allows us to then compare how they fit the ideal model. What is important here is not that they match exactly. The value is understanding where there may be red flags or gaps that we address during interviews, or if they are hired, during the onboarding and training process.
The success of this approach has led to significantly increased retention as well as higher job satisfaction in one of the most difficult roles at Goshen.
“Using the DISC assessment has helped me better recognize the qualities that make great houseparents—especially those who are able to sustain this work over the long term. It has also opened the door for honest, meaningful conversations before hiring when we identify potential gaps, allowing us to put intentional support in place from the start. I’ve seen how this leads to greater success for the couples serving in these roles and for the boys who call Goshen home. Along with other improvements we’ve made to our hiring process, DISC has helped bring more stability to our team and has elevated the level of care we provide.” Stacy Cooper, Executive Director, Goshen Valley Boys Ranch
How These Tools Support Goshen’s TBRI®-Centered Culture
Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) is central to how Goshen Valley supports healing for the youth and families we serve. TBRI® emphasizes connection, empowerment, and understanding the needs behind behaviors. These principles align closely with the insights provided by DISC®, Driving Forces™, and Competency Modeling.
By helping staff understand their behavioral patterns, internal motivations, and relational strengths, these tools reinforce TBRI®’s focus on self-awareness and emotional regulation. For example, knowing one’s DISC® style helps identify stress responses, Driving Forces™ clarify what restores energy and purpose, and Competencies highlight relational strengths such as empathy and conflict management.
Together, these assessments help build staff teams who are not only well‑aligned with their roles but also well‑equipped to embody the trauma‑informed, connection‑centered culture required by TBRI®.
A Unified, Predictive Approach to Hiring
By integrating DISC®, Driving Forces™, Competency Modeling, and TBRI® principles, Goshen Valley Foundation has created a holistic and predictive approach to talent selection and development. This strengthens cultural alignment, improves job fitness, enhances behavioral interviewing, and ensures staff are deeply aligned with our mission.
“As CEO, I have seen firsthand how DISC has strengthened our hiring decisions. It brings greater clarity and consistency to how we develop people. When you understand an individual’s behavior and motivation from the outset, you reduce months of uncertainty and position your team to gain traction and excel much more quickly.” Zach Blend, CEO, Goshen Valley Foundation
References
DISC®, Driving Forces™, Competencies, and related assessments are registered or trademarked tools of TTI Success Insights®. For more information, visit TTI Success Insights® at https://www.ttisi.com/.
TBRI® (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) is a registered trademark of the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development (KPICD) at Texas Christian University. For more information on TBRI®, visit https://child.tcu.edu/.
