Walker Williams is a Disneyland Resort cast member who has a personal mission to spread kindness on a daily basis. When he is on stage at the resort, Walker makes magic and shows kindness as an Entertainment Host. When not on stage, he spends a great deal of time showing kindness to his fellow cast members. All of this is done within the realm of The Walt Disney Company, which he clearly loves. “As people and as cast members, it’s important to remember that we all love this place, and we love this brand, that’s why we work here,“ Walker said.
Walker is a member of all seven BERGs at the Disneyland Resort. A BERG is a Business Employee Resource Groups. Walker also serves in leadership capacities on several of these as well. All of this is done in his free time and not on the clock. All of this additional work is motivated by his passion. “I don’t identify myself as a certain person, I’m just a human and that’s what’s most important,” he said when asked about this passion. He is clearly a human who cares a lot about other humans.
His work with the BERGs has led to him going above and beyond as he created some engaging bulletin boards. One of these is a “Five Keys Tree” which highlights how the Inclusion Key drives each of the other Keys. The Five Keys are Safety, Courtesy, Show, Efficiency, and Inclusion. These Five Keys are used as blueprints for how decisions are made by cast members every day. They also are central to how cast members interact with others.
Walker’s work with the BERGs led him to create informational and engaging bulletin boards, including a “Five Keys Tree” highlighting how the Inclusion Key drives each of the other Keys. The “Five Keys Tree” was created as a way for everyone to get to be a part of the magic. Walker created this design and then invited fellow cast members to write down how they make everyone a part of the magic. These leaves soon grew quite popular and more demand was created for even more opportunities to both learn and grow.
“One of the main reasons why I decided to make the “Five Keys Tree” was to demonstrate how we as a company, especially our cast members can be more inclusive to one another,” Walker explained.
The Inclusion Key is particularly important in making the world a better place, Walker thinks. The behavior that Disneyland cast members model to guests is then taken and shared to put good and magic back into the world. It is very easy to recognize that the world outside of the Disneyland Resort can be difficult and unkind. However, Walker believes that at the Disneyland Resort there is the opportunity to continue on and fulfill Walt Disney’s dream of making the world we want to see everywhere a reality.
Walker shared that when “When cast members are able to see themselves represented on these boards, it feels great, because I know I am helping someone else be seen, and hopefully putting a smile on their face.”
One of the ways Walker did this recently was by creating a display of all the attractions along with their different features to help cast educate guests who are differently abled. Another section of this display includes a map of all of the Disney character along with the their home nations. This serves as a visual reminder that everyone can relate to at least one of them. These new boards are near the “Five Keys Tree.” These bulletin boards can be found in many buildings backstage, enabling Walker to make a positive different for his fellow cast members even when he isn’t at the Disneyland Resort.
As is so often the case in the world, what you focus on grows. Walker continues to focus on his daily mission of spreading kindness. The “Five Keys Tree” is just one way this is being done. Walker’s story is a wonderful reminder of how much a difference can be made when a person decides to take the step and choose to make a difference. His story is one of just many ways that Disney cast members show kindness on a daily basis in big or small ways.
On this World Kindness Day, please take a minute to do something kind for someone. Maybe it is by thanking a cast member for something if you are lucky enough to be at a Disney park. If not, maybe next time! Perhaps it is another random act of kindness that you come up with while at the store, on the road, getting gas, eating out, or at home with friends and family. Walt Disney wanted to create a better world and he spent his life searching for ways to do that. Let’s follow that dream and make the world a better and kinder world in whatever way we can individually from wherever we are at. Then, let’s share in the comments below the acts of kindness we have seen or performed. What do you say?
#KeepKind
