Humanise your culture, one leader at a time
I’m going to let you in on a secret that’s been circling my brain for the past few weeks. It’s edgy, and perhaps will give you pause to think - is this what’s going on at our company too?
Here’s the big secret:
In 2020, when “bring your whole self to work” talk was rampant, we weren’t ready.
We weren’t. Plain and simple. Our organisations were proudly touting rhetoric about “authenticity”, and “show up how you are” and “your humanness is welcome here,” but …
We. Weren’t. Ready.
There’s a lot to unpack here related to your holistic employee experience, but let’s focus on you, leaders.
How do you lead by example to humanise your culture?
During my time at WeWork, we frequently spoke about our value of Authenticity. We were told it was a place where we could bring our whole selves to work; a place where you would be celebrated for all of your uniqueness. Add this to the long list of misaligned cultural moments where what was said to us by leadership was uncomfortably, terribly misaligned with my lived experience as an employee and leader.
But now, here at Within People, you can see into my guest bedroom where I’ve set up my desk. You can see when my husband pops in to grab workout clothes for a midday walk. You can see the babies bouncing and hear the frustration in the voices of your people when they wake up to plop themselves down in front of a laptop for the literal 365th day.
This pandemic has brought all of our humanness into such sharp focus, it’s scary. Especially scary when we forget to turn off our cameras and you see more than we planned for you to (ever) see of our personal lives. Even if we’re showered and look ready on the surface, underneath - emotionally, we’ve all got a lot going on.
Leaders have been forced to evolve the way they lead, turning towards a more human leadership approach to support - and keep - their valuable people.
Hack Future Lab’s research shows that 83% of executives see empathy playing a far greater role in sustaining a thriving workforce in a post-COVID future of work; additionally, two out of three employees would prefer to work for an organization that shows empathy towards all its stakeholders.
If you haven’t caught the vibe yet, leaders, humans need us to lead them in a human way. With Empathy, Love, and Vulnerability sitting right next to Conviction, Courage and Patience. There’s no other choice now. We’re here, hot mess and all.
At Within People, our community of leaders committed to change are asking these questions in abundance:
How do I make our culture more human?
How do I create space where all of my people feel not only safe, but also seen and accepted?
How do I create a space where my people feel connected to each other and where they belong?
Just like everything else in life, it starts with you. Bringing your own awareness is step numero uno. So let’s begin:
We know that: “so goes the leader, so goes the culture. So goes the culture, so goes the company" (thanks, Simon).
Humanizing culture is no exception. And that means leaders need to go on the journey of humanizing themselves. You’re a human, right? Good, me too. This isn't about reinvention, but about reconnection to who we already really are.
We've worked with plenty of leaders focused on how they want things to feel for their teams, while they are having a miserable time leading on the leadership team.
So we need you to step up to the plate, leaders. Your HR, Culture, and/or People team is ready to lead this change, but perhaps your c-level folks aren’t quite ready. They are using the r-word far more frequently than the p-word.
C-levels and top execs use the word ‘revenue’ more than they use the word ‘people’. John Simon shared this reflection with us last week during the ‘Human Center approach to EX’ session last week during 2021 Global Online Conference "HR Innovation and Future of Work."
It makes sense. They are driven and measured by the revenue. But if a cultural transformation towards more human organisations is needed, leaders have to be on the journey too, modeling the cultural change and living it each day.
How do we bring leaders along to start and then LEAD the transformation?
You can begin here, with these three ways to start to humanize your leadership:
Reconnect with the essence of your humanity: Find a quiet spot and work through these questions.
Bring your whole self first: Vulnerability is the new currency of power. We’ve seen leaders who have brought empathy and shared the burden of navigating new problems emerge stronger.
Listen to your people: Employees are more productive when they feel they belong, are heard, and are able to be their authentic self at work. Make time to ask how they are doing, human-to-human, and really listen.
Our work is to take leaders on a journey of understanding that people are revenue.
PEOPLE are the boots on the ground driving growth.
PEOPLE could and should be the word most used by all leaders, not revenue.
It starts with you. When you show up in all of your humanity, you’re modeling it for your people. Only then can you help your people show up in all their humanity can it unlock their power. And when you unlock the power of your people, you unlock commercial growth.
We believe that people who love what they do and who they are drive growth.
So, be the change you want to see. If you know it’s time, reach out. We’re here to help you humanise your culture - and your leadership team.
Get in touch: hello@withinpeople.com
Images: Leon via Unsplash