Finding passion for Human Resources & The Symbiotic Relationship between employees and organizations.

If there is one truth about me, it is that I have passion for nearly everything I do. It is truly rare to find something that does not interest me – I am typically 110% engaged and ready to consume all the data.

I believe this stems from my childhood. Growing up I was un-schooled / homeschooled and missed out on a lot of opportunities to learn what my peers were taught. Every opportunity I have I jump at. My advanced education is one of the greatest privileges I have experienced, and I fought hard to even have the opportunity. My bachelor’s degree is still my pride accomplishment. I am currently working towards completing my Masters in Information Technology Management , and hope to continue leading organizations development of Information Systems and Change Management with this learned experience. Information technology shouldn’t complicate processes, and I do believe there is a better way to engage employees with IT changes for higher chances of successful adoption.

I tell you all of this because when I elect to do something – I’m going to accomplish it to the best of my abilities. However, in my current course, I could not say I'm overly passionate about the topic of Human Resources and recently struggled to be passionate about an assignment.

People development is not a strength or skill I easily acknowledge having. I often struggle to navigate people management because I am a neurodivergent human, and do not agree with many social standards and ‘just because’ expectations. So when I started musing my approach for a six-page response on how organizations support learning development, I couldn’t find the words… but I could see a vision in my head of what I wanted to communicate.

I love the flexible opportunities Colorado State University Global has for their coursework… In re-reviewing the objective, I saw this assignment had an alternative option to create an Infographic!!

In the words of Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah!

This alternative option sparked my brain, and allowed me to engage with a bit more creative flair. Dipping into a passion enabled me to be enthusiastic about a critical thinking assignment that didn’t inspire me at first. After completing this project, I have to say I’m VERY passionate about the idea of a healthy employee and organizational culture, and I wanted to share my vision:

In my head, every project should align with a strategic vision. Goals are to provide a creative, innovative, and effective solution leveraging a sea of knowledge, in order to reach a sky of possibilities. These environments of organizational leadership support and employees have to be healthy because they rely on each other. This is the basis of the infographic created. Applicable to nearly any situation, this graphic demonstrates my beliefs that employee wellness and organizational wellness are a symbiotic relationship, and a positive environment is necessary to achieve success in either performance or mission.

Projects and organizations are held down with a mission and vision, kept on track through appropriate support by leadership, and are held up by employees' engagements and their overall motivation within the organization. My concept is ultimately based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which has been mirrored to show the supports of an organization. The better the health and strength of the organization and their values, the better quality and performance can be sustained. This balance is absolutely necessary for employees to participate in what I define as an organization’s ‘chutes and ladders’ of successful performance and execution.

There are many events which impact the overall opportunity for success, or missteps causing a fallback to reconsider support or policy. By hiring the right employees for the job, and ensuring employees are engaged, supported, and overall find value in their own role within the organization, better health and motivation can be cultivated naturally. However, poor managers, negative life or organization experiences could bring employees motivation and actual performance levels down, making the resilience of the organization only as good as its support mechanisms. They will have to rely on capabilities, values, and more to overcome these instances.

Positive and continuous feedback must be engaged from both leaders and employees. A true belief of trust and support paired with feeling valued yields the highest chance for mission success.

This exchange of information and positive or constructive focused feedback should be given with reference to the shared KPI and understanding developed early. This ensures shared understanding, and enables value though accomplishing a shared vision. Feedback and learning experiences should be natural, meaning any opportunity to share information or exchange ideas and give or receive feedback should be persistent.

Leaders should remain engaged with developing their areas of responsibility and improving the support processes, tools, documentation, or relationships which support employees in their performance. If this focus is maintained, employees can engage with their role in ways that would naturally incur success. The idea is mostly that organizations and employees rely on each other for success, and requires a healthy work environment, a give and take of knowledge and support, and healthy reverence for the reality that is above and below the realms of knowledge and performance.

So, I have found a way to be passionate about Human Resources and employee development. I believe there is a symbiotic relationship between organizations and employees. I may not always know how to manage people, but I do know I want to provide the support and resources people need to be passionate about their role and support leadership in maintaining a healthy organizational ecosystem.

How do you feel about your organization’s culture? What is your sea of learning like, and where do you recognize your motivation is?

Thanks for reading, and allowing me share my learning experiences with you!