Future of Work Freedom-Centric Leadership

Last summer I was looking to find a way to bring the freedom-centric culture of my company, Nearsoft to the public. A group of us started to put together some meetup groups with the intention to educate companies and people about the value of freedom at work. We wanted to share the impact freedom can have on the quality of life for people, as well as the health of the bottom-line.

Before I knew it, I was part of a social justice movement we’ve called Radical alongside some of the world’s best thought leaders on future of work culture, emotional intelligence, and leadership.

The Radical movement is more than just a noble notion, we are introducing and raising awareness to a new operating system for how companies can function in the 21st century, centered on human-dignity.

As we began to develop the manifesto, many of us wrote what we individually believe is needed in the workplace to inject human dignity in how work is organized.

The problem with work today is that most people have a need to be duplicitous in order to fit in. One way at the office, and another at home. This isn’t working to serve our needs as human beings.

“The word work has a negative connotation for most people, but it doesn’t have to. Work can be a source of pleasure, fulfillment, and excitement.”

We simply desire to not have to “act” one way at the office, and another at home. Can’t we just be ourselves, all the time?

This is the future of work I personally believe represents the full expression of human dignity in the workplace.

Freedom-Centered Beliefs

I believe in equivalence, transparency, empathy, and above all human dignity. People come first, period!

The future of work is about people-to-people, recognizing that relationships are the most important aspect of business.

Being free means being yourself all the time. Not needing to wear a mask, needing to act differently at work than you do when you are at home.

I believe companies should have purpose behind their existence, focused on creating universal values. Values that benefit the individual, society, the world, and use natural sustainable resources.

“Freedom-centered companies are purpose driven. Committed to honesty, authenticity, and treating everyone as equals.”

While working for a company isn’t the same as being part of a family, employees should be supported to be successful, keeping with the belief of being empathetic and treating everyone with human dignity.

I believe when an employee is undergoing challenges in their lives, all reasonable accommodations should be made to enable them to get through it with dignity and integrity.

I believe people have a responsibility to be accountable to their companies by delivering value, proactively making a difference, and taking all the necessary steps to address any personal issues that may get in the way of doing so.

I believe there is mutual accountability needed between employees and employers to maintain equivalence, transparency, empathy, and human dignity.

I believe in values-based work output. People are responsible for delivering value based on their mutually agreed expectations with the employer which align with their self-established monetary worth.

I believe leadership is a function of serving the greater good of the collective and is an earned role, not given.

I believe hierarchy is a function of organizational value, not controls and much like leadership it forms organically by choice of the people.

I believe authority should be shared, and budgets decentralized across all functions.

I believe in co-ownership and the active participation in the co-creation of the well-being of all company members, which includes the financial health of the company, purpose of the company, and contribution to the betterment of humanity.

I believe companies also have a responsibility to give back to the community, and the purpose of a company is to add value to society by offering products and services that make the world a better place.

I believe in embracing all people regardless of race, color, gender, beliefs, lifestyle, education, and economic background, and that all people have a right to pursue their own fulfillment.

I believe while no one owes anyone anything, interdependence is natural and healthy when it’s centered around the principle of equivalence, freedom, and human dignity.

I believe the concept of the command and control organization is outdated and no longer serves the need of an evolving human experience towards a more loving, compassionate, equivalent and empathetic world.

“It is a basic human right to be treated with dignity in all dealings of life.”

Radical Leadership

In an environment where freedom to deliver value on your own terms is the normal operating system, the role of leadership changes.

It’s no longer centered on getting in front of an organization and being the motivator, the one standing on the soap box.

The role of leadership in a radical freedom-centered organization will be about inspiring people to be themselves. Leadership will be about Inspiring freedom.

Imagine an environment where you don’t have to feel like you put on your work hat at the office, but rather it is an extension of who you are, and you are surrounded by people who not only value who you are, but encourage it.

This kind of transition will not be easy for many people who have been working in a traditional hierarchy.

The role of leadership will be to inspire people to be themselves. It will encourage and reward vulnerability. The focus will be on authenticity and having a growth mind set. Success will not be defined by simply win or lose outcomes, but rather growth and learning centered on gratitude.

Radical leadership will redefine what success means, by focusing on relationships vs. transactions, expansiveness in culture vs. conformity, and the meaning of success will be focused more on generating universal values.

Does this blog resonate with you? Join the Radical movement. I would like to hear what you believe the role of leadership needs to be, to inject more human dignity in the workplace.

?Originally published at tulliosiragusa.com