Giving Your People Meaning

A human-centered workplace is not focused on what the company will be getting from the people but rather on what the company will give to the people. That is the transformation employees will experience in the workplace. Work is no longer about what the employee will bring to the workplace but whether the employer has created a workplace where the employees will feel cared for.

I watched a video about caring at Barrywehmiller where an employee came to work looking dejected. His leader asked him what was wrong and when he mentioned that his father has been diagnosed with cancer, he was placed on a plane to go be with his family. It's amazing how people will feel connected to their employer when the culture is human-centered.

I was exchanging emails and texts with Bob Chapman, the Chairman, and CEO of Barrywehmiller while writing the Truly Human Company. I got to understand that when someone isn’t performing according to expectations in a certain role, they don’t fire the person. Instead, they find a role where the person will perform.

When you treat people as humans not function you won’t through them under the bus. When they are unable to perform in one role, you can retrain them and deploy them to a role they love. When we do things we are not passionate about, it's hard to give it our best. Truly Human Leaders ensure their people are placed in roles that intersect with their passion.

When people are passionate about their work, they bring in their unique capability to create unique value. They are always in the flow as such innovation becomes part of what they do. Passion is part of our humanity. It is where our humanity connects with divinity. We experience a free flow of ideas when we are passionate about our work.

For a culture to be human-centered, it must answer these three questions:

1. Do employees love what they do?

It is the responsibility of leaders to match a role and task to the passion of people. That way the leader gets the people to be emotionally invested in their work. When they are emotionally invested, they give their best and find a way to solve problems and create value.

2. Do employees matter and what they do are important?

People want to know that they matter and that what they do is important to the company. When the culture is created to treat them with respect and honor their dignity and send them home each day fulfilled, they know they matter.

3. Are our employees alive?

Employees want to come alive where they work. They don’t want to work for the money but for a cause and purpose that is bigger than life. Leaders should give their people a cause to fight that makes them feel like heroes. A cause awakens the people to live. We only live when we have been awakened. Without a cause, something sleeps inside us. Leaders must awaken people with a cause and purpose.?

When the culture answers these three questions, the company will deliver meaningful experiences to its workers. Human-centered culture ensures that everyone finds meaning at work so they can live significantly. Work becomes an extension of the reason why they are on earth. Work helps them become all they are put on earth to achieve.

Are you experiencing difficulty trying to get your people to bring their A-game to the workplace? People can be innovative when they are engaged. When you transform into Truly Human, you will help your people unleash their innovative ingenuity. We can help you with that. Let’s start the conversation here [email protected].