I am not weak, I am compassionate!

How often did you hear the word "weakness" when you were thinking about people, and you had to fight a battle to convince that business is your priority as well?

Even though we hear & admire comments/quotes from great leaders/entrepreneurs/business moguls, and when it comes to doing the walk the talk, we fail (closer to being miserable) at it.

Why this happens?

Till the Industrial revolution (IR) 3.0, the entire focus has been bringing efficiencies in the system, critical view at top/bottom line, and the word "human resources". I admit that I am one of its products. However, I try hard to ignore the term "resources" in human resources.

My definition of "resources" closely resonates with a utility. Something that we use, to achieve a goal with not much of (or minimal) expectations in return. E.g., a laptop, or an office desk, or a building. If these resources have asks, then it will mostly revolve around regular maintenance and nothing more/less. However, this is not the case for "humans".

As I evolved in my professional life, while working with some of the best organizations and talking to my friends in similar kind, I realized that they emphasized on the "human" element and ignored the word "resources" in their thought process, while retaining the name "HR" as it universally symbolizes a team/unit/group of individuals which focuses on employees and related processes.

Coming back to IR 3.0 and human resources. While interviewing prospective employees, we give full weightage to "IQ", i.e., assess how smart they are, their ability to arrive at the solution to a given problem, their academic credentials, etc. When they join the organization, it is about remaining objective and always making it factual or tangible. The aspect of adding subjectivity or emotions to the equation was never thought of, as we had to stay unbiased, until, advancement in technology (IR 4.0, or Industry 4.0) started knocking our doors.

To drive efficiency further, we started leveraging data & automation aggressively. It brought us to a point when computers started replacing human resources and triggered a debate on another quotient, which we never brought to the forefront, i.e., "EQ".

This (cross)point separated resources from human, and thus highlighted the importance of subjectivity & qualitative aspect.

Along with IR 4.0, Generation Y & Z, followed by Covid; fueled the discussion further.

To quote a eureka moment from my personal life. My son (representing 2nd half of Gen-Z) & I discussed on the autonomous car and how it will change the world. In our discussion, there came the point where I was asked how computers (or to be more specific a program) will decide what is right and what is wrong when we as human beings still keep it subjective. Something right for a person may be wrong for another person. It has been close to a month, and yet I do not have a "convincing" answer for him.

Similarly, in today's pandemic situation where everyone is working from home and balancing personal/professional lives, business leaders & managements have started looking at their employees with empathy, while still struggling with the organization's survival. They have begun appreciating the human element and focusing on mental/psychological well-being.

More and more emphasis is given to emotional skills, as it will play a pivotal & critical role when we (as a human) compete with artificial robotics & intelligence.

To take it further, Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist, introduced the EI model and outline four constructs (Self-awareness, Self-management, Social awareness or empathy, Relationship management) that will become critical ingredients for our success.

I am confident that the future is near, when thinking about people will be seen as compassionate and not as a sign of weakness.