People Washing
Rita Sacramento Monteiro
PhD Candidate in Integral Ecology | Economy of Francesco Foundation | Facilitator
One of these days we might come across with new words for corporate jargon: People Washing. And those words might refer to companies that have all strategies in place or in development, BUT, do not really address the issues.
The real issues are so often more related to a culture that validates behaviors that your strategies don't preach (so the theory doesn't match the practice), or leaders who only think of results and do not consider people (they say people matter but they will schedule meetings at 8pm), or each one of us living at a pace that is unhealthy and that, in fact, makes us unhappy, unbalanced, always under the impression of being at fault (but we don't really set boundaries).
But those who are at fault are companies who identify with the above or where the above is happening. At fault for washing away their people's energy, talent, health. And for not understanding that if your internal community is not sustainable, you will never be able to operate sustainably! So you can use all the jargon to talk about people, you can know all the trends, and you can do a lot of projects, but you will be washing the People topic. You will be washing it with bleach...sugar coating the cake with a wonderful topping but the cake will be terrible.
If it starts to be hard to think, collaborate, dream, engage, participate actively in local communities through our companies, I wonder what have we become? Systems of wanna be machines but are in fact people? If you want people to work, treat them as people, not as machines. Use technology properly, so you can really make the most of people's skills, imagination, dreams, ideas. That is the treasure and what brings results that last!
Charm operations will just deliver charm. If companies want to be sustainable and have a positive impact in the world, they need to be consistent. Starting from within.
Consistency holds people together, the rest won't!
#sustainability #takecareofpeople #itsnolongerjustgreenwashing #buildingabetterworld #burnout #mentalhealth #consistency #walkthetalk
Directora de Proyectos en Volies y Responsable de Voluntare en América Latina
3 年So true!!!! ????????????????????
Transforming Human Energy into Positive Social Change - tech for good
3 年Phenomenal article Rita! And so true, both on the people washing and on the greenwashing aspect, it is important to call it out. As potential consumers, potential customers, potential employees or potential investors we need to get accurate and trustworthy information and not marketing fluff. Seeing it from outside I do have to congratulate the EDP team for the consistent and absolutely outstanding work
Co-founder of ICE Coaching | Corporate, Executive & Career Coach | Customer Experience Advisor
3 年Excelente texto Rita!!
Executive Director for Digital & Technology, EDP South America
3 年It's all about putting your money where your mouth is, but also making sure that the investment pays off in tangible results (not marketing fluff). Otherwise, as you say, it's both people washing and wasting scarce resources. Like caged hamsters rolling on a wheel...