Rehumanizing the Workplace: Hope for the Future of Work

"Culture" and "engagement" have become popular buzzwords in recent years, as organizations compete to recruit and retain top talent. Many businesses and the leaders running them have prioritized efficiency over empathy, competition over connection, and power over purpose.

Despite the plethora of articles and books on those topics, 88% of Americans feel like they work for a company that doesn't care about them as human beings and sees them as a means to an end.

Employees have learned to become functional robots and are often expected to leave their emotions, wants and needs at the door. We’ve put such an emphasis on efficiency that we’ve determined we must hide our emotions and bring only certain, acceptable aspects of who we are through the door on Monday morning...but emotions aren’t efficient. They’re messy, unpredictable, disruptive and tend to interfere with getting things done.

We’ve sacrificed our human-ness for the sake of performing at work, and people and organizations are hurting as a result. Employee disengagement is high, and wellbeing is low. Families are breaking down, and incivility at work has been on the rise. Most people are surviving, and very few are thriving.

But there's good news.

We're waking up.

A movement is underway to rehumanize the workplace and to reconnect us with our whole selves, each other, and a deeper sense of meaning and purpose. The inaugural Fusion 2.0 Conference in Minneapolis made a significant contribution to that paradigm shift. It brought together thought leaders, conscious employers, and curious and caring human beings for three days of insight and inspiration.

It was a purposeful gathering of humanity.

The conference, which was the brain child of Rosie Ward and Jon Robison, focused on the fusion of employee wellbeing, organizational culture and safety. I had the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and colleagues, meet authors and thought leaders whose work I’ve admired from afar for years, and learn from some of the brightest minds in the world.

I led a breakout session about beating burnout and moving from fried to flourishing. My CEO, Richard Silberstein, joined me to share SIG’s journey to become an employer of choice with a 96% employee retention rate. It was an inspiring week, full of insights to take back and implement into the work we do.

For those who couldn’t attend, I've pulled together some of the key insights I gleaned from the keynote speakers.

1) Culture Is an Everybody Thing

Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, opened the conference with a focus on what he calls “truly human leadership”.

After reading his book, Everybody Matters, a couple years ago, I was struck by how intentional he and his team are about putting people first and engaging everyone in the development of their culture. Bob’s optimism about what is possible in business if we take care of each other and treat one another like members of a healthy family gave all of us hope. Here’s what he has to say about the importance of honoring each other and involving everyone:

“Everyone wants to do better. Trust them. Leaders are everywhere. Find them. People achieve good things, big and small, every day. Celebrate them. Some people wish things were different. Listen to them. Everybody matters. Show them.”

Everyone wants to be heard, seen, valued and feel like they matter. If you take care of them, they will take care of you.

We must involve employees in shaping and defining our company's culture if we want them to support it because people only support what they help create. We can’t just hand off culture change to one department and act as if they are the only department that should be responsible for fostering an environment of trust, safety, recognition, growth, and connection.

Ondra Berry, whose electrifying presence lit up the room during his session, shared one of the truest and most relevant statements about culture that everyone needs to hear:

“Culture is no longer an HR thing. It is a BUSINESS thing and an EVERYBODY thing.”

Every single one of us contributes to the culture of an organization and whether it’s healthy. We can't delegate it to one person or one team. It's "an everybody thing."

Taking on this mindset requires us to shift how we approach relationships at work and to be more intentional about how we show up. We must be willing to have a servant’s heart and advocate on behalf of others. Each of us has the capacity to lead, and great cultures are led by humble people who recognize this truth that Ondra shared with us:

“If serving is beneath you, then leadership is beyond you.”

We are all capable of being influencers, regardless of our title, and all of us help shape culture and contribute to whether people feel like they matter at work. Culture is an everybody thing, and everybody's voice matters.

Reflect: What do you do to involve everyone in the growth and development of your culture? Does everyone feel like they have a voice? What is one step you could take to more intentionally involve your employees in shaping your culture? How could you bring them together or seek their input?

2) Business as Usual Is NOT an Option

Continuing to put our focus on profits at the expense of people, operate in a command-and-control system, and persist with our fixed and inflexible mindset is no longer an option. In his visionary keynote, Bob Kegan, a professor at Harvard University and author of An Everyone Culture and Immunity to Change, offered a refreshing approach about the future of work. He gave us hope that an organization and its people can be much greater contributors to instead of detractors from each other's thriving.

Bob shared stories from the companies he interviewed for his book - including Bridgewater, the Decurion Corporation and Next Jump - about what they are doing to shake up business as we know it. These businesses have recognized that business "as usual" is not an option and have pioneered new ways of approaching work. They recognize this reality:

“We don’t grow by being continuously comfortable.”

The companies Bob profiled give their people permission to “quit their second job” of hiding behind masks and exerting immense amounts of energy managing favorable impressions, insecurities, politics, and limitations to protect themselves. They practice radical candor, bringing light to challenging issues and working through the messiness, all while maintaining respect with the goal of making progress and growing.

They acknowledge that vulnerability is inherently uncomfortable, but it's necessary for growth and transformation.

Bob spoke about the importance of self-awareness and knowing and owning how we tend to show up at work. One way Next Jump does this is through “talking partners”, a co-mentoring program designed to help employees increase their awareness and improve judgment. Your talking partner acts as a second screen when making important decisions. If you lean toward "arrogance" and being more outspoken, then you pair up with a talking partner who leans toward "humility" and tends to hang back and stay quiet. Each type can help the other grow and gain perspective.

Growth-minded organizations recognize the value of failing "frequently, fast, and forward" and use those failures to learn and grow. As Ray Dalio, CEO of Bridgewater Associates, succinctly says, “Pain + Reflection = Progress.”

It's unsettling to make mistakes, to admit our weaknesses or our “back hand,” but if we act like they don’t exist, we will contribute to more dysfunction and relational pain at work. It's critical that we continuously seek feedback yet separate ourselves from the discussion around us and allow truth in, even when it's hard to hear, then giving ourselves the opportunity to reflect. By practicing well-held vulnerability, admitting instead of covering up our insecurities, and inviting both supportive and challenging feedback, we foster psychological safety, which boosts creativity, collaboration and cooperation.

Business as usual is no longer an option if we want to grow, progress, and create organizations where people feel safe, valued and can thrive.

Reflect: How are you currently hiding your insecurities and limitations at work, and what are some of the consequences of doing that? What would it look like for you to find one “safe” person to open up to about an area of limitation for you? Who could you identify as a talking partner at your company to help you grow?

3) It's Time to Become Whole

Raj Sisodia, co-founder of the Conscious Capitalism movement, offered hope and insight into what the future of work can look like if we are willing to expand our thinking. Much of what we know work to be has been influenced by traditionally masculine values of hierarchy, command-and-control, zero-sum game, domination, competition, and using “carrots and sticks” to induce desired behaviors.

Given our current rates of workplace disengagement and low levels of human thriving, we know that what we have been doing isn't going to work in the future. We need the traditionally masculine values of structure, order, discipline, focus and assertiveness to integrate with traditionally feminine values of empathy, compassion, caring, nurturing, vulnerability and harmony.

As a woman who is highly ambitious and has been "successful" in my career, channeling masculine values has helped me get to where I am. At times, I've compromised relationships for the sake of getting ahead and have put competition ahead of compassion. Instead of judging one over the other, I'm learning this:

The goal isn't to villainize one approach and elevate the other but to recognize that we need both in order to be whole.

I'm almost finished reading Raj's book, Shakti Leadership, which digs deeper into the masculine / feminine power dichotomy at work. I'd recommend it for anyone looking to better understand how to show up more fully in your life. I realize it can sound "fluffy" and a bit esoteric to talk about masculine and feminine values at work, but we need them to be integrated if we're going to shape a different workplace in the future.

When we move toward wholeness, we become better leaders, spouses, parents and friends and elevate business to be a source of healing in the world. We become not-JUST-for-profit companies and look for ways businesses can be a force for goodness and kindness in the world, giving second chances like this organization.

Raj offered the hope that, if done right, business can alleviate suffering and increase joy in our lives while still delivering extraordinary performance. We don't have to sacrifice wholeness for profits. To further explore these concepts, be on the lookout for Raj's next book, The Healing Organization.

Reflect: Which way do you tend to lean in your approach to work - toward more masculine or more feminine power? What value from the other side could you work to develop more fully in order to move toward wholeness? For instance, if you tend toward command-and-control, how you could take steps to demonstrate more empathy?

4) Ask Powerful Questions

Genuine curiosity and the desire to better understand the world and the people in it are keys to effective leadership. Instead of telling people what to do and being authoritarian in their approach, businesses of the future will ask more and better questions. Here are 10 questions from the conference you can bring back to your organization and leaders to uncover new ideas and perspectives:

1. "What can you do to make your company an incubator of talent?" (Bob Kegan)
2. What does it look like to be future-proof for your company and for yourself as a human? (Bree Miller). As Bree reminded us, there is no "right" answer to that question, so just be honest!
3. "What's the climate for making mistakes here?" (Bob Kegan)
4. "Do you worry about how good you are or about how fast you are learning?" (Ray Dalio)
5. "In your organization, to what extent do people reveal to others areas in which they might be struggling?" (Bob Kegan)
6. "What do you hire for, train for, encourage and recognize?" (Ondra Berry)
7. "What is one thing I can do right now to make my client's experience awesome?" (Andrew Sykes)
8. "How do you create a defining moment for somebody - at work and at home - every day?" (Ondra Berry)
9. "What’s something we could bring you that would make your life better or easier in some way?" (Richard Silberstein)
10. "Do we give our people something to believe in?" (Ondra Berry)

I owe a special debt of gratitude to my friend, Bree Miller, whose powerful and probing question, "Why do you CARE about this topic?", prompted me to redo 80% of my burnout presentation 12 hours before delivering it. That's a big risk to take as a presenter, but it was worth it. As a result of her question, I removed anything that was prescriptive and only included compelling and personal stories, thoughtful questions, and reflective prompts that invited everyone to redefine success. It was vulnerable and felt 100% authentic. It couldn't have gone better, so I'm grateful I took the risk and made the necessary changes.

Powerful questions can lead to transformational moments if we allow them.

The future of work will be marked by better, more powerful, and more impactful questions. We must be willing to sit with them, to allow ourselves to be uncomfortable, and to respond honestly and thoughtfully, so that growth and transformation can occur.

Reflect: Which of the above questions resonate most with you? Which question or questions can you bring back to your team to rehumanize work and create a safe space for curiosity and exploration?

If I were to capture the essence of the conference in one statement, I'd quote former Southwest CEO, Herb Kelleher:

“The business of business is people – yesterday, today, forever.”

Each one of us has the power to influence, to connect, to heal, to grow, and to transform the future of work.

Let's do our part to make culture "an everybody thing", to practice truly human leadership, to shake up business as we know it, to move toward wholeness and healing, and to ask more powerful questions.

To learn more about rehumanizing the workplace, check out these articles and other blogs below:

• Be, Belong, Become: A New Vision for the Workplace
• SIGSpark: One Company's Vision to Come Alive
• Salveo Partners Blog (Rosie Ward & Jon Robison)
• Habits at Work Blog (Andrew Sykes & Bree Miller)
• Truly Human Leadership Blog (Bob Chapman)
• Conscious Capitalism Blog