Companies are becoming aware that their People matter most in the Age of Everything Digital.
There's an awakening happening across the globe. Companies are becoming aware that their People matter most in the Age of Everything Digital. How do you tap into this potential you ask? As I thought about it this morning I think it nets out to be just Being Human @Work.
You have to Care about Others balanced with taking Care of Yourself. Care about their well being. Care about their success and Help them to succeed. This is called Empathy. This is called Compassion when Others are struggling. That all are valued and Accepted for who they are and are treated Equally and Fairly. This is called Acknowledgment recognizing that they exist as fellow Humans and that they matter to you.
It doesn't take much. Just Be Human @Work.
And when you do, the walls come down. Social friction melts away. People engage and bring their whole selves. They want to grow and prosper as much as you do. They want to feel Safe, free of the bondage of fear in the workplace.
What People can accomplish individually and collectively soars. Productivity goes through the roof as People tap into their discretionary Energy for a cause greater than themselves. They feel part of a tribe, a Community that shares an identity, a common Purpose.
We are not taught how to do this. In fact, showing Humanity in the Workplace has been discouraged as not important. This is a hold over of where we have come from, Industrial Age thinking. Where Humans were mere resources tending to the Industrial Machine. The Machine was important, not Humans.
Leaders are the most important in creating a Human Workplace. They set the tone.
It's difficult for Leaders to Be Human @Work. They are charged with accomplishing the Mission and if they don't, well, you know what happens. So, they control. They direct. They squelch the Energy of their People.
They have to let go. They have to Empower and allow People the Freedom to contribute. They have to be Vulnerable and Trust in their People. They have to Be Human @Work.
And when they do, People engage. Individual and collective accomplishment soars. They tap into their reservoirs of discretionary Energy propelling the organization forward.
This is Servant Leadership.
This is Being Human @Work.
Yours truly.
Frank Wander
Frank Wander, a former CIO, is the founder and CEO of PeopleProductive (peopleproductive.com), and the author of Transforming IT Culture, How to Use Social Intelligence, Human Factors and Collaboration to Create an IT Department That Outperforms (Wiley, 2013). This unique book is the first operator’s manual for human infrastructure and will help you successfully transform your leadership style and organization.
PeopleProductive has taken that concept to the human side of the enterprise. We similarly help you find, measure and fix a broad spectrum of behavioral, emotional and enablement issues. For the first time, you can eliminate the inefficiency that holds highly productive people back and measurably increase productivity.
