One of my favorite daily things to do is randomly call friends on my commute home. I have almost an hour in the car, and it’s a great way to make the time go by. (Don’t worry, I’m a hands free user.)
This past week I had a great conversation with Heather Kinzie from Alaska. She’s a great HR pro and I highly recommend you connect with her !! We were chatting about life and work and she was telling me her thoughts about work when she said something profound. She noted, “I don’t want to work at a place where I’m half a person all of the time !!” I almost swerved off the road because that statement rang so true.
Heather wasn’t bemoaning a certain environment or employer. She was just stating the sentiment that affects the vast majority of employees who go to any workplace. You’ve had to see the statistics that are out there right now that state that 70% to 80% of workers are disengaged in their current role. That is staggering to me because we instantly personalize data like this and think of our own workplaces. What we don’t do is compile the number of workplaces that exist. If 70% to 80% of workers are disengaged in ALL workplaces, then we face a massive obstacle each and every day regardless of where we work.
In HR, we express that we want people to bring their “whole self” to work, but that’s not really true. We want people to bring as much of themselves as fit our systems and norms. We freak out if people are outliers and work so hard to make people conform. This isn’t an indictment, it’s an observation. Since this is the culture of most companies, it’s not surprising that someone would bring half of themselves to work – all of the time.
Is there anything we can do to shift this state of malaise? I think there is. However, it will take a truly radical step for HR. You see, we are the controllers of conformity. Our systems, procedures and policies scream for same mindedness and behavior within a tight framework of parameters.
I think there should be company norms and the majority of these happen naturally. If your company’s leadership and/or industry is more formal, your norms will follow. If they are more hip and edgy, your norms will follow there as well. HR has to look at how it makes these cultures come to life to see if you’re allowing people to freely move and perform in these environments, or if we’re making sure that people show up.
You see, the best cultures can be stifled if our HR practices are more focused on being visible and seen (i.e. showing up), or if they’re on performance. If your culture truly champions performance, and your focus is development and shepherding within that culture, then people will bring more of who they are to work – all the time.
What is the big concern? If we looked at having less control, would chaos really ensue? Trust me when I say this – If your HR systems are built to control folks, you actually have no control at all. You don’t have a work environment, you have an institution. People can’t help but be disengaged because the environment doesn’t even exist to encourage them to be engaged.
This week look around your company. Do you see “half people” ?? Are you existing as a half person yourself in HR ?? This needs to change and it starts with you. Don’t settle for environments where people only exist. Instead, work intentionally on building an environment where people can, and are expected to, thrive !!
Hi Steve! Thanks for the shout out and thank you for the great conversation and subsequent thoughts on this post.
As I ponder your words, I worry that so many of us…humans…are so quick to judge others that it makes it hard for people to give fully. I believe that if we were to start actively accepting people for their 100% selves, people would be more likely to offer themselves fully at work. But since we are judged and criticized, we have a tendency to hold back.
As we all know, this would do us NO BIT OF GOOD if it were in a personal relationship…right? If we don’t offer ourselves fully, we are not allowing the relationship to truly be built. The same goes for our work relationships…and while we don’t have to overshare or get “too personal,” we do have to be 100% present.
🙂
Thank you, dear friend, for being you and for the phone call!
Oh, and why isn’t my blog on your blog roll? 🙂
I’ll add you to my blog roll if you promise to post more often !! (Hee, Hee). Noted and fixed.
I just posted – was inspired by our conversation last week too!
I adore you, my dear friend. Thank you!
So true Steve. I don’t have the stats but observation indicates that more than half of employees come to work and just try to survive. They “lay low” and do just what it takes to get by. They satisfy the need for creativity, reward and encouragement in activities outside of work. The question then is what would your workplace be if all your employees “brought it” all the time. HR can make this part of leadership’s thought and planning processes.
Couldn’t agree more,Steve !! Organizations need to start acknowledging and rewarding the uniqueness of individuals.
Good points Steve. I think everyone can contribute to this change with intentional effort. Consider what each person you regularly work with needs to thrive. Some like quiet time to do their best work while others like to think out loud. Some like public recognition and others prefer private. Some are task oriented while others are strategic. Are managers praising or “coaching” individuals or the entire group?
Think of the energy that could go into improving corporate performance if leaders and staff felt they could risk having ideas outside the normal construct and be able to implement without fear of judgment. Being “half a person” can be emotionally exhausting. Thanks for sharing this article.
A simple yet profound statement. What if every one of in HR just made this assessment for ourselves? Even that much thought about being a whole person would make a change.
What rang most true to me was Steve’s statement – “If your HR systems are built to control folks, you actually have no control at all. You don’t have a work environment, you have an institution.” And people don’t like institutions. Their instinct is to flee quickly!
Great points Steve; this reminds me of a passage in Susan Scott’s Book “Fierce Conversations” where she was interviewing an associate at a company with whom she as consulting, and the associate admitted to “absenting her spirit” from her work. How tragic for both the associate and the organization which was robbed of her talents and innovation. I agree that HR should model the way and push for a culture that encourages showing up 100% and values the results of that presence. Thanks for the inspiration today!
I would loved to have been able to eavesdrop on the conversation between Steve and Heather !!
As always, Steve, thank you for enlightening and inspiring us. We often get so caught up in the day-to-day that we fail to see the possibilities. Fantastic statement about not wanting to only exist or be only 1/2 a person. We should be engaged – passionate and dedicated to bringing the best effort. Think about it – the best organizations don’t want 70% of you when you are at work. Engaged employees result from engaged management. The best want 100% (or more) of you – so that you are the best you can be.
Kyle, let’s do it! Let’s do a three way call and inspire each other!