What hasn’t changed about building human workplaces

2020 has served as the greatest test of leadership, culture, and trust.

If thinking about how we can better take care of the people in our organizations wasn’t a priority before the pandemic, it certainly should be now. Amidst so much uncertainty, we have the power as leaders to create certainty in our organizations: To build environments where our people feel supported, where they know they matter, and where they feel a sense of belonging, no matter what is happening in our world.

For me, 2020 has acted as a magnifying glass, helping me see more clearly as a leader and reminding me to stay focused on what matters most in our organizations. 

I recently had the privilege of participating in a leadership roundtable hosted by Workplace from Facebook where I was asked to speak on the critical cultural ingredients that we must consider as we look to the future. What I realized in preparing for that discussion is that while so much has changed in our world, the ingredients we must consider when building people-focused cultures haven’t. While digital platforms, like Workplace, are a great cultural enabler to drive human connection, build community and create that sense of belonging amongst your people; you need solid cultural foundations to create a meaningful difference for your people. 

So, I thought I’d take a moment to remind you of the things that have always mattered and that will continue to matter as we build organizations where our people come first:

Empathy: Leading with empathy is a critical component we must consider when building human organizations. Empathy isn’t about solutions or changing the emotions of others. It’s about understanding and validating the emotions of others and creating environments where people feel safe sharing those emotions. One of the greatest things that has come out of 2020 for our company is “Team Time,” an hour where our team gathers virtually to share how we are feeling about our lives and the world. This meeting has no agenda; there is no business discussed; and there is no pressure to find solutions. It is simply a time to listen, to share, and to feel accepted. Pandemic or not, I can tell you that Team Time is here to stay.

Feedback: In order to help our people feel heard and seen, we must give them the tools to use their voices. In our company, we train every team member on how to give and receive feedback using the FBI model, which we learned from our friends at Barry-Wehmiller. The F stands for “feeling” (how do you feel?), the B stands for “behavior” (what was the behavior that made you feel this way?), and the I stands for “impact” (what was the impact of that behavior?). Teaching your people the skills to communicate shows that you care about what they have to say. Step two is acknowledging the feedback that they give you. Even if leaders aren’t able to implement something that our people have asked for, we must explain and take ownership as to why so that our people feel encouraged to continue speaking up. 

Diversity: It is not enough to say that we want to build workplaces that are diverse and inclusive. It is not enough to say that we want to build anti-racist organizations. Our actions must show that we are working toward these ideals every day. We must publicly commit to and continually work toward being antiracist and inclusive so that our people know exactly what their leadership and their organization values. Our people must understand that we will not tolerate actions that go against these values. We can’t be afraid to start conversations because we “don’t know how,” we’re “afraid to get it wrong,” or “it’s uncomfortable.” We can’t be afraid to be held accountable. We can’t be afraid to be transparent and acknowledge where the organization stands and how much farther we have to go. At Student Maid, we are 73% white. As we learn more about how to confront and remove our own implicit biases, we are examining and challenging every aspect of our hiring and recruitment process to ensure that they are free of our biases as well. The work will not stop there. It will never stop. And every step of the way, we are inviting our people into the conversation and into the action.

Resilience: Resilience is the muscle that helps us get back up again. The more resilient we are as individuals, the more resilient we can be as a team in the face of adversity. One of the ways we can help build resilience is by looking at the past. At Student Maid, we do an activity called the "Resilience Resume" that helps our team members identify the challenges they’ve had in their lives and the lessons they learned from them. It helps them build confidence in the current moment to know that they can persevere despite the obstacles they face. We also help our students reframe their relationships with failure so that they learn to see failures as chances to learn and grow, and we help them learn to rely on their own capabilities and strengths. One way that we empower our people is through a tool called the 1:3:1. The 1 stands for, “What is your challenge?” the 3 stands for, “What are 3 ideas you have to solve that challenge?” and the other 1 stands for, “Out your three solutions, which one do you recommend?”  

Intentionality: Sometimes we forget that we employ human beings. People with hearts, and feelings, and dreams, and lives, and families. We have an enormous responsibility to consider how our decisions and actions will affect those in our care. When we are implementing new changes, we must be intentional and consider how these changes will make our people feel. One of the most powerful exercises we did as an organization was asking our team to describe how they want to feel at work. Words such as “valued” and “significant” and “invested in” and “trusted” and all kinds of other amazing words came out of that discussion, and they became our compass. We created a word cloud that we still use to this day to help us be intentional about making decisions that are aligned with the culture we want to build and the feelings we want to evoke in our people.

Virtual or in-person, these ingredients matter. Our leadership team has been remote for 5+ years and our team members are mobile, so whether you are in the same room or behind screens, you can focus on them too. Virtual or not, pandemic or not, may we never lose sight of what is most important in our organizations.

Hugs through the screen,

Kristen