Does your company bring you into existence? Three insights from the Fusion 2.0 Conference.
Attending the Fusion 2.0 Conference last week showed me that I'm not on an island. There are others out there that believe in the immense opportunity for businesses to do good and manifest peace, growth and wellbeing in the world.
Too often, we attend conferences and workshops, read endless articles and take courses only to forget what we've learned and experienced. Then, we put our newfound knowledge on the shelf like a book, never to be read or used again.
I'm a firm proponent of applying what I learn so that it doesn't get filed away or forgotten.
The Fusion 2.0 planning committee must agree, because they gave us a "learning journal" to reflect and answer the questions "so what?" and "now what?" after each session.
Because of this nudge to apply my takeaways, I've decided to share 3 of my insights from the conference with supporting points (so you'll get a bit of a recap from my point of view).
What's the difference? Instead of simply telling you what happened and what people said, I'm going to synthesize my learnings and share the larger themes and concepts that emerged for me throughout the three days.
How?! Finding the signal amongst the noise, mapping patterns and creating connections.
Before I get to my takeaways, I'd like to briefly share with you my internal processes for uncovering insights and listening beyond information to find the little glimmering nuggets that really make a difference...
One way I do this is to listen for patterns or themes among the new knowledge. Which words keep coming up? Are there similar concepts being described but people are using different language to explain them?
"I love the way you listen."
In reviewing my notes and reflecting on the Fusion 2.0 sessions, here are the words and concepts that kept hitting me over the head:
Maybe you believe there is nothing new here to note. I disagree. How many companies and leaders that you know ACTUALLY manifest these words and ideas in the workplace?
Another way that I leverage new knowledge is to connect what I learn and hear with things that I am already familiar with. As a result, my insights and notes from conferences are often drastically different from those around me!
I try to listen beyond the content to find the meaning behind it -- and then I think about what other knowledge I have about the topic that this new information is related to.
Asking questions helps me connect and make meaning of new information:
What other ideas is this idea related to?
What does this idea mean? (for me, for my team, for my work, for my company)
How is this information similar or different from my existing views on the topic?
How might I use this bit of knowledge in my work?
How could this idea apply to my role?
Is this idea something I should research further? Where should I begin?
OK, enough of explaining HOW I arrive at my insights...let's get to the good stuff!
Let's start with the insight that this article was named for:
INSIGHT 1: Our companies (and leaders) have the power and immense privilege to "bring us into existence."
During his wildly enthusiastic keynote, Ondra Berry delivered several juicy tidbits, but this one really stuck with me. Using different language, many of the other speakers and sessions touched on a similar concept -- one that has been gaining traction over the last decade or so:
Work should be a place where you can bring your whole self. Companies should be a source of deliberate development, growth and PRACTICE for their people on their paths to becoming the best versions of themselves. -- Dr. Robert Kegan, Harvard University
Taking the concept to a new level: Wholeness is not a state, it is a journey. Being "whole" is not something you can check off a task list. While many employers use the language of "bring your whole self to work," they're failing to provide the support or space for their people to BECOME whole. -- Henry Albrecht, Limeade
One thing holding us all back? Many companies don't give their people the space to make mistakes and solve problems on their own. Experimentation and risk taking is valued -- that is, until something goes wrong. Growth-focused cultures allow people to make mistakes and learn from them. How many companies give people the space or permission to say, "Hey, I messed up" without stepping in to take over and fix the mistake for them? -- Kristen Hadeed, Student Maid
Kristen Hadeed also pushed us to think beyond helping our people grow. She asked us: "Are you setting them free when they OUTGROW you?" Think about that for a second...is your company so invested in your personal growth and development that they will help you outgrow your role, and perhaps even the company itself?
Andrew Sykes, founder of Habits at Work, agrees with Kristen. His call to leaders? To say to their people: "I see something greater for you than you see for yourself." What if your boss or company said this to you? Would you feel "loved" by your company? Perhaps, then, the best promise that a company can make to its people is to see what greatness is in them that they don't yet see in themselves, and then help them manifest that truth for themselves. This slingshots "become the best version of yourself" into another galaxy. What would the world look like if more employers made this promise to their employees?
Raj Sisodia then asked us to look deeply into another person's eyes and say "I see you," to which they responded, "I feel seen." Does your company truly SEE you? When you show up and give your best effort, do you FEEL SEEN at work? The distinction here is that YOU, as a human being, feel seen (not only your accomplishments or title).
INSIGHT 2: Burnout happens when we feel disconnected + our growth trajectory stagnates.
How ironic is it that we are talking about becoming our best selves WHILE we're having another conversation about how so many of us have experienced (or are currently experiencing) burnout?
The dictionary defines burnout as: "the reduction of a fuel or substance to nothing through use or combustion" or "physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress."
OUCH.
The reduction of a substance to NOTHING. Physical or mental collapse.
How did we get here? Why are so many of us feeling collapsed and used up?
Dr. Robert Kegan offers one explanation:
Burnout happens when we are on the same developmental plateau for too long.
Being in a state of plateau or stagnation can be exceedingly frustrating and stressful. When we feel stuck, when we don't have permission to take chances and experiment, when we lack support from our employers to reflect and grow...we can easily fall into a rut (or giant cavern, if you prefer) that spirals into self-doubt, squashes our confidence and manifests as stress and burnout.
On the other hand, making progress, however slight, can be extremely motivating! Dr. Kegan shares the simple formula for growth: Pain + Reflection = Progress. Whenever we receive feedback (especially if it makes us reactive, emotional or illogical), Kegan says we should ask ourselves, "Is it true?" Reflecting, even when we don't agree, can help us grow as individuals.
In her session dedicated to the topic, Rachel Druckenmiller gives burnout another definition:
Burnout is a state of disconnection from your mind, body, soul and community.
Rachel asks, "Who gets the best of you...and who gets the rest of you?" Often, when we are experiencing burnout, we push and push to still show up and give our "best" to our jobs, and then we give the "leftovers" to our friends, our families and ourselves.
One audience member shared a story of her late-in-life divorce. Even though she became the "bad guy" to her children, she divorced her husband because, as she put it, her "soul was dying." Why do we often wait until we reach a state of burnout to connect with what our souls need? Identifying and reflecting on our personal values can be one access point to understanding whether or not we are living and working in alignment with our souls.
"The antidote to exhaustion isn't rest. It's wholeheartedness." - David Whyte
How we define "success" is out of sync with our minds, our bodies, our communities and our souls.
We can no longer rely on measuring our success through our accomplishments or other people's expectations of us. We need to take control over our lives and create our own definitions of what it means to have a successful life in relation to our minds, bodies, communities and souls.
We not only need to teach people how to care, we need to actively care for other people. Bob Chapman says, "We now have a new way of defining our success at Barry-Wehmiller. We measure success by the way we touch the lives of people."
During her own session, Lynise Anderson said, "I didn't feel like I was taking up space in my own life." Sometimes, we can lose sight of ourselves and we need to stop and put our own oxygen masks on before we tend to the needs of others! Lynise challenged each of us to declare our own personal mission statements as a way to embody our purpose. She asked us simple questions (kidding!) like, "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" and "How will I show up?"
If my first insight centers on the role of an company being a stand for the greatness of its people, and my second insight highlights the importance of purposeful growth and development to energize and engage people, then my third and final insight becomes a bridge between the first two.
INSIGHT 3: We need to take care of the water in the fishbowl, not just the fish.
Robert Kegan was the first of many to mention the importance of a company's role in fostering a culture that supports the development of its people -- taking care of the water in the "fishbowl," as he so aptly put it.
To achieve insight 3, companies really need to understand their people. They need to listen empathically and value ALL of the details that make up every unique individual that works within their organization.
Companies cannot simply ask their people to become great. In a similar vein, they cannot assume their people can overcome or avoid burnout on their own.
It really boils down to this:
Companies cannot ask or expect more from their people without first designing the conditions for them to succeed.
I'm not talking about fancy things here. I don't mean amenities and free lunches.
I'm talking about BASIC needs.
Take a moment to look at Maslow's Hierarchy, and consider how many organizations meet the very basic needs. Rest? Financial security? Psychological safety? Community? Inclusion? Appreciation?
Before people can do the higher level, inner work required for them to achieve GREATNESS, their basic needs must be met.
Taking the idea further, companies must design the conditions or "contexts" of their organization in support of their employees achieving their individual concept of "greatness." These contexts have a huge impact on behaviors by making some habits easy to practice and other habits difficult to perform.
The habits that we practice every day act like compound interest over time, actively shaping our future. During my own session, I helped people define what it means to be "future-proof" by designing the contexts of Self, Social, Spaces and Systems in support of a desired habit.
Often times, we don't even notice the contexts that surround us in work and in life -- the "water in the fishbowl" -- even though they have an enormous influence on our behavior and our ability to grow and thrive as humans.
But here's the thing. Our ability to design our company cultures in support of only ONE person's journey to greatness seems unlikely and implausible...
...So how can we expect companies to provide the unlimited flexibility and unwavering support required for each of their employees to live their best life and seek greatness?
I don't have the answer. (Were you hoping I did?!)
The problem is too complex and the dependencies and uncertainties are innumerable and different for every person and situation at every company.
But here are a few ideas that, I think, steer us in the proper direction:
If your company isn't meeting the basic needs of your people, start there.
Provide everyone on your payroll with a safe place to work, and a secure atmosphere. No layoffs coming out of left field. And pay people a livable wage. In fact, pay people more than a livable wage. If you want people to fully show up, make sure their finances aren't stressing them out.
Give your people the flexibility to take breaks, rest and restore. Don't count the hours they are away from their desks, and require people to take time off (unlimited vacation sounds great, but it often means people take no vacation!). If at all possible, empower your people to work during the hours when they are most productive, not some industrial age idea of what work hours are supposed to be.
Treat people with compassion and grace when they are going through something. The loss of a pet or family member. A painful personal growth spurt. A breakup. Moving. Even the smaller things -- the need to go to a doctor's appointment or meet their cable guy in the middle of the day. Work happens during life, but we tend not to let life happen during work. Let's remedy that.
If you say you want your people to show up "WHOLE," don't be surprised when they do.
Wholeness isn't a state, it is a journey.
Humans are messy, and tend to have emotions, whether they know how to deal with them or not.
If there is one thing I know with my whole heart (pun intended), it is that in order for our companies, and our society to be changed, we must first change how we show up to the party as individual people.
Our driven, capitalist culture has stripped us of our basic ability to process our feelings.
Companies seeking to support their people in becoming whole need to take on the regenerative work of helping us heal at work.
Or, put differently by a Fusion 2.0 attendee, "I am hopeful that we can do 'the work' (of healing) 'at work'."
Go to work on heart sets and mind sets.
Companies spend a great deal of time, money and resources on training their people to have the right set of skills. They also invest a lot in making sure their people have the right tools and processes to do their jobs.
But most companies don't invest in helping their people think and feel. Companies need to spend more time and money in support of their people getting to work on their heart sets and mind sets.
Let's start giving people the tools, training, time and support to do the job of becoming awesome humans.
My challenge to you: Show up fully, on your own journey toward becoming whole, and support your fellow humans in doing the same.
"You can't have uphill hopes and downhill habits." - Ondra Berry
If you've made it to the end...thank you for reading this mammoth post. If you enjoyed it, please like, share or leave a comment. Questions or comments? Email me bree@habitsatwork.com Thanks!
