Distributing the Work to Lower Your HumanDebt™

It’s a weird one this year start, isn’t it? It feels like we should have so much more oomph. It feels like we ought to be brimming with gumption. That everyone should be “up and at it”. Like we are long overdue for an enthusiastic fresh start but also like we don’t quite have the energy or the heart for it. Except for a lucky few that is.

I think the reason why is very different for everyone and fiercely complex as our individual threads intertwine with the collective Covid moment -some just entering the eye of a new storm, some believing it’s all over and all not knowing what’s next- but I also know we are immensely more resilient and better equipped to deal with adversity of all types be it in the shape of being disappointingly un-oomph-y. So I’m not worried about us as individual people. We’ve learned the harsh lesson of having to care for ourselves truly -pace ourselves, treat ourselves, believe ourselves and give ourselves what we need- at the altar of extreme survival so we’ll all find ways. In a sense, even the Great Resignation itself is an expression of self-care as well.

What I am worried about is how this all translates into even more HumanDebt by the day. How I see several enterprises a week where superheroes moved on and the superheroes-in-training left behind haven’t found their feet yet so there’s no one to watch over the debt and ensure no more is accrued. How I see teams in less tight of emotionally-bond spots. How there’s more resignation than indignation towards the “come back to the office or else” rhetorics. How there are countless places where there’s no mention of servant leadership, leave alone any kind of program in place to arrive at it.

On our first sprint at PeopleNotTech this month - a whole lot of work on our value proposition to help organisations take honest stock of where they are with - a HumanDebt™ Audit method we’re creating- and boy oh boy does it throw up all the big questions. Who should even care? What have these enterprises managed this far? What is undone? How far are they from the agility mindsets we so desperately need? How heavy is the politics? What is the “vibe”/culture? How do we take the true measure of whether there has been enough D&I or engagement work? How much politics needs to be navigated before we even start being honest? Are we all speaking the same language? Do we agree on all definitions? Is there enough structure and clarity to support this, the most honest of explorations? How embedded is command and control? How much “couching” (equivalent to “coaching” but more like a therapists’ -listening-only role) do its leaders need before they can become part of any team? How do we depart from the sterile employee surveys and how do we make an honest dent in understanding how everyone truly feels?

More importantly: how emotionally invested in each other are their teams? How much trust is there? Who feels valued and like they belong and who doesn’t? How Psychologically Safe are they?