Embracing Love's Transformative Power in the Workplace
Everyone’s looking for Transformation. We long to transform culture through transformative change to transform our working relationships so that we can transform our outcomes. In actuality, what we do is actually much more incremental and transitional. It is step by step making small changes every day that when accumulated can feel transformational. Somehow we look back and forget all the steps and only see the outcome. That may be one of our amazing human coping mechanisms at work forgetting the day-to-day struggles to shift and focusing on the outcome. This is a bit like childbirth, isn’t it?! A fetus gestates for 9 months, and then after a few hours of labor and birthing, a life comes into the world, and our lives are utterly transformed.
Love is like that too. From small beginnings, we act with care to nurture the growth of our relationships in day-to-day ways, that are often unseen. And then a moment comes when a need arises in someone’s life. The love that we have incrementally developed comes into its fullness and is transformative.
The transformative power of Love at work is especially profound during challenging personal times. Life throws curveballs at all of us, and it's during these hardships that the compassion and understanding of teammates can make all the difference. While conventional workplaces may dismiss personal matters or even ask individuals to suppress them, forward-thinking, human-centered teams see it differently. These teams with love at the center acknowledge and support team members during tough times. They realize that this openness and care foster a sense of security and confidence that we are not alone which builds trust and loyalty.
In my own experiences and observations of my team members through serious injury, death, mental health crises, illness, addiction of family members, and many different personal challenges, I've realized that the support we offer each other during hard times can change the trajectory of our lives. While we happen to be working together during such a time, we have the profound opportunity to accompany each other as humans on this life journey, if we choose.
What is so often misunderstood is that this support and vulnerability with each other is not a distraction from the work but an enabler of the work. These experiences help us to bond, increase our commitment to each other, and ultimately do better work. Now, this human-centered approach requires having a longer horizon than just this week, month, or even quarter. Sometimes in the short term, output may slow or we may struggle to figure out how to adapt to the challenging moment. But with a commitment to each other, we figure it out. Over time, the long-term benefits of supporting each other during tough times are undeniably transformative — loyalty, workforce stability, creativity, customer satisfaction, and ultimately higher performance.
I recently shared the story of our dear team member Rick on the To Work: With Love series on the Gut Plus Science podcast. Rick experienced one of the greatest losses of his life — the death of his wife. We have had the distinct honor of walking alongside him and accompanying him this year, and he has said that the ongoing support from our team made a significant difference in his healing process. Indeed, love during hard times can truly change lives.
I'm truly excited to continue to explore with you in 2024, to dig into what it looks like to systematically embed love in day-to-day moments along with the formal structures and operations of our organizations. By saying “Yes to Love” and then leaning in to care for each other, seeking to understand and respect individual preferences and differences, we can create workplaces where love isn't just a sentiment but a transformative force in our teams.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! See you in 2024!
With love,
Renée
