Making Space for Different Experiences in the Workplace

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As Loving Leaders, we hold so much in a big bundle of human experience simultaneously. Our needs and experiences and those of our team members too which may be similar or wildly different. A crucial aspect of loving leadership is the ability to hold all these multiple truths with sensitivity and kindness at the same time.

This takes healthy self-awareness and self-care matched with our awareness and care of others.

You may be planning for time away to celebrate and connect with loved ones, OR to power down, hide, and rest.

Meanwhile, some around you may be grieving the absence of loved ones, or facing a financial crunch, or shouldering familial stress.

Your sensitivity to all these truths and your ability to hold it all at the same time is loving.

Acknowledge that you all may be having different experiences and that you can support each other in whatever is true for each one. This openness doesn’t in any way diminish joy or gloss over sorrow.

Take time with your team to reflect and celebrate, ensuring they feel seen and acknowledged for their efforts. Enjoy this moment with them!

And, you may be facing the uncertainty of executive leadership change, especially in public service, wondering how it will impact your work and perhaps your position.

Meanwhile, your team members may wonder what is going to happen too and what it will mean for them.

Acknowledge the ambiguity you are all moving through. Don’t be afraid to talk about it and to normalize the transition process, especially for those who’ve never experienced one before. There are patterns to these changes in administration. Talk about them. Share stories of how you weathered them in the past. Share information and be a steady presence to build their confidence that they too will navigate this process.

Remind them of their strengths as a team.

No matter what happens, no one can take away their past experiences together, their values, and what they know they’ve done together. That is embedded in them. They own that forever.

And be sure, Loving Leader, while you are loving your team to care for yourself during this time.

That is also part of Loving Leadership: Loving Yourself.