Thoughts From The Desk of a COO (Compassionate Operations Officer)

First, Be it.

You may have seen us use this simple phrase at A Human Workplace. For us, it means that because we are passionate about and work with our clients to create more human-centered workplaces, we must first be exactly that - human-centered - in our own organization.

As we help our clients have less fear and more love in their workplace, we are compelled to lead the way by reducing fear and building up more love in the internals of our own business.

Some of that work is what you’d expect – taking time to see each other as humans, to really connect. Being kind to each other. Genuinely caring about each other and fostering a sense of belonging in our internal interactions as well as our interactions with clients.

And the work must also go much deeper into how we navigate conflict and disagreement, and how we show up for ourselves and each other when we’re facing difficulty and disappointment. How do we bring more love and less fear into the messy places that naturally emerge as humans working closely together?

How do we build the culture, norms, and agreements that build patterns of behavior and mindsets that help us live into our values even when we feel fearful, threatened, or hurt?

Toward a new frame for “Operations”

The common view of operations is that it is the mechanical, impersonal, dispassionate, and even cold part of running a business. It’s the administrative processes that are constantly under financial cost reduction pressure so that they can be as “efficient” as possible. We often think of the operations as directly at odds with investment in people.

At the core, most operation functions seem to be rooted deeply in a belief of scarcity – a zero-sum game in which there is not enough for everyone and someone has to make the hard decisions about who will be rewarded and who will not.

What could operations look like in an organization that is focused on unleashing human potential and impact? What if we reject the model of scarcity and choose to believe there can be enough for everyone? Doesn’t that sound radical? What could loving operations look like?

A New COO

At A Human Workplace, we are committed to being on the learning edge for ourselves and our clients in exploring this new frame for Operations. Today we’re announcing that we’re choosing to have the role of COO at A Human Workplace stand for Compassionate Operations Officer.

As our first Compassionate Operations Officer, it is my privilege to be a steward for this exploration as we lean into the hard and messy places to learn more about how we can be with each other in ways that embody the culture we want to have and express the values we want to live. We won’t always get it right. And we’ll learn and adjust. The intention we are holding is to build ever more compassionate operations that build the loving culture we believe can change the world.

As I’m starting this role I want to share our journey and experiences with you. The good and the bad. The simple and the complex. The joyful and the burdensome. Why? So we can learn together how we can act with compassion, humanity, and, yes, love in operations. And we’d like to connect with other operations-minded individuals out there who are moved to change operations work to be more infused with compassion. This is how we can amplify change, through the ripples of shared connections and stories. 

Sharing The Journey To Compassion

So, to share this road with you, I will be offering monthly blogs on the Make Work More Human website. This will be a place for open and honest conversations about what it really means to bring compassion and love into the field of operations. If you’re looking for us, search for the series on the blog page with the keyword, "Compassionate Operations". I look forward to walking this road together. 

Rick Gage

Compassionate Operations Officer, A Human Workplace