The Make Work More Human Blog

Read. Be inspired. Lead with Love.

Is it really possible to create a way of working based on love not fear? Yes. It’s not only possible. It’s essential. Learn more from this collection of more than 100 posts to inspire and guide you.

Birthing a New Idea: Metaphors of Pregnancy & Labor at Work
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Birthing a New Idea: Metaphors of Pregnancy & Labor at Work

We often default to using sports and war metaphors at work without realizing that these analogies may not fully capture our work experiences. While such metaphors promote a competitive spirit, do they equally support the concept of collaboration? In this blog, Renee Smith invites you to consider more and diverse metaphors in the workplace.

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Rest, Recovery, and Asking For Help
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Rest, Recovery, and Asking For Help

In our competitive economy and fear-forward culture, asking for help and taking rest may seem like the worst ideas in the world. But are they, really? Renee Smith reflects on a recent personal experience, reiterating the beauty of rest, recovery and asking for help in our places of work.

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Waiting for the Beauty
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Waiting for the Beauty

Sometimes, when people hear me talk about love, they assume I mean some simple, feel-good way of being nice. Um, sorry no. The reality is that working with love at the center is not “nice” nor is it simple, and sometimes it doesn’t feel good.

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What If We Re-humanize?
Renée Smith Renée Smith

What If We Re-humanize?

My protective instincts have been activated! I’ve been saying this for a long time and I’m saying it today with renewed conviction: Our dehumanizing ways of working are harming people and we need to knock it off!

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Confidence to Lead with Love
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Confidence to Lead with Love

While the world tempered by industrial era thinking may have told you that such love is not a good idea, or not worth it, or too soft for the workplace, there’s research that shows quite the opposite and there are so many practical ways to lead with love.

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A Place to Write
Renée Smith Renée Smith

A Place to Write

When I visited Dylan Thomas’ Writing Shed in 2023, I felt a pull so strong, it brought tears to my eyes. I knew I had to honor this feeling. So, a year later, I took myself right back to Laugharne, Wales, to begin writing my first book. Here’s a glimpse into that journey I’d like to share with you all.

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How Can Leaders Create a Culture of Courage in the Workplace
Renée Smith Renée Smith

How Can Leaders Create a Culture of Courage in the Workplace

For your team to speak up with courage, it might need a little extra support and push. What does that support look like? And how can you as a leader create that supportive environment? We’ve some practical steps described in this blog that should be of help!

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Courage and The Mistaken Identity
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Courage and The Mistaken Identity

Courage isn’t what we’ve come to believe it is over time - a trait that’s reserved for the select few. In reality, it is a quality that is accessible to one and all. And even if you don’t realize it, you are being courageous in more ways than one in your day-to-day life. Find out more in this blog.

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Say Her Name.
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Say Her Name.

This heartfelt blog delves into the profound significance of names, exploring how they shape identity, honor legacy, and empower future generations. Say her name, celebrate her story, and embrace the power of women's voices and contributions.

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What’s Not Obvious About Love
Renée Smith Renée Smith

What’s Not Obvious About Love

Does your commitment to show up with love in the workplace mean you’ll never falter? This blog should help you let out a sigh of relief because we’re humans. There will be days when we step out of love and into fear. And that’s okay, shares Renee Smith. Read on to know more.

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Thriving at Work: Beyond Wellness Programs
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Thriving at Work: Beyond Wellness Programs

Renée explores the profound impact of addressing burnout and fostering a nurturing work environment. This thought-provoking blog, rooted in the latest research and personal experience, reveals the six key factors of thriving - from individual clarity to organizational simplicity. Renée invites us to reimagine our workplaces as spaces of courage, wholeness, and hope, where the well-being of each team member is not an afterthought but a fundamental goal.

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A Personal Reflection: Lighting Candles, Leading Children, and Planning for Love
Renée Smith Renée Smith

A Personal Reflection: Lighting Candles, Leading Children, and Planning for Love

Renée takes us on a personal journey through the dark, candlelit days of winter; drawing vivid parallels between her experiences in Alaska's long nights and the comforting warmth of love. Renée challenges us to plan for love, offering practical exercises for creating a more compassionate, inclusive, and sustainable world. Her message is timely and resonant: In this season of turning towards more light, how will you center love in your life and work?

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Embracing Love's Transformative Power in the Workplace
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Embracing Love's Transformative Power in the Workplace

Renée eloquently illustrates how small, consistent acts of care and understanding can revolutionize our work environments. From supporting colleagues through personal hardships to fostering an atmosphere of trust and loyalty, she underscores the immense potential of love as a transformative force. This insightful piece challenges the traditional corporate mindset, advocating for a human-centered approach that values emotional connections and mutual support.

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Fostering Growth with Love-Driven Leadership
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Fostering Growth with Love-Driven Leadership

At the core of every flourishing workplace is a foundation of love. This love manifests as safety, acceptance, and belonging; It appears in forms of respect, trust, and compassion, nurturing an atmosphere where individuals can excel. The key to this environment? Leadership. In this moving blog, Renée teaches us how to practically embrace and practice loving leadership.

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Rx for Unhappy Customers: More Love for Employees
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Rx for Unhappy Customers: More Love for Employees

In today's challenging work environment, Renée emphasizes the pivotal role of individual emotions and behaviors in influencing team dynamics and overall productivity. She advocates for a strategic shift toward creating a loving, supportive atmosphere, highlighting its profound impact on employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, company value. This piece is a call to embed love as a core workplace value, transforming not just employee experiences but also customer interactions.

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The Power of Love in High-Performing Teams
Renée Smith Renée Smith

The Power of Love in High-Performing Teams

Join Renée as she unveils the transformative power of love in the workplace. Reflecting on the unmatched experience of being a part of a high-performing team, she emphasizes the importance of mutual respect, trust, and kindness. Renée underscores how simple acts of humanity, like expressing gratitude and celebrating each other's successes, can profoundly elevate a team's morale and productivity.

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Thrive: Cultivate Hope
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Thrive: Cultivate Hope

Hope is an essential quality for individual well-being but also for organizational performance. This post reflects on research and insights for cultivating hope even in the most difficult of team challenges.

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Thrive: Keep it simple.
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Thrive: Keep it simple.

Renée addresses our human tendency to complicate the simple. Misdiagnosing the challenge we face as complicated, complex, and chaotic leads to unnecessary stress. She encourages awareness and clarity in choosing how to address problems, to keep what’s simple, simple and ease the overwhelm we face day to day.

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Thrive: Create spaciousness.
Renée Smith Renée Smith

Thrive: Create spaciousness.

With a relatable confession, Renée highlights her struggle with maintaining a cluttered calendar, leaving little room for personal well-being and spaciousness. Drawing on research and her personal journey, she emphasizes the necessity of incorporating spaciousness into our daily schedules for enhanced productivity and mental clarity. Renée shares practical strategies to foster a healthier, happier work environment.

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