While I had planned to publish Humility Part 4 today, I am instead thinking about another important quality for leaders: humanity.
This season is a challenging one for so many of us and our team members. We may be facing uncertainty in terms of funding, personnel, and/or direction of our work. We may be worried about whether we can access health care, maintain our jobs, remain in our communities, and/or afford food for our families. We may be concerned about our loved ones, our organizations, our local community, our country, and/or the world.
Even while at work, it’s important to remember that our team members may be facing both personal and professional challenges. Let’s commit to consistently practicing humanity by caring for our people. Some examples:
- Check in, and provide space for employees to share their honest thoughts and concerns.
- Offer empathy, understanding, and support, and encourage colleagues to listen and support each other as well.
- Provide resources that might help our team members (e.g., employee assistance programs, community organizations, legal options).
- Communicate consistently and honestly about what we know—and about what we don’t know.
- Genuinely demonstrate our commitment to the team as a whole and to each person’s humanity and well-being.
In order to support our people, we must also care for ourselves. Some examples:
- Recognize what we can and can’t control, and focus on what we CAN do.
- Practice self-compassion; these are hard times, and we are also human.
- Build our own social supports, engage listening partners, and spend time with loved ones.
- Take time for ourselves to read, exercise, think, journal, and/or participate in other well-being activities.
- Seek moments of joy, such as watching the sunrise, soaking in warm water, hiking a beautiful trail, enjoying a cup of coffee, and/or snuggling with a pet.
- Share gratitude with others—which both reminds us of the positive in our lives and brings the receiver joy.
Let’s continue to practice humanity—to support our people and ourselves.