My hope is in approaching myself and others with compassion, saying “no” when I need to, and being open to hearing “no” from others can be a starting point for seeking ways to adjust our culture. My hope is that we come to value each other too much to ever want anyone to harm themselves to give us a yes answer. As leaders, it’s up to us to make room for ourselves and each other to be human.
It has been a year full of hardships and change, sprinkled with the occasional silver lining but the struggle is real. The long-term effects of these challenging events will not be fully known for some time, but we DO know that in times of significant stress, cultivating mindfulness allows us to stay in the present and increases both our effectiveness and personal well-being. A simple mantra to remember when the stress begins to overwhelm is to “Begin with BREATH.”
Here are some of our favorite human-first quotes from people that inspire us — from great leaders to creative authors.
Human connection remains as critical as ever, most especially in the high-tech, nearly people-free, space landscape. We recently had the privilege of partnering with the International Space University on an international and interdisciplinary 5-week program that models humanizing virtual interactions at their best.
The pandemic highlights just how interconnected we all are, and that our success together requires all of us. This is the moment. A moment to think big!
At Integrated Work, “Human First” is core to our philosophy and we have leaned fully into it as a way of being and leading over the last few weeks. How has your leadership evolved as your organization responds to COVID-19 related events?
One of the good things about the stay-at-home orders and quarantining is that most of us have unleashed our creativity by doing something new or finding novel ways of doing what was once a mundane daily task. Here at Integrated Work, we are collecting photos of our team doing what we do in our own homes/spaces to keep us busy, active, entertained and productive, while in quarantine. Enjoy!
We know organizations don’t accomplish objectives, the people in them do. Focusing on the human side of things is woven into all we do, including our approach to peer learning facilitation.
Our first value at Integrated Work is to care for one another as humans first. High-quality relationships are the foundation of our success. We bring our full selves to what we do – that is how we unleash creativity, and commitment to progress. Establishing that as a baseline has been key to our long-term collaborations with staff clients, contractors and partners.
