The other day I had to take my daughter to an early flight to Cape Town. This often means a bad night’s sleep, as you wait for that 4:30am alarm to go off. One consequence of being sleep deprived, is that your filters are down and you tend to speak more from the heart. This article was written when I returned from the drop-off, so will deal with what I consider to be some home truths and cuts to the nub of the argument as to why we shouldn’t refer to our colleagues as resources. My hope is that you aren’t too triggered by the aha moment that I am about to share.
Earlier in the day I was at a Christmas lunch with several colleagues and they were talking about interviews and the “resources” that they required. As a growth minded person, it doesn’t sit well with me to refer to people as resources. I learned early on in my agile coaching journey that, when you mean people, rather say people. My colleagues know this about me, so were teasing that I was getting a twitch every time the “R bomb” was dropped.
Later, another colleague, who is involved in an anti-human trafficking organisation outside of work, mentioned that a perpetrator had been arrested. Suddenly a few dots came together…
We shouldn’t be dehumanising one another; we’re fearfully and wonderfully made and should be celebrated for our talents and experiences, not treated like a commodity that can be used up like some consumable good, then discarded. I mentioned this to my daughter as we were waiting for her boarding call. She shared that a common practice in trafficked people is to tattoo a barcode behind the ear!
When we treat people like resources: whatever it takes to get the job done, no matter the human cost, right? It’s no wonder that we encounter colleagues in various states of burn out. That after hours WhatsApp that requests a moment of your time to respond to a colleague. When we acknowledge the humanity in one another, we start to understand why it’s not a great practice.
Taking time to connect on a human level and recognise that work is only one part of our lives, builds compassion. Meeting your colleagues where they are at, allows them to give of their best in the moment. Just like the prime directive by Norm Kerth says, “…we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could.” (https://lnkd.in/ddcsTGiP)
Each one of us has had a unique lived experience that has moulded us into the complex beings that we are. We have super powers waiting to be discovered, that can make our world a better place. I love Benjamin Zander’s philosophy of giving people and “A” (https://lnkd.in/dkn_jTn7). Figure out together at the outset what excellence looks like and they work to make it a reality.
It turns out that we all have a hidden unicorn within, waiting to be discovered. What’s your super power?