People first, work second. Always.
This week I've been thinking a lot about kindness. I'm one of the speakers for 'kindfest' in a few weeks' time. Come and find me in the business tent there. The line up is great. It's such an honour to be speaking alongside Caroline Lucas, Professor Alice Roberts, Captain Tom the NHS fundraising legend and many more.
One of the best ways to promote a kind and empathetic working culture is to make sure you treat people as people, particularly when the shit hits the fan for them in their own lives.
For the last few years, I've adopted this as one of my leadership mantras:
"People first, work second. Always".
The idea is simple. No matter how busy you are, no matter how many demands your customers place on you, it creates a golden rule that people always come first. When someone needs a break because they're ill, or just getting the first signs of an illness, or someone close to them has passed away, or they're going through a break-up, it's about recognizing how ridiculous the idea of 'soldiering on' can be in those circumstances. People are often afraid or feel guilty about taking time out. But when you give them the chance to recharge and recuperate, they come back fired up. And guess what? They also feel respected, listened to and valued as human beings, not just humans doing.
The "always" is the most important word here. It has two meanings. The first is the obvious one. It means no exceptions. No matter how busy, no matter how much you think you need that person, when you take a step back and give them the time they need, you'll figure it out. Your team will rally. It seems impossible or stressful at the time, but you do figure it out.
Over the years I've gone way above and beyond the number of days set out by company policies in place I've worked, and regularly gone above what's set out in my own company's employment contracts (because contracts can never predict what's needed and the rules are there to be broken).
But secondly, the word 'always' reminds us that there's always an 'always' for someone. There's always someone on your team who needs support. If it's rarely you, then you've just been lucky. And there's almost always someone who needs time away. When it's someone's turn because something in their life needs their attention, it's up to everyone else to step up and cover for them. And then when it's YOUR always, the idea is "what goes around comes around". You get to step away, without guilt, knowing that's the deal. You know that others will cover for you whilst you fix your broken down car, your broken heart or your family crisis
It's come up so often over the last few years for us at Think Productive. There was a while where we thought our company was cursed, such were the frequency of traumatic life events that seemed to beset our small team. But then you realise that's just life. Suffering and shittiness are all part of the deal. It's not that circumstances aren't always ideal, it's that they rarely are!
And what you remember in those darker moments in life is the people who step up and support you, versus the people who shy away.
So look around you this week.
Who needs help right now? Who might be suffering quietly because they're afraid to bring something to the attention of their work colleagues? Who needs YOU and your kindness this week?
Approaching people, teams and work in this way isn't easy. It can seem hippie, or overly nice. And yes, it can be a pain in the ass sometimes losing brilliant people at key moments. But being generous with this isn't entirely about being altruistic. My experience is that when people feel valued, engaged and trusted, they do great work. So if you must, you can look at it as losing a few days now in exchange for greater returns later (but don't look at it that way unless you have to!).
From trust and empathy, great things flow. And kindness, as well as just creating a better place to work, also creates the conditions for success.