Deep Connections: The Key to Workplace Well-being

I had a fascinating chat today with a friend about how to find the right balance between two things in a workplace that is seeking to empower deeper human connection:

1. On the one hand, it is imperative that we empower more and more humans to bring their real humanity to their workplaces. Not as a distraction, but as a key to connection and deeply impactful collaboration. We must have more empathy for the real and diverse needs, challenges, capacities, stories, and situations which our team members are coming from. And how those aspects might even be shifting day by day.
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2. But on the other hand, there are ground rules that don't change. Bringing your full or true self cannot mean permission to behave in ways that are not consistent with kindness, empathy, and any of the established values of an organization. It cannot mean that you are exempt from treating every colleague with respect. It doesn't mean that a value of the team you've joined doesn't apply to you. Regardless of the true self you might choose to bring, there are boundaries which it is not healthy or helpful to cross.

So how do we find the balance between these two ideas?

There are a number of ways that I have seen success, and one of them is to create a Team Charter. It's a mapping between higher-level values of an organization and the specific contexts of the individuals on a team and how they are committing to show up to work with each other. It can describe ground rules for communication, collaboration, meetings, feedback, conflict, and more. Things that aren't described in the corporate values, and yet that are deeply necessary to be aligned on in day-to-day teamwork.

Reach out if you're interested in learning more about how to create one.

Or I'd love to hear about how you've found success on your team with enabling diverse humans to work in the ways that align with their needs, while still serving the needs of the whole group.