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Putting People First in a Tough Workplace

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You’re the only one who values kindness on your team.

Your boss is a prick.

Fuck, even your peers seem to be pricks too. Or they’re just toeing the line with your prick boss in an effort to save their own asses.

Classic self-preservation.

The culture - if you can even call it that - is about results, results and results.

The “people who do the work” are an afterthought.

A mention of EQ is either ridiculed or completely flies over people’s heads.

You’re basically on your own. A castaway.

And you’re left wondering: “How the hell will I ever convince these bozos that kindness & empathy are good for business?”

A Bit of Recon Work

First things first, you have to try and figure out why there’s an inability to be human-centric and gentle.

Why can’t they put their people first?

A. Are the leaders in your space ill-spirited and incorrigible? As in they are leaders that should’ve never been leaders to begin with.

B. Or are they just wet behind the ears and a little inexperienced or conversely been in the game for so long that they’re out-of-touch?

This kind of thinking is in line with one of my favourite quotes: “Don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance.”

In my experience, most of the time it’s the latter (scenario B). And that’s not a bad thing.

If people are somewhat open-minded, it means things can get better.

Pro-tip: if it’s scenario A, go straight to “Exit Plan” below.

Back Your Shit Up

Let’s call a spade a spade: not many believe you.

To convince them that kindness isn’t a liability, you’ll need ammunition. Tons of it.

There’s a mountain of literature supporting a human-centric approach for better results.

Find a way to reframe your solutions and be ready to offer evidence.

Basically, speak your audience’s language.

If that means finding a way to camouflage your attempt at empathy with a result-oriented solution - then so be it.

Be pragmatic.

You aren’t just saying: “People are unhappy because our leaders are complete assholes.”

You’re saying things like: “We’re experiencing record high turnover and I estimate it’s costing us $X per year. I think we need to explore different ways to incentivize people to stay in order to remain competitive and achieve our business goals.”

If the leaders you’re surrounded by are after results - feed them the opportunity to get results.

Make Concessions

Pick your goddamn battles.

Which hill are you really willing to die on? Not everything will be solved your way.

And that’s ok.

If there’s one thing I learned over the years, it’s that transformation is slow. Too fucking slow if you ask me, but small incremental progress is better than none.

This inside job is an exercise in endurance.

Some of your suggestions will fall on deaf ears. Some of your ideas won’t be endorsed

For legit reasons at times and for complete bullshit in other circumstances.

In any case, don’t lose sight of the end goal: putting people first.

Don’t be so stubborn that you lose the ability to negotiate and ultimately make a difference (and don’t be so hard-headed that you turn into the very people that you reproach).

Exit Plan

It’s one thing to eat a shit sandwich once in a while.

It’s outright necessary.

But if you’re in an insufferable environment: run and don’t look back.

Yep, you read that right. Leave.

Listen, I get it. You have bills to pay and maybe spent the last couple of decades dedicating yourself to the work, but you’ll eventually crumble if you don’t muster the strength to flee.

And don’t be fooled, your departure doesn’t have to be dramatic or sudden.

This isn’t some silly episode of Suits. This is real life shit.

​You can leave in a smart & sensible way.

Final Thoughts

You’ve got the right mindset.

You understand that putting people first isn’t soft.

And that a bit of empathy in business is just plain ol’ common sense.

But convincing others and managing up is the hard part (trust me, I’ve been there).

If you want to lead this inside job, be methodical about it.

Happy Saturday,

Alain H.