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Go There — Work Needs More Humanity
And I think we’re starving because of it.
Most great cultures die of emotional malnutrition.
Somewhere along the way, work turned into a place where people stopped acting like people. We show up, discuss metrics, hit deadlines, and robotically crank out deliverables. We nod through meetings and try not to say too much outside of what’s necessary. Definitely not that thing. And definitely not to them. Nope, avoid it. Clock in, clock out, move on.
Our meetings are fine. Our people aren’t. And I think we’re starving because of it. We’ve been trained, quietly and subtly, to stay in safe zones. Talk about tasks. Avoid the messy. Don’t go there.
But how do we build trust in a 30-minute sync? We don’t. Instead, we fill the calendar and starve the soul. We nod, smile, and grind, while something important inside us shrinks.
The teams I’ve loved being a part of are the ones who’ve broken that rule. The people I trusted the most went there. The people I love working with today “go there”. And not because they’re reckless or unprofessional, but because they care as humans.
What does it mean to “go there”? They ask how I’m doing and how my family is doing… and mean it. I reciprocate and it means something to…
