100 Business Days Out: Day 42 - Who Not What

I'm not sure why, but I can tell you that this week there has been a shift. My meetings with people have not been about "what" I have done or "what" I will do, but rather the meetings have focused more on "who" I am. How refreshing this has been and stimulating. I am finding that more and more people want to engage at that level and without an opening to do so, unfortunately will stay on the surface. this week, it feels like I am the portal of permission for people to be able to talk about who they are, what they believe in, and what is important to them in life outside of work. I have had more conversations about my faith in the last week than I have had in the last three years. And it is not because I am bringing it up. What this reinforces to me once again is that we want to interact at a much more human level than what we bring to the water cooler or the Board table. If there is this much pent up demand for these conversations then it also tells me that the companies that allow and encourage and provide forums for these types of dialogues will be the ones where work transcends the company and becomes instead a glue that brings and keeps people together. That is the work environment that will win and the one where I would want to be. There's a pretty cool organization out there called WorldBlu, run by Traci Fenton. It's worth checking out and looking at the companies that she works with. Those are the ones that you may want to think about tilting your dollars towards because those are the companies who do care about "who" you are, not just what you will get done today.