A Changed Notion of Professionalism
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I’m Susan. I help leaders and organizations increase their impact, confidence, and results through coaching and unique people strategies and programs that wow employees and boost business!
Now that we're 7 weeks into the shelter in place (at least where I live in CA), the focus in much of the world seems to have shifted their thinking to "what's next?". I'm starting to think about the positive shifts the pandemic has made and (hopefully) will impact the way we think about work and interact with our families and loved ones in the long term.
Things like getting more sleep, spending relaxed weekends in the yard watching kids playing with no agenda at all, playing card games or mastering a puzzle as a family, having an actual discussion with your spouse that's not about logistics of who's picking up which child from their extracurricular activities, going on daily walks through the neighborhood and noticing the many beautiful views along the way.
At times, I find myself dreading returning to the way things were. Don't get me wrong...I hate not being able to move about freely and visit with family and friends whenever I want, or go to the store without a mask for fear of inadvertently infecting someone, or enjoying a dinner and movie night out. But, there's something to be said for the calm and tranquility that comes with slowing things down a bit and not being so over-subscribed on a regular basis.
And what about getting to know our work colleagues on a different level? We've now had a glimpse into their daily lives, not just as co-workers, but parents, children, brothers/sisters, partners. Over the past few weeks, we've observed this not often seen dimension of their lives as pets and family members occasionally interrupt virtual meetings. We've even seen inside the homes of our favorite TV show hosts, news anchors, and other celebrities as they've continued to broadcast their shows during this shelter-in-place. They are somehow more real to us than ever before; humans with lives outside of work, emotions, fears, desires, personal goals. This ability to let our hair down, our willingness to be vulnerable has deepened our relationships and created a whole new level of connectedness and trust than ever before.
I came across the following Quartz@Work article whose message nicely captures this concept and resonated with me and the work I do, so I thought I'd share the link to the full article as well as a few of my favorite excerpts.
Covid-19 and the Welcome Collapse of Professionalism
by Kit Krugman
"We allowed the guise of professionalism to eclipse the emotional experience of being human at work."
"Any illusion we used to propagate about “balance,” telling both our work and our families that they are the top priority and acting like the two are entirely separate forces in our lives, has ended abruptly. The affair we were having from our life with our work and vice versa has just been exposed."
"The glimmer of hope I am clinging to in trying times is that the pretending ends for good, that this global crisis liberates us from our post-industrial hangover of humans as resources, as pieces of the organizational machine, without families or feelings."
"In moments like this, being thoughtful about company culture usually takes a backseat, but the truth is it’s more important than ever. Moving forward in this moment requires principles and priorities. It requires us to return to our organizational DNA and ask ourselves hard questions about how our beliefs should translate to our behaviors."
"The strength of the relationships between co-workers—the community—will shape your agility. The strength of your leaders—their humanity—will shape your culture. The strength of your organization’s culture—your integrity—will shape your resiliency. We know that all of these things are improved upon when we bring what makes us human into the workplace instead of leaving it at home."
"As we redefine what it means to be “professional,” we will usher in an era of stronger relationships, more resilient individuals, and more meaningful work."
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