It's the People

People are the core of any organization. People do the work, create the culture, and achieve amazing things when they are given the opportunity. During these tough times, you'll hear people say, "take care of each other" or "show grace to others" but people don't often know how to do that. In this article, I'm going to cover three easy steps to taking care of each other and showing grace.

Step One - Connect with other people and listen to them. Really listen. Everyone is going through something different. Pick up the phone and call them. Have a video call and really see what they look like and how they are doing. Listen to whatever they want to talk about. Sometimes they want to talk about a particularly difficult work problem, sometimes it's a sick family member or friend, and sometimes it is anxiety from the uncertainty of everything. You have no idea what it is until you stop and listen. Listening to each other is step one in taking care of each other.

Step Two - Act on what you learn. If the person is struggling, ask how you can help. Don't assume you know what can or should be done to help. Instead ask. It may be you can help by brainstorming, helping lift the workload, or just listening. It may be that there is nothing else you can do, but you have clearly conveyed to someone that you care and are there to listen.

Step Three - Create intentional opportunities to allow connections between people. Many of us have moved to a remove environment and that has changed the way we interact with each other. People now ask permission to call each other, instead of just walking into offices. People don't have as much small talk because everyone is tired of Zoom, so meetings have a tendency to be more transactional. As a result of this, people don't know what is going on with others and they forget that each person is dealing with their own issues. When we were all in an office, we knew what each person was dealing with because we saw their faces and body language and had the chance to ask how they are doing. In person, it is much easier to share your life with others. So create those opportunities to share and the grace that we give each other naturally happens. A good way of doing this is coffee meetings. Invite cross-sections of different teams to morning coffee meetings. Have topics of discussion ready to get people started but they may NOT be work related. Let people talk about their home improvement projects, their kids, their pets, and what they are binge watching on Netflix. During those free-flowing conversations, you'll see people connect to each other and open up to others. The natural result is people connected to each other. When we connect, we naturally give each other grace.

People are more than an "important company asset." People are creative, talented, hardworking, and unique. Take some time, and three easy steps to connect with the people around you.