What would be the outcome if we all had a more loving, safe and human workplace? Renée Smith is today’s guest on the Love in Action Podcast and she is going to share with us the benefits of bringing more love into the workplace.

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Show Notes

Renée is the founder of A Human Workplace. She is a writer and speaker who lectures about the cost of fear and the benefits of love in the workplace. She is also the Director of Workplace Transformation at Results Washington in the Office of the Governor, where she applies these principles to make government more human.

• Renée talks about the origins of her human-centered philosophy of work. She believes that people need to feel safe and supported and that they belong so that they engage in the way we want them to at work. She was inspired by the words of Chris Liu, who stated that the most important job of a leader is to eliminate fear in the workplace. [05:48]
• Renée shares the five most common stories of fear in the workplace from her research. She concludes that fear is not a good management strategy. [11:25]
• Marcel asks Renée, why do leaders lead through fear? She answers that we are conditioned to be afraid of love. From our earliest age, we are trained to think that our humanity needs to be put away in social settings. It is ingrained in us that dominance is how leadership happens. However, we need to feel care and inclusion so that we can speak up and do our very best work. [16:12]
• Marcel shares his story about when he felt fear at work. He describes the physical and emotional implications of that stressful experience. Renée interjects that humans are resilient and that we draw meanings from these bad experiences: some people go on to become great leaders and others turn a corner and find more satisfying work. [20:10]
• Marcel shares his story about when he felt love at work. His boss was a servant-leader with a growth mindset. His goal was to make people around him better, so he made himself available and set clear expectations. He stretched Marcel to give him extra exposure but was right there alongside him. Marcel felt set up for success from day one. His performance was top-notch and he was willing to go all out for his boss. [25:00]
• Renée talks about the three most common stories of love in the workplace. She shares the words of one person who felt loved by her colleagues during a personal crisis. Renée says that the best thing about implementing love in the workplace is that it is simple and does not cost anything. [28:00]
• If we choose to lead with love and eliminate fear in the workplace, we must choose to show love even in the midst of mistakes and challenges. Renée talks about the responsibility model which is based on commitment. [38:10]
• Renée shares her thoughts about the role and importance of emotions in the human experience. [52:20]

Share your Story of Love and Fear (Research)

Share Your Story: A Human Workplace 

Direct link to research questions on Survey Monkey

Email: renee@makeworkmorehuman.com

Other Resources

Renée’s Accountability Model | Blog | LinkedIn 

Related Episodes

• Mark C. Crowley: The Physiological Impacts of Bad Management (Episode #14)
• Annie McKee: How to be Happy at Work (Episode #13)
• Claude Silver: Being a Chief Heart Officer (Episode #6)

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As we challenge current management thinking and practices with a clear goal to raise more awareness and to build skills around human leadership and human-centered work cultures, we would be delighted to accept your sponsorship for future episodes. If interested, contact Marcel.