WorkLore

I’m going to be a bit more personal in this post. But also a bit business. 

In this time of reflection as we move beyond the solstice toward a new season / new year / rebirth of the gods (!) / call it what you will, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of people in business. 

If you’ve been reading for a while, or had a conversation with me in real life, you’ve heard me speak passionately about the importance of people to business. 

I talk a lot about employees, career progression, engagement, development and storytelling as people solutions for business problems around productivity. But I don’t talk a lot about one person also important to WorkLore. 

That’s me. The one who is speaking passionately. So here goes. 

The title of this post is Lean In… But not Like That. Because when I hear Lean In, I think of Sheryl Sandberg’s book by the same name. I don’t mean it that way. Sandberg’s whole premise is that if women “leaned in” and tried harder they could rise to prominence like she did (yes, a bit reductive, but a as a one sentence summary, not far off). What Sandberg ignores is that she had resources at her disposal that most women don’t, which is why I have a problem with that version of leaning in. 

What I mean when I say lean in is different. 

What I’m talking about when I’m talking leaning in is authenticity and agency and the vulnerability that comes with that. 

If that last sentence didn’t automatically turn you off, thanks for sticking with me while I try to describe what I understand that to look like. 

Some context. Having grown up in an extended family with lots of role models in helping professions, then an early career in the non-profit sector, then the humanities and education, I knew very few people in business in my younger years. The idea of business was a bit foreign. 

So business to me always something that other people did and frankly, it felt a bit daunting. Even during the MBA program, I constantly felt a bit at odds with what I was learning. It didn’t feel natural and so I always felt like I had to put on a persona that was more “business like” in my studies. It felt like I had to be someone different to engage in business. 

I knew I could do so – it wasn’t a lack of confidence in my ability to conduct business. I’ve learned many other things before so knew I could learn this. And I have been.

But it didn’t always feel authentic. It felt like someone else’s idea of what business should be and what a businessperson should act like. I felt like I had to show up in a particular way. To exude confidence. To speak positively about my progress even when it didn’t feel positive. To present a fully realized vision of what I can do and what I can offer. 

But if I speak authentically? 

I don’t know exactly what the solution is for your business. I don’t even know who exactly can benefit from the experience and knowledge that I have. However, I do know that I can bring attention, care, questioning, insight and a raft of experience working with and developing people to uncover how to solve those people problems. 

I don’t know exactly how my passions will transform your business. 

But I do know that engaging employees, providing them a sense of purpose and connection to the organization, and paying attention to how you communicate with them yields results. 

And probably the most authentic and vulnerable part? 

I don’t know if I will succeed at this. I do know I have value to impart, and persistence to keep trying, and a willingness to be open to new ideas, solutions, and actions. 

So that’s why I’m thinking about people and leaning in. I’m leaning in to saying the parts that don’t feel comfortable, that make me feel vulnerable, that might sound like failure if I let myself think of them that way. I’m leaning in to being more authentically me, even when it doesn’t fit who I think a businessperson should be. 

I am leaning in to connection and care. To insight and analysis. To collaboration and conscious authenticity. I’m leaning in to what feels authentic and right.

I’m looking forward to seeing what comes of it.