Leaders & Team Engagement

Let’s Talk:      What is Work Really About?

At high school graduation, there is a fork in that future road. Go into the workforce or take more educational classes. Taking more educational classes, ultimately, are intended to get a person into the work force. So, what is work really all about? What are the ultimate goals of work?

The answers depend the on values that are being supported or reflected.

It’s about…….

• Being able to support yourself, i.e. independence.

• Being able to provide support to others, i.e. family, community

• Being able to express yourself, i.e. art, music, dance, song, voice

• Being able to explore, i.e. have adventures

• Being able to learn new tasks, i.e. learning, expanding, evolving

(Just to name a few examples.)

Yet, when we talk about work, the state of ‘being’ isn’t acknowledged.

It’s about…..

• Produce a product.

• Produce a service.

• Generate money.

Even just reading those statements has different energy around them. (Say them out loud. You’ll see!)

Now, most would say the result of the product or service is the generation of the money; hence allowing the human to have all of those ‘being able to’ items.

However, there are big events creating a new perspective: Covid and AI. Is the human here to produce for the sake of producing? Or is the human here to experience the ‘being?’ And, is the producing actually creating the ‘being’ experience?

AI is influencing what it means to produce a product or service leading to the generation of money. The covid experience has influenced what human interactions, in general, mean and the corresponding impacts to community.

AI is showing that the production of a product and service can be generated, at least to a degree, with minimal human engagement. So, the generation of money is for what then? If humans don’t need to come together in a work environment, what impacts does that have on the community?

It is time to counter the current logic of why work exists.

When the logic is flipped…..

From

Work is to solely to produce and generate money.

To

Work allows for the uniquely human experiences to occur, which also happens to generate money.

A new perspective is coming to the foreground, coming into focus.

When you think of experiences first and, due to having those experiences, money is generated, what shows up for you when you think of it that way?

Besides the money being earned, what values of yours are showing up and keeping you engaged? What values are missing and you’d like for them to appear? What experiences do you really want to have now, pulling in those missing values, as you move throughout your work day? What experiences do you think your team members want to have?

CHALLENGE

Ask team members what they want to experience in their work. See what new experiences can be created, what inspiration can be generated, and what work community bonds can be strengthened. This energized and empowered space will lead the organization, leader, and team members to win-win-win spaces. Go curate that success stacking! Shine Boldly, now, today, and every day!