When you were a teenager, what did you do best? "Confusion" and "Rebellion" come to mind.  And when you were growing up, who was your favorite villain? Your parents. Because they laid down unreasonable laws for reasons you did not understand, and then you got punished for questioning and/or not following them!

​If you recognize your corporate experience in this description, that is not accidental. Our businesses, our management structure, and our ways of measuring human output exactly as we do that of a machine is a systemic structure to which we have learned to adapt.

​The boss is the parent meting out either applause or punishment. This professional parent must be pleased or you will have your "allowance" lowered or you will be told to leave home. And speaking up? Well, only in very specific and well-crafted ways. And only in situations - and with people - which will bear the weight of your questioning.


​How do we stop being professional children? 

My mind got blown yesterday because I went to an Online Summit where people with names verified with every syllable the worth and truth of what I have learned from 30 years in corporations and 8 years+ as an entrepreneur!

To quote my business partner, The Predictive Index, "All business problems are people problems."

Isn't that delicious? It makes you sit up and go, "Wait. What?" And anything that jolts you to sit up and pay attention is something that is making you think new thoughts.

That's always a good thing!

Also always a good thing: to know that your company IS your people. It doesn't "contain" people - people are not, in fact, your "resources" - they are your internal collaborators, your partners, your business's life blood! Think of it this way: if everyone left the "building" - or in these times their computers - what would be left to do your business for you.

*crickets*

Exactly.

So C-Suite leaders are awakening to the need to be human in how they approach their business problems!