Compassion conquers all
What is a ‘culture of compassion’? While we have endeavoured to achieve this from the start, this week we truly put it into practice.
We’ll be honest: we’ve been having a hard time keeping motivated this week.
Maybe it’s because the sun has been shining. Maybe it’s because we still haven’t hit a rhythm in this ‘new normal.’ Maybe it’s because the fifth week of lockdown has made us question everything we do and have been working towards.
How have we dealt with our collective ennui?
By talking about it. By being open and honest about how we’re feeling, about what we’re finding difficult. By admitting to the guilt we feel about not being 100% focused on ‘using this time’. By forgiving ourselves for not generating a constant stream of creative ways to ‘take advantage of this opportunity.’
And by acknowledging that the lockdown is affecting us in ways that we might never be able to properly articulate.
If the past five weeks have reaffirmed anything, it’s that we want to ensure that our company culture is one of compassion. One that fully embraces our collective and individual humanity, and works with it, not against it.
What does that mean in practice? It means if someone is struggling, they should feel they can be open about it, even if that means taking some time out. If they are happy to talk, it is our job to help them find a way through and to support them as a team.
It’s not about deadlines above all else. We’ve been in many companies where the party line is: ‘Do what you need to do; just get your work done.’ We think we can do better. We prefer: ‘Let us support you and help you find other ways of coping and thriving. And if a deadline is going to be missed, let’s be open about that so we can find an alternative.’
We all love to speculate about how things will change after lockdown. Will we work from home more? Travel less? Appreciate life more? Hard to say. But for us, maintaining a culture of compassion is non-negotiable.
