As business owners, we can get so involved in the numbers and streamlining of our business that we forget about the human element. And with automation on the rise, you might be wondering what the future holds.
According to Semrush, “While AI may cause some job losses, they are likely to be broadly offset by new jobs created due to a stronger and wealthier economy made by AI technologies.”
If you’re not supporting the human element in the workplace, you are negatively impacting your business…
Managing interpersonal relations
Interpersonal relations require being vulnerable. When you’re afraid to be vulnerable, you’re really fearing stepping out of your comfort zone. And that same fear leads to a lack of innovation and growth.
Strong relationships within your organization will help you persevere through challenges and obstacles. When you invest in the people in your team and create tight knit relationships, people will be in your corner.
Take the time to invest and lift others up and they will do the same for you. As the business owner, you shouldn’t feel alone. You should experience security from your team by having their support.
Human error and why we need to be human about it
We’ve all heard the quote “to err is human”, but when it happens within our team, it can feel like the end of the world. Human error is real and it happens for different reasons.
Is your employee stressed? Could they be sleep deprived? Is the task too complex? Is there a flaw in your system or process?
So what can you do when errors happen? Start by being open minded. Don’t assume you know what went wrong. Give your employees time to learn and grow. There is brilliance in the basics. When you are patient with them, they can develop a deeper knowledge and understanding.
Perfectionism is not helpful because we are subject to error
As a business owner, remind yourself that imperfection is okay. People tend to connect more with humanity than perfection. Perfection is unattainable and when you focus all your energy on obtaining it, you can be perceived as unapproachable or intimidating.
Perfectionism is different from excellence. Excellence is something that you can set out to pursue because it is maintaining high standards for quality. Excellence is how you represent your brand in a way that’s honorable.
When it comes to processing different scenarios, it’s better to train a human then to program a robot
With all the advancements in AI, people are worried about losing their jobs and becoming replaced by robots. AI makes it possible for robots to learn, but human capacity remains far superior because we have emotions and the ability to process new information.
Humans can think in abstract ways. We connect to other human elements. We can think on the spot and use our creativity to come up with new, out-of-the-box solutions that are out of the realm of programming.
The human eye appreciates human nuances
In the book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell writes, “The lesson here is very simple. But it is striking how often it is overlooked. We are so caught in the myths of the best and the brightest and the self-made that we think outliers spring naturally from the earth. We look at the young Bill Gates and marvel that our world allowed that thirteen-year-old to become a fabulously successful entrepreneur. But that’s the wrong lesson. Our world only allowed one thirteen-year-old unlimited access to a time sharing terminal in 1968. If a million teenagers had been given the same opportunity, how many more Microsofts would we have today?”
Are you giving your team the opportunity for their potential to shine? Are you looking at your team as a whole to see how your outliers can come together?
Think of a symphony orchestra. It’s beautiful when the conductor leads and everyone comes together. The orchestra rehearses as a team and even when imperfections happen, the team covers each other and they sound beautiful. Human minds enjoy the sound, because those imperfections make it unique.
Leading from a place of caring and love
When you lead from a place of caring and love, it gives your team security. Your team knows that when they inevitably make a mistake, that they can recover from it and that you won’t scrutinize them for it.
Reaching your goals and delivering a stellar end product or service becomes easy because you care about the others on the team. Without this security, slight imperfections are magnified.
“I think leadership comes from integrity – that you do whatever you ask others to do. I think there are non-obvious ways to lead. Just by providing a good example as a parent, a friend, a neighbor makes it possible for other people to see better ways to do things. Leadership does not need to be a dramatic, fist in the air and trumpets blaring, activity.” – Scott Berkun
