This is the third in a series of posts about S&C’s values, and the second in which we explore each of them individually and what they mean to us and our work. 

In the last post, we talked about curiosity, which we described as the value that makes the others possible. That’s because it requires that we open ourselves up to the possibility that we don’t know anything. Humanity, the value we’re exploring in this post, is what we find inside, once we open up. 

That’s not easy, nor is it comfortable. Once we’re really paying attention to ourselves, our reactions, and to what’s going on in systems and with people, humanity asks us to care about what we see. 

It’s not easy in a personal setting, all the time. It’s not easy in a professional setting, which is really just a bunch of people doing something together. And we’re a business. Capitalism has a way of turning people into means to an end. So humanity as a value requires constant, intentional practice.

Once we’re really paying attention to what’s going on in systems and with people, humanity asks us to care about what we see.

What Humanity Means to Us

Our mission statement, which is an intentional stake in the ground so people know what we’re aiming to do, is to manifest humanity and connection through our work. It’s right there in how we articulate why S&C exists. 

So what humanity means to us is that it’s ultimately not about ourselves, but about other people. We have to make sure that we keep trying to truly see people for who they are, to endeavor, always, to feel what they’re feeling. And most importantly, the idea of humanity is that every person is an individual who deserves respect. What we mean by respect is that an individual person is never a means to an end. They are themselves and have their own ends. 

It sounds simple, but in a world driven by capitalism, it’s part of the matrix of our society. Out of necessity to deal with a complex economy, we talk about labor markets. Big employers hire people and then lay them off when the work dries up. These are just a couple of modern and overt examples of seeing people as widgets, but there are much subtler ways this way of thinking seeps into our day-to-day. 

So it all starts with self-awareness. Empathy for others requires honest self-examination first. What gets in the way of empathy is usually the fact that we’re carrying around our own shit, usually related to fear that we’re going to lose status or comforts or something else. So we have to ask ourselves: What are we carrying into the room, and what assumptions are we making? 

That stance on the world and keeping curiosity alive makes it possible for us to view every interaction as the ability to constantly try to understand ourselves, our clients, and the world around us. That learning posture keeps us human.

At the end of the day, it’s at baseline a regard for people's feelings and lived experience — not performed, but practiced. 

Humanity in Practice

Internally, at Smith & Connors (and again, I stress, we do our best and don’t always live up to our ideals!) we first and foremost stop and listen to each other. 

One example is our biannual retreats. We always gather somewhere, live together for a week, and work on company issues. Part of that is to share how and what we’re doing. We listen to each other and then resonate by showing empathy. We don’t try to fix each other’s problems. We reflect back what we heard, and we share our own challenges. 

This is a great place for us to build psychological safety from, because we’re showing that we as leaders have capacity to show that we are always struggling and can still be seen as capable. We reveal our own humanity and invite others to not judge us. Not easy, and not always fun, but that’s the risk this value requires. 

Humanity is a regard for people's feelings and lived experience — not performed, but practiced.

We try to exhibit humanity in the business choices we make. We’ve turned away a lot of work that hasn’t aligned with what we believe in because some clients see their own workers or suppliers or customers or constituents or communities as numbers in a spreadsheet, not as people. 

In doing client work, this shows from the beginning. We come to first meetings with prospective clients by trying to connect as people. 

When we start the project, it shows up in how we facilitate the discovery sessions. We endeavor to elevate voices that get passed by, making sure people feel heard and part of the process. We listen, mirror, and validate.

When things come up, conflicts (which will happen), we try to stay curious and then see the humanity of the situation, which means understanding our own reactions and those of our partners. This makes for a better interaction and forges a way forward.  

What Humanity Asks of Us

This requires that we approach things systemically over blaming — most problems we encounter are structural, not personal. It means we give individuals the benefit of the doubt and look beyond to what’s really going on: unclear roles, misaligned expectations, cultures of urgency.

We are in a business, of course, and in the context of capitalism, which is the matrix, we need to hold people to high standards while offering them real grace at the same time — excellence and care for people reinforce each other rather than competing. People do their best work when they feel seen and supported. And of course, most of all, they are people, so making sure that people feel seen and supported is just the baseline for how to treat people.  

We have to realize that the decisions we make don’t always optimize for growth but do optimize for the workplace and partnerships we want. 

This is a tough one sometimes. We don't always get it right, but humanity is our baseline. When we lead with genuine regard for people, the work gets better. Every time.