Text by Duke Maines
CLOSER TO THE HEART – RUSH
Geddy Lee of the band ‘Rush’ got it right when he wrote the song ‘Closer to the Heart.’
And the (leaders) who hold high places
Must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality
Closer to the Heart
As we navigate our way through this pandemic, there now exists an unprecedented opportunity to shift the prevailing paradigm on how organizations get work done with and through their people. And actually, it has started with the voices of those ‘not at the top’ as nearly 43% of the workforce suggests they would rather quit then come back to the office.
The blacksmith and the artist
Reflect it in their art
They forge their creativity
Closer to the heart
Philosophers and ploughmen
Each must know his part
To sow a new mentality
Closer to the heart
Those voices must be heard and those at the top need to empathize and mold a new, more humane, reality. We of course will not get it right from the beginning. Already we see a divergence of different approaches from the most well-known companies—and that’s just fine as we can learn from each of them as they Captain their ships.
You can be the captain
And I will draw the chart
Sailing into destiny
Closer to the heart
100% remote, hybrid, rotation, key teams on certain days, collaboration centers (only come in when team-enabled work is required), vaccinated only, etc. are just some of the approaches companies are taking. And even these are being delayed due to the rise of a multitude of COVID-19 variants.
Whatever emerges as the prevailing approach across most companies, let’s hope we learn from what science tells us about how humans actually work whilst producing amazing results AND actually enjoy life in the process. What a crazy idea that is huh?
Closer to the Heart strategies borrow from cultural anthropology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, organizational psychology, and human biology. Oh, and common sense is a big part of it as well. Perpetual’s Team to Tribe model represents a synthesis of many of the best ideas that emerge from these disciplines and absolutely can work for your team and/or organization—no matter the industry or culture.