Jason Lauritsen works to transform management. As a keynote speaker, trainer, and author, he liberates managers from outdated and inhumane practices to cultivate human potential at work and improve people’s lives. His experience ranges from startup CEO to Fortune 1000 executive. He also spent several years leading the best places to work program for an HR technology company where he gained deep insight into some of the best workplaces in the world. Jason is the author of two books, Unlocking High Performance: How to Use Performance Management to Engage and Empower Employees to Reach Their Full Potential and Social Gravity: Harnessing the Natural Laws of Relationships.
Tune into my conversation with Jason Lauritsen to learn how to navigate the workplace on Find Your Passion Career Podcast!
Build healthy work relationships
We experience our connections at work like all the other relationships in our lives, emotionally. When our relationships suffer, our performance at work will suffer too. Just like in our personal lives, the quality of our relationships at work are essential to our success.
“It’s a relational thing. If you think about what gets us most motivated, it’s when we feel cared for, accepted, seen, heard, appreciated, and communicated with. That’s a relationship.”
As a third-party recruiter, Jason worked with employers and employees to make career matches. He had the opportunity to speak with both sides of the hiring process about issues in the workplace. As a matchmaker, Jason learned that many workplace issues stem from broken and dysfunctional work relationships.
“At the most fundamental level it is just that the organization forgot that these people that show up every day to do work are actual human beings. They have needs, they have feelings, and they need to be cared for. When you treat them poorly, they don’t feel good and they don’t do good work.”
When you work in environments with people that aren’t interested in lifting you up, it limits your chances of performing to the best of your abilities.
If you’re going to commit yourself to a career, make sure it commits to you too, in a healthy way.
Lead with Compassion
Dysfunctional relationships are a serious problem in the workplace. Luckily, Jason can solve that problem. He advises people in the workplace to lead with compassion.
“Compassion is about noticing suffering in others, being moved by that suffering, wanting the person to be out of suffering, and then taking action or being willing to take action.”
Jason believes that we are born with the capability to be compassionate. We just have to follow our nature, rather than the system.
“Kids are compassionate. Every child I’ve ever been around were naturally compassionate as human beings. It gets beaten out of us as we as come through the ranks, as we go further along.”
If you’re eager to be a leader, focus on how you can be more compassionate. Do you feel in tune with your team’s challenges? Do you show up ready to help? Now that’s a healthy take on leadership and work environment that ultimately leads to less emotional stress and greater productivity.
To hear more of Jason’s story and his advice on being fearless at work and writing down what matters most, download my podcast interview with him here on iTunes!
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