A banker just called me. She changed jobs and works for a different firm now. Her old boss was a college athlete, and with all the cussword filled invective of an old school coach, if you’re not hurting yourself, you’re not working hard enough.

Just as off target, her boss was very clear that nobody should feel secure, everyone is easily replaceable. The team is much bigger than the sum of its parts. Sadly, he may be learning a painful lesson that he was wrong all along, much of the business he might have been taking credit for is following her out the door.

When a manager treats humans as replaceable cogs, rather than as loving, living breathing beings who get to love their jobs and do amazing things for their customers, their boss and their firm, faceless, personalityless robot humans who hate their jobs and hope it doesn’t show through too often take over.

Humanizing work starts at the top. Leadership must be enlightened enough to model throughout the company, and at all levels of management that recognizing heart, initiative, courage and doing the right thing matters more than punching in and out at exactly the right time the way a robot would.

Be the change you wish to see. I support you!