Catherine Bell is the founder of The Awakened Company, a business that focuses on helping companies create healthy corporate cultures. She is also a partner in the newly launched Awakenly app, as well as a collaborator with Enneagram thought leader Russ Hudson. Tom Fox welcomes Catherine to this week’s show to talk about how we can create healthier cultures in our organizations, and awaken ourselves, our relationships, our teams, and our communities.
Let It Be Meaningful
In the current work culture and climate, people are looking for more meaningful experiences. “There is an invitation for us all to become more simple in our lives because it’s not actually all the things that we acquire that actually provide our life force with fuel,” Catherine says. When work has meaning and significance, and when people have control over their work, that is what keeps them engaged. People are now looking for something deeper from their work. As such, businesses need to offer meaning and substance to their employees’ lives, solve challenges, and do so without causing harm to either humanity or the planet.
Strategy With A Soul
Tom asks Catherine how leaders can create a strategy that has soul. Catherine iterates that this means making sure people in the organization understand what role they play in the company. What is the vision? What are the goals? What are the metrics surrounding those goals? What are the values? How are you building community and connection with people? These are all vital questions that need to be asked to create a strategy that works for the whole organization and everyone in it.
Establish Trust
To create an open corporate culture where everyone feels free to be themselves and to ask questions, there needs to be a healthy amount of trust. “Trust makes everything go faster, but when there’s a lack of trust… it makes everything slower,” Catherine remarks. Defining the roles, ensuring everyone understands the part they have to play in the company and cultivating relationships beyond those roles are the first steps in establishing healthy trust. Spending one on one time with your team members and being genuinely interested in their lives, and having conversations beyond just work, go a long way. “We need to treat ourselves more tenderly, and our relationships more tenderly and that builds trust. You get more of a vocal communication,” Catherine tells Tom.
Looking Ahead
Tom asks Catherine where she sees the topic of an awakened company going in the future. Currently, The Awakened Company is being incorporated into a business school as a degree program. The adoption of this mindset is already in motion, Catherine responds. She emphasizes that we need to learn from the past and build better. Asking yourself how are you showing up as a leader, how are you cultivating relationships, and how are you building community are important questions. “The invitation for the future is really to use our awareness and attention to build something magnificent, a healthy forest for our families, for our communities, and for our world.”
Resources
Catherine Bell | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
The Awakened Company by Catherine Bell
