Creating a Nurturing Environment: Fostering a Workplace that Encourages Bringing Your Whole Self to Work
Tags: Motivation, Leadership, Workplace Culture, Startup, Culture

About a month ago, a co-worker asked me if I would be interested in writing for our company’s blog. At first, I was hesitant because I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to write about. I thought to myself, will she ask me to write a narrative about the inner workings of blockchain technology? If that was the case, I’m honestly not the right person since I’m still learning about all that cryptocurrency entails.

I asked her what she had in mind for an article, and she responded, “I think it would be interesting if you could share your experience on what you think makes a workplace culture successful.”

Now, this topic fits more in my wheelhouse, as I’ve experienced a variety of workplace cultures, both big and small. I reflected on what I’ve seen and learned over the past 20 years working in various industries as an HR professional, and one concept stood out above the rest: creating a nurturing workplace environment.

I believe one of the most essential components to creating a thriving workplace culture is to foster an environment that is nurturing so that employees can bring their entire selves to work, and at Coinme, that’s what we strive to do every day.

Creating an environment that people can feel safely vulnerable in and bring your whole self to work sounds like simple concepts; however, they can be tough to do in practice because it means we need to embrace vulnerability, be comfortable with failing and be receptive to hearing and providing constructive feedback.

Even with a topic as ever-changing, and sometimes challenging, as cryptocurrencies, being open to learning and making mistakes while growing is critical. Below are five ideas for making your workplace culture more nurturing so that you, your co-workers, or your employees can feel more comfortable bringing your whole selves to work:

Promote communication between peers and across hierarchical lines. Have an open-door policy to encourage collaboration from all across the organization and to make sure that all contributions are valued.

Celebrate wins. Start a meeting off by sharing something positive that is going on in your group, project, work, etc. Encourage others to do the same.

Show gratitude. Thank a co-worker for something he or she did but weren’t expecting to get thanked for. Be specific about what it was and why it was helpful or essential.

Empower employees. Trusting your team is essential. Avoid micromanagement and allow your employees to have autonomy to make decisions and to plan their work.

Be open and forgiving with mistakes. View slip-ups and failures as learning opportunities, and be open about your own mistakes and encourage others to do the same.

According to motivational speaker, thought-leader, and author Mike Robbins, nurturance has to do with people feeling seen, heard, and valued — not just what they do, but for who they are. It also has to do with feeling safe to make mistakes, ask for help, speak up and disagree. Nurturing environments are filled with an authentic sense of compassion and empathy, and people genuinely feel cared about and supported.

In his book, Bringing Your Whole Self to Work: How Vulnerability Unlocks Creativity, Connection, and Performance, Robbins states that bringing your whole self to work will ultimately lead to a higher level of engagement, connection, and performance. This is because when you bring your whole self to work, you are being vulnerable, and the natural response to vulnerability is empathy and compassion. That vulnerability is key to trust and connection which are ultimately keys to business and personal success.