Restorative Work Culture

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Have you ever been praised for your independence and strength? I certainly have and, for the longest time, I wore it like a badge of honor. Whether it was teachers at school, my parents, or friends I’ve had, those qualities were cemented as vital aspects of my personality and my way of operating in the world. I can’t remember a time when being independent wasn’t a core aspect of my identity. Nor was there a time when the default expectation of me wasn't to be strong and figure 'it' out, no matter what…

I appreciate the many positives that came from having an identity centred around independence. I have travelled extensively, often on my own. I am confident that regardless of where I go, I will be safe and I will figure out how to navigate the situations I find myself in. When I wanted to go to Thailand and Vietnam for a month, I booked my flights in and out of Ho Chi Minh and my first 3 nights in a hotel and knew that I’d sort out more of a plan when I was there. There was no one in my life in a position to do that trip with me, especially not for that amount of time, and I certainly didn’t want to travel that far for only a week. So, I went ahead and made it happen – after all, I am independent and strong. 

And you know what, it was perfect. I met some wonderful humans on that trip, I saw some incredible places I hadn’t planned on seeing (the upside of not really having a plan), I went on adventures, learned a hell of a lot about myself, and I did it all on my own!

Or at least that’s the story I told myself for many years. 

Because the narrative we tend to focus on and centre (in North America especially, but in many English-speaking countries) is one of “doing it all on our own,” “picking ourselves up by our bootstraps,” and all of that. After all, isn’t that the American Dream in a nutshell? If we just work hard enough, we will figure it out on our own and be a success!

And yet, that is so far from reality it’s almost laughable.

At this point in my life, it’s obvious to me that every successful person, every profitable organization, every thriving human being, owes their success to the people who helped them along the way. No one actually does it on their own. The myth of independence is so pervasive that when we hear people being interviewed about how they became successful, we don’t question when their story revolves around independence, how they figured it out and found a way. 

As someone who took pride in being independent and being able to figure it out on my own for the vast majority of my life, it is glaringly obvious to me now that interdependence is everything. Any successes I have ever had, any time things went well, anything that worked out, did so not because I was independent and figured it out on my own, but because I asked the right question, someone was able to help me, or one of a hundred other possibilities that exist in the world of interdependence. 

The truth is that in many ways I’ve been safe, successful, happy, whatever the measure I was striving for might have been, in SPITE of my independence, not because of it. And while many things are still uncomfortable in this process of learning how to balance my independence with interdependence, one thing I know for certain is that all of the good things I’ve experienced have been because of the relationships, support, and help from the people around me. 

In a world that celebrates independence, let’s not forget that our greatest achievements often come through collaboration and support. Embrace interdependence, and watch how far we can go together.

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In this episode of the podcast, we’re talking to brilliant return guest and organizational health and teamwork specialist Faith Clarke about celebrating difference, shifting the narrative of cultural norms, and creating a restorative work culture.

All of the data says that environment trumps individual effort every day of the week (when it comes to results). So how can we remove things that harm and habituate things that actually feed people’s souls? 

“A restorative work culture is a culture people don’t have to recover from,” she says.

“We have to give space to the full human at work so we can have the capacity of the full human at work. What we’ve been doing is stripping humans down to machines – and that model is no longer working for most people, teams, or companies.”

Listen in for a conversation that is full, rich, necessary, and will keep you thinking about when, where, and how to change things to our benefit.

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Organizational health and teamwork specialist, Faith Clarke is committed to helping business leaders cultivate a values-infused, inclusive culture where people feel like they belong so that they can deliver on their business and social impact promises. Faith is particularly passionate about inclusion for BIPOC and neurodistinct individuals, grounded in her experience as a Caribbean immigrant and as a mother of neurodistinct humans. 

Faith’s background in computer engineering, doctoral research in teamwork and numerous experiences with organizations who care about their social impact helps her curate a high-touch, systematic approach to building strong teams. This approach has helped her clients improve operations, maximize productivity and increase their revenue.  

Faith is a published researcher and author. She has contributed widely to publications and online shows in the US and UK, and delivers workshops and lectures in a variety of academic and professional settings.

To learn more about Faith and her work, visit faithclarke.com or connect with her on social. If this conversation resonated, you may be interested in her Restorative Culture Assessment and Design Session (focused on restorative culture topics and based on current organizational needs).

For more info/to see if it fits your organization, schedule a quick coffee chat at https://calendly.com/faithclarke/connect.