A lost sense of humanity creates unhappy humans – this books focuses on a different future! Reviewed by Donna Ward-Higgs 

Book: Make It Human, a vision
for happier, healthier, more human workplaces
Author: Sarah McLellan

Sarah McLellan’s ‘Vision for happier, healthier, more human workplaces’ is a wonderful exploration of what is required to create organisational environments where people can thrive.

The author begins by sharing an imagined future world of work for her daughter before exploring our currently reality and what has led us to a place where the question of how to make workplaces more human is prevalent in our everyday narratives.

What creates our current workplace?

There are some key features underpinning our workplaces experiences: loneliness, burn out, a search for meaning and a lost sense of humanity all conspire to create unhappy humans. The 10 culture cracks, which include aspects like nepotism in recruitment creating corporate clones, parent/child approaches of ‘we know best’, the frozen core of management, and the ever-present busy badge, are shared with examples I am sure most of us will recognise and relate to.

The author shares a number of real-world examples from Netflix, Boeing, and other household names to illustrate the reality that plays out and the costly impact this has for organisations across the full spectrum of industries and sectors. It seems no-one is immune.

Learning from the greats

I love the practical advice and suggestions this book shares, and there is a lot that won’t be a surprise. The work of Dan Pink, Simon Sinek and Amy Edmondson, amongst others, are all referenced, and if you’ve read Drive, Start with Why, and/or The Fearless Organisation you’ll feel in familiar territory.

That said, the author weaves her own perspective and organisational experiences into the narrative beautifully, helping what’s familiar to feel like it carries more weight and traction. This is especially so with the activities and resources shared to help you apply the learning from the chapter so that you build momentum in creating the changes you want to see, hear and feel.

I also really appreciate the author’s stance that organisations are living, breathing organisms and so change requires the body, mind, heart and soul. The body relates to organisational foundations – creating psychological safety and imbuing a sense of purpose that people can meaningfully connect with. The mind focuses on tools, systems and skills and how these can be optimised for potential. The heart and soul, which was absolutely my favourite chapter of this book, emphasises the role of the middle manager in nurturing growth and facilitating development.

Are you a robot?

Make it Human is a really enjoyable read, offering actionable insight and a compelling urgency to take a good, hard, honest look at how the organisations we are part of truly reflect and nurture our one overriding commonality – we are all human. What we need to be at our best isn’t mysteriously unidentifiable, it’s in the everyday choices we make.

Donna Ward-Higgs is a coach, facilitator, consultant and L&D specialist at DWH Coaching and Consultancy