I am often asked, “How is it even possible to have common answers to our significantly varying humanness questions?”
I respond – Because, along with our differentness, there is sameness.
One.
The volume on it is getting louder, thankfully. Yet, one of the unkindest experiences we have is the unsaid request to keep our workplace human separate from our non-workplace human. It is unkind because ‘separated-self’ is the exact opposite of our human nature and, at its very least, the root of normal-minded illnesses such as burnout and stress.
[This is why the We, Humans book is structured the way we really are. Whether we approach with a workplace mind as a leader, manager, or employee, or with a non-workplace mind as a parent, friend, or partner, the book remains an avenue to understand the sameness and differentness of human nature.]
Two.
We all feel we face unique humaning problems. And that our (frustrating) personal circumstances are distinct from those of others. It is considered normal and common to think that our context has a certain differentness. However, to a systems-thinker or a pattern-spotter, the underlying sameness is equally evident. Parallel polarity is the nature of all our humanness questions. We need to account for it and address it.
[This is why the We, Humans book is structured the way real life is. It spotlights the patterns. But allow for combinations and variances. Because in real life, the answer lies in both places.]
Every system, after all, mirrors its makers.
The real shift may come when we stop arranging for efficiency and start shaping from the nature of human nature itself.
The book began as an exploration of patterns in our humanness.
The question for us is no longer how we solve for differences. But how do we let sameness and differentness coexist without hierarchy? How do we design our work, our institutions, and our everyday responses in ways that include it?