6 minute read
How to Leverage Faith as a Professional
Markeyla Henton
Discussions around faith at the workplace or in professional environments have long been deemed as inappropriate. But studies show that people who say faith is essential to their identity often translate that in their work ethic. These studies do not say that those who are not deeply religious or spiritual are less effective at work. Faith is a motivator at work for those who find it important to life. A lack of faith or religious practice is not an indicator of a lack of work ethics. My guess is that you are reading this article because you are one of those folks who tends to lead with their faith. And if so, let’s dive into the ways you can bring your faith to the office.
For starters, let's explore why the workplace may not be the best place for us to practice religion. Our jobs, businesses and professional connections are not typically places where we bare it all. In fact, for many Americans, the workplace is a source of unhappiness. According to a CNBC article for the Workforce Wire, “In the U.S. specifically, 50% of workers reported feeling stressed at their jobs on a daily basis, 41% as being worried, 22% as sad, and 18% angry.” This disparity about how we feel at the jobs we have is the main reason most Americans come into work without sharing their personal lives. Another barrier making professional places a no-no for religion is the importance of inclusion, equity, and diversity. If you are discussing your faith, you may be excluding your coworker from the conversation because of their differing beliefs.
When I began discussing my faith as an entrepreneur in 2013, I felt like the most obvious discussions that could connect people were off limits. The beliefs that made me passionate and effective were the very things that I was told not to talk about. In my discovery, I found people who didn’t share my beliefs were still really open to having discourse around beliefs. They wanted to share the way they saw the world too. This willingness was only available IF I was going to allow individuality and be thoughtful with disagreements.
It's been years since I started discussing faith in the workplace. But, I’ve learned the sure fire way to open the door to real relationship building is to create a space where beliefs can be shared safely. If you are a leader, professional or entrepreneur looking for ways to help people become more engaged with the work you do there is one simple thing you can do: tell people what you believe and invite them to share what they believe.
You leverage faith as a professional when you create open source containers for your perspectives and allow other perspectives to join in. There are three great ways to put this in practice.
Low stakes conversations
Off the clock friendliness
Setting the tone for tolerance.
Low Stakes Conversations
Most of the professional environments where I have instituted faith started simply by sharing with colleagues that I was going to be praying. As a teacher, I would pray in the morning before class, some days my colleagues would join. Other days, I would be alone. In the remote work environment, I would share prayers that I had on my heart for the week during meeting ice breakers. I’d open the floor for my colleagues to share any prayer requests they may have. The conversations would be low stakes because I was going to be praying regardless of whether my coworkers joined. I would make sure to lead with the fact that everyone was welcome. And then that was it. Leveraging prayer as a strategy helped me become closer to the people I worked with. This practice also made the workday flow easier for me.
Off the Clock Friendliness
I have always been a people person. But, I’ve learned that building professional relationships is really about how willing you are to be kind when the technical clock isn't running. I make it a point to check in with people before professional meetings. Even if you encounter someone who doesn’t care to share their life with you. It is so important to be a source of love in the world. Most people who are faith-driven, have a heart to help people, you never know how friendliness can carry you. I institute friendliness off the clock by extending myself to get to know more about the people around me.
Setting the Tone for Tolerance
No matter who you are around, if you are not going to be tolerant of differences, you will not get far. Even in a room full of people who have the same belief systems, tolerance can make everyone work better together and reduce the ways that disagreements can derail productivity. You set the tone for tolerance by creating hard boundaries around disrespectful behavior. When I was a teacher, one of my colleagues was a muslim. He asked to join us one morning and a fellow coworker tried to belittle his interest. I let my muslim coworker know that he was welcome and I discouraged my other coworker from excluding people from the opportunity to start their day with intention. I would not let the safe space that was built be torn down by negative interactions. Likewise, when you are standing up in your faith in professional environments, you may get push back from others who have not yet learned to lean into their beliefs as a professional. Don’t judge them, just set the boundary and stay focused on the benefits of your perspective.
Faith should not be as taboo in the workplace. But given the importance of religion to most of our lives it makes sense. The only way to tear down the walls and make workplaces more inclusive is to allow tolerance to make offices a safer place. Consider leveraging your faith as a professional and let me know how it goes. Shoot me an email at Info@thefaithedit.com.
My name is Markeyla Henton. I am a confidence coach who helps my clients master self-possession through a book business. Follow me on Instagram. Check out my website www.thefaithedit.com.
