We had the good fortune of connecting with Rebecca West and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rebecca, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
Yes! Could everyone please stop saying “It’s business, it isn’t personal.”

The idea that business isn’t personal provides justification for limiting our interactions with each other to trivial exchanges at best and at worst treating people poorly in the workplace because “it’s business”. It attempts to devalue human interaction into a simple exchange of commerce. I feel that mantra was created to help compartmentalize our humanity and make us less human, less powerful.

My business is personal. Our health is the most personal thing there is. If you want to succeed in the healthcare business you need strong personal boundaries, yes, but vulnerability and connection are just as important. Patients don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

An entrepreneur’s startup is often their baby, it’s their blood, sweat, tears, missed family events, sleepless nights and long days. I don’t see any advantage to pretending that’s not deeply personal. I think addressing the impact work has on us emotionally is the key to addressing burnout culture and building resiliency. Unpacking ‘the emotional toll’ is what sparked me to start peer support groups locally for healthcare workers in my area. Just this year I started working with the non-profits Speak-Up Reach-Out and Building Hope to offer peer support groups so people working in healthcare have a safe place to share experiences. We need to recognize we don’t leave our humanity at the door when we clock in for work.

What habits do you feel helped you succeed?

Being a pain in the ass. I don’t keep my ideas or opinions to myself. I don’t wait to be asked. If I waited for everyone to take me seriously and ask for my opinion, I would never make any progress. Waiting for the right time, or the perfect scenario, is an excuse not to try.

Stand up and put yourself out there, even if everyone points and laughs. That’s how you learn, grow and get challenged. You might get criticized when you speak up or try something new but if you’re brave enough to unpack all the feedback you receive (good and bad), you’ll run circles around everyone still too afraid to start.

I always remember Lily Tomlin saying “I thought to myself, somebody really ought to do something about that. Then I had the unfortunate realization that I am somebody.” Those words have always stuck with me. If you want something done, do it yourself and when you know better, do better, but stop waiting around.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Finding good mentors. Always have someone you can go to for advice, support, encouragement or a reality check. Offer to be that person for somebody else. Without Molly, Beth, Veronica, Wendy, Austin, Eric… too many to mention, I wouldn’t be here. Crowd source. Find your tribe or start one at theinvisiblecrowd.org.

Website: theinvisiblecrowd.org

Instagram: theinvisiblecrowdco

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/theinvisiblecrowd

Image Credits
IG: humblebumbebw

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