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We need humanity in the workplace
Loss, grief, and pushing for a better world
Kay Coughlin
June 21, 2024
June 21, 2024
Today, I’m traveling to Chicago for a memorial service for my dear friend Alison Henderson (I interviewed her back in 2017, here).
We were always there for each other. This picture is circa 1994: Alison (center), me (right), and Jen Gonzalez (left). Jen is still a dear friend and will also be traveling to Chicago for the memorial. [Alt text embedded in image.]
Alison made her life here on this earth count. She was always finding new ways to make a difference using her expertise in non-verbal communication.
As much as anybody I’ve ever known, Alison was determined to put humanity back into the workplace. She helped countless people, including me, learn to pay close attention to the needs of people around us by showing us how to decode body language.
For me, this skill has become inseparable from - and invaluable to - my work. As I push for social justice and racial and economic equity through my business, I use Alison’s teachings to be a better business coach.
Working for social justice, which requires constantly challenging social norms, is hard. It’s filled with frustration, outrage, grief - and also courage, beauty and unimaginably deep love. I see all of this and more in my clients every day. You are my inspiration, my colleagues, my community. Together, we can achieve anything.
I never could have imagined the honor of coaching people who are determined to weave humanity into the world and workplaces.
If you are interested in coaching with me, remember I have a “buy one, gift one” model. Every full-pay client gifts a coaching engagement to a social justice (for-profit or non-profit) leader. I have room for 3 new clients, and if you’d like to explore the ways coaching could make a difference for you, book a free breakthrough session with me here.
Cherish the people around you who push you to be better. Alison and I told each other often how grateful we were for our decades-long friendship and work together. We left nothing unsaid. Her legacy, and hopefully some of her gifts, live on in my life and work.
Until next time,
Kay Coughlin, business and leadership coach for non-profits and social justice organizations