7 simple rules to help any group thrive

I've been thinking about the environments we create at work and home. In particular about how at their best they can support people to thrive. By thrive I mean places where people feel safe enough to be themselves, to have conversations that matter, to make mistakes, to learn, grow, and to find fulfilment and happiness. 

In short, a place where people know they matter.

As they are. For who they are. 

I've carried with me a small piece of paper I ripped out of a newspaper over 20 years ago. On it are 7 'rules' a group of children decided they wanted to have in place in their classroom.

Any organisation or indeed family wanting to create an environment where people are able to thrive would do well to start here. 

So very simple and yet so far from what most people experience on a day to day basis.

I shared this with my newsletter subscribers last week and I got a few questions from people about what I think stops us from doing these things. This was my response:

“In my experience what stands in the way is fear - fear of not being good enough, fear of failure, fear of judgement, fear of rejection....This might get dressed up in slightly different clothes (i.e. not enough time, being too busy, being too distracted) but in essence they are all the same thing.

I think kindness and being listened to are core human needs. Its why when we don’t receive them it feels so wrong and makes us feel so uncomfortable.

Children are instinctively kind unless they are taught or learn otherwise in which case they will do whatever they need to in order to protect themselves. I don’t believe adults are any different. ”

I'd love to know what you think gets in the way and if you could choose just one of these to bring into your life, your work and your relationships which would it be?