i heart Brené Brown
Like many people, I have big love for Brené Brown. I love the way she thinks, I love the words she speaks, and I love the passion that she exudes. She’s a thinker, a doer, and a warrior - all things that I aspire to be :)
I’m always a bit wowed when I read her work or listen to her explain her ideas and research because so much of it applies to my work as a workplace investigator.
In her research on belonging, Brené Brown talks about the rule that she lives by:
Strong back.
Soft front.
Wild heart.
And I can apply it from here to there and back again in the land of workplace investigations, with one small modification:
Strong back.
Soft front.
Open mind.
strong back
As a workplace investigator, you need to have a strong back throughout the process. You need to be led by the values of fairness and integrity and you have to work hard to keep your biases in check.
You need to have a strong back when asking hard questions, when making tough decisions, when assessing credibility and when coming to factual findings and conclusions.
You need to have a strong back when faced with pressures to compromise the integrity of the process and your integrity as an investigator. Because you will face these pressures (more often than you think) and you can’t bend to them.
As a workplace investigator, integrity is everything. It’s your spine. It’s your reputation. It’s your currency. And if you compromise it, it’s likely that you’ll pay for it in a hundred different ways.
soft front
A workplace investigator also has to have a soft front. The role of the investigator is to determine “what happened” and to do it fairly, thoroughly and empathetically.
And kindness, compassion and care matter. Empathy fosters trust, dialogue, and connection between the investigator and participants of the investigation.
You need to build trust with participants (think flies...honey). You have to get them to open up and tell you their traumas, their deepest struggles and their darkest moments.
You have to treat people like people, and not just a process. They are humans who may be flawed, who may have made mistakes, but are still deserving of care, compassion and respect.
You can ask hard questions, make difficult decisions and not be an asshole. Ya feel me?
open mind
As an investigator, you need to act fairly, you need to be thorough and you need to check your biases (because you have them...we all do) throughout the investigation process.
Operating from a place of integrity means keeping an open mind.
It means:
remaining steadfastly curious
not prejudging the outcome of the investigation
not developing a theory of the case too early
not being led down the garden path of assumption
working tirelessly to separate fact from fiction by shushing the noise and following the evidence
ignoring the silent (and not so silent) pressures to conform to “preferred” organizational outcomes and agendas
doing things the right way vs. the easy way
It’s a lot to balance.
You have to balance the hard work with the soft work while keeping an open mind.
And yes, on some days, I feel like this
But most of the time, I just feel so grateful and honoured to do the work that I do ❤️
August 10, 2021
Saira Gangji is an independent licensed Workplace Investigator at hrology in Calgary, AB. She investigates allegations of discrimination and human rights, harassment, violence and misconduct in the workplace. For more information about hrology and our process, see the work with me page.