Why "People First" Has Become the Biggest Lie in Corporate America
So many organizations preach "people-first" values, yet their actions say something else.You've seen it before... The all-hands meeting where a leader swears "our people are our greatest asset" right before announcing layoffs or promoting the manager everyone knows is toxic. This week on The Balanced Badass Podcast®, I sat down with Jesse Tervooren (aka YourUnfilteredBFF) to unpack why so many companies get caring for people so wrong, and why employees are finally done playing along.
Jesse said something that I could really relate to: Promoting people who have valid complaints against them isn't leadership, it's control. That's it. That's the problem in one sentence. So many organizations reward the leaders who don't challenge toxic systems. They promote for loyalty over integrity. And they protect "high performers" who leave psychological wreckage in their wake. And they promote the problem because it's easier than confronting it. Easier than accountability. Easier than alignment. More often than not, the modern workplace rewards compliance over courage. It promotes those who don't rock the boat rather than those who actually lead. And the fallout is everywhere...
You can't build a people-first culture if you reward the very behaviors that make people feel unsafe. The real work of people-first leadership comes from alignment.
If you're realizing your company rewards loyalty over integrity, use that information as data. Document what you've seen. Note how it impacts you and your team. Then ask yourself: 👉 Do I have the influence to shift this from within? 👉 Or is my energy better spent designing what's next? Both answers are valid. Take care, Tara |
