"In a world full of noise, witnessing someone’s humanity is a radical act of hope."
- Nabeela Elsayed
This week was busy, the busy that can stir up my anxiousness, but can be equally exciting. Big weeks filled with meetings, events, speaking engagements, and connecting with many people always leave me buzzing and I’ve learned that whenever I have a full week like this, I need to give myself a day to recover, to reflect, and to catch my breath.
So today’s article is just that — a simple reflection.
If you’ve been following my writing for a while, you’ll recognize that I generally believe that work should occupy less of our lives. And we do this by:
Holding work at a healthy distance from our identity.
By not tethering our self-worth to our professional success.
By fitting our lives into our work and not the other way around.
And by ensuring our deepest sustenance comes primarily from relationships outside of work.
These are themes you’ve probably heard on repeat because I believe they are essential to human sustainability and to any success worth having. That all being said, this week, I was reminded of something else: With the right intention, work can facilitate real human connection.
I know it’s not surprising, I’m not going to get an award for calling out, but I found it important to say out because of how easily and often we fail to connect as human beings in a work setting. It’s also essential to call out because if we want to connect as people, we have to show up as humans first and as representatives of our employers second, and that shouldn’t be controversial, yet it is.
When we show up as people first, our lives and work don’t compete- they harmonize, and deep down, that is what most people want: to live in congruence with who they are and to work in a way that allows them to be seen, heard, and valued.
This week, I was blessed to experience the richness of human exchange through a series of work meetings that reminded me of recently depleted beliefs.
Let me explain.
Not Your Average CEO
The week started with a meeting with the CEO of a financial industry company, someone I didn’t know personally. The invitation came through a referral, and I was asked to meet with the CEO to explore how I could support their organization's continued transformation.
As I often do, I tried to get more information ahead of time, details, context, anything to ease my anxious, over-prepared mind. But the information was scarce, and against every fibre of my overachieving instincts, I went into the meeting feeling unprepared.
And I did get blindsided, but not in the way I expected.
I was blindsided by how vulnerable, open, authentic, and honest the CEO was.
The meeting was held in a beautiful boardroom adorned in deep greens and warm orange tones. A long, elegant rectangular table stood at the center, with lunch thoughtfully laid out. Pre-made bowls were available: I ordered a veggie one, while the CEO and their colleague opted for chicken and salmon. The meeting opened with them laughing and negotiating to split their meals, going half-and-half on chicken and salmon. I sat there smiling, thinking to myself, when your CEO goes halves with you on their lunch, that’s a good sign, it was like trading bites with friends at a lunch table.
The conversation flowed easily, not about KPIs or shareholder returns, but about life.
About people. About passions. About vulnerabilities.
The CEO shared, openly and without hesitation, that they are neurodivergent.
They spoke about their journey to becoming a CEO, the dark moments, the profound self-discovery, and their ultimate ambition: to build a truly human-centred organization built on compassion and sustainable growth.
I was floored. This isn’t corporate social responsibility speak - this CEO was deeply honest - their ambition whole-hearted.
Wow, these are my people, I thought.
The kind of people we dream of working with and for.
It wasn’t the sterile, stoic atmosphere often associated with the financial sector — boardrooms filled with grey-haired men in stiff suits. Instead, the warmth of the burnt orange decor matched the room’s spirit: honest, human, alive.
It was an unexpectedly beautiful conversation.
Which brings me to reminder #1:
There are people in every corner of every industry who are striving to build human-centred, sustainable workplaces. They exist, even if we don’t always see them.
A Lesson in Allyship
Midweek, I had the honour of moderating a panel featuring the CEO and President of a notable Swedish company. We immediately connected over our shared history and familiarity with Swedish culture. Her warm smile, grounded energy, and familiar accent struck me from the moment we met. She was real. She was curious. She cared.
The panel discussed relationships, investments, and building the infrastructure needed to continue advancing women in leadership. When I asked about allyship, her answer was so natural and so beautifully simple that it made me smile.
"Advocating for others, inside and outside of work, is just a way of being," she said.
"It’s not a role we play. It’s who we are."
I agreed wholeheartedly.
But it also made me reflect: In a world where the microphone often seems to be held by divisive voices, it’s easy to forget that there are countless good, kind people who live this way. People who wake up daily committed to service, advocacy, and standing up for those who need it most.
They’re not always on the front page of the New York Times.
They’re not always trending on LinkedIn.
But they are out there quietly, steadily, holding up the world.
Which brings me to reminder #2:
The world is still filled with people who live for equality, service, and solidarity. They haven't given up, even if you can't always see them. They're still doing the work.
The Circle of Real Life
Later in the week, I launched a leadership development program for senior women in the communications and technology sectors.
We sat in a circle, and I asked them a simple question:
“Tell me something I wouldn’t learn from your LinkedIn profile.”
In other words, tell me who you are, not what you do.
What followed was one of the most beautiful hours of my week.
One woman spoke about her passion for hot sauce. Another shared the joy of taking a tap dancing class with her teenage daughter. Stories spilled out, stories of children, marriages, divorces, of life as newcomers to Canada, of being raised by deaf parents, of the struggle to know when to speed up and when to slow down, of learning to care for ourselves while caring for others.
Real life. Real hearts. Real humanity.
No resumes. No corporate speak. No pretenses. No competition.
Just raw, beautiful, human connection.
Before that hour, we had been strangers.
Had we met in another setting, we likely would have exchanged job titles, discussed the weather, and maybe the Stanley Cup finals.
But we would have missed this — the depth, the humanity, the wholeness.
Every woman in that circle had been nominated because her company saw her as a high-potential leader. And yet, what made them extraordinary wasn’t their LinkedIn profiles. It was their fullness. Their complexity. Their lives.
Which brings me to reminder #3:
When we make the time and the intention to connect on a human level within the context of work, real magic happens.
Final Reflection: The Gift of Witnessing
When I look back on this week, what stays with me isn’t the busyness.
It’s the realness—the realness of seeing people’s hearts, the realness of witnessing their ambitions, vulnerabilities, strengths, and, yes, their fears. It's the privilege of seeing people not as problems to solve, trophies to win, or roles to impress but simply as human beings, worthy of being seen, heard, and held in their fullness.
No agenda.
No manipulation.
No judgment.
Just the sacred act of witnessing.
And what a profound, hopeful thing that is.
In every room I sat in this week, whether it was a bank boardroom, a technology innovation hub, or a ballroom lit up by the energy of women supporting women, I was reminded of one profound truth:
People are hungry for authentic connection, and the work of kindness, inclusion, and humanity continues. All the division, chaos, and uncertainty don’t make us less in need—they make our need greater.
It was a much-needed reminder:
Don’t be fooled by the loudest voices.
The people doing the work are still here. They advocate, ally, promote, and sponsor. They aren’t always the ones holding the microphone, but they are there.
This week, through conversations that ranged from deeply emotional to quietly hopeful, my hope bucket was filled to the brim, watering truths within me that had wilted a bit.
Now, those beliefs are back in full bloom. Leaning toward the sunshine once again.
Until next time, take care of yourself and those around you.
In Partnership,
Nabeela
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