I live by a simple motto: be proud, not perfect.
Since January, I’ve been building The Humanity Practice to help us operationalize humanity at work — at a moment when we really need to.
I chose Pronouns at Work as our first paid product on purpose. Not because every Skill Builder will be about inclusion, but because I couldn’t ignore our roots, and I couldn’t ignore Pride Month. Here’s what I believe: pronouns at work were never a political issue — they’re a communication practice. A business practice. Not a June gesture. Saying that out loud felt risky. I said it anyway.
This week tested it. A hundred things went wrong — some because I didn’t get the right people in the room early enough, some tech we couldn’t have predicted. There was a moment Leanna and I thought we’d have to push it. We didn’t. We got it done — Leanna, our team, and this community that keeps reminding me why the work matters.
Building is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s also the most rewarding. This morning, when I made it live, I sat back and smiled.
Pronouns at Work Is Live
Here’s what I keep coming back to: humanity at work isn’t the values statement on the wall. It’s how we actually talk to each other. The meeting introduction. The client call. The performance review. The everyday moments where a person is either addressed as who they are, or they aren’t. Getting that right is respect — and it’s good business. The two were never separate.
And here’s the truth. Some organizations have stepped away from using pronouns. Some will talk about it in June. Few will give their people a practice — one that de-escalates the politics and focuses on the issue at hand: humanity at work, as a business communication practice.
Many of us are struggling with what to do in this climate. I understand why — the pressure is real, and when something starts to feel like a liability, the instinct is to go quiet. But I’m not willing to watch this work get abandoned because it became inconvenient. And I didn’t want to hand anyone one more thing to post and move on from. So we built something real: a practice your own team can run, in 30, 60, or 90 minutes. It’s built so people rehearse the actual moments — introducing themselves, using a colleague’s pronouns, repairing it when they slip — out loud, until it feels like muscle memory instead of anxiety. Because awareness was never the goal. Practice is.
Seventeen facilitation-ready assets across four phases, built on the Pronoun Practice Model — Normalize, Use, Repair. Not a statement. Not a training event. A system your team can use — starting Monday morning, and long after June.
Explore Pronouns at Work
Practitioner Spotlight: Kim Minnick
Kim Minnick is doing the work.
Most of us have been on one end or the other of the rating conversation — the flat number that lands like a verdict and tells a person nothing about what to do next. Kim didn’t accept that the moment had to feel that way. She rebuilt it: the same honest rating, delivered as something a person can actually use and act on. That’s the whole practice — not softening the truth, but making the moment land like respect instead of a sentence.
Read the full spotlight
And one more thing, because I’m living it this week: when you’re working through something hard, remember — if it’s hard, it will be worth it when you finish.
Before you go, go read Kim’s post — it’s worth your time. Check out Pronouns at Work. And if you do, drop me a note and tell me what you think — I read every one.
Most importantly: enjoy the long weekend.
Rocki
7901 4th Street. North, Suite 300, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
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