In the latest episode of the Beyond Management™️ web-series, I witnessed a moment that stopped me in my tracks.
He didn’t have health insurance. He had asthma. And one day, he couldn’t breathe… so his manager let him use her inhaler.
This shook me.
It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t performative. It was a quiet act of compassion, one human helping another in a system that had completely failed him as a contractor.
But as powerful as that moment was, it also brought up deep reflection:
- Why was he in that position to begin with?
- Why didn’t he feel safe speaking up earlier?
- Why was the burden of a life-saving response placed on an individual instead of a system?
No access to healthcare. No psychological safety. No equitable framework in place to prevent the fall.
This Manager Was an Angel, But She Shouldn’t Have Had to Be
This episode revealed the difference between heroic leadership and systemic leadership. The former is beautiful, but reactive. The latter is sustainable and just.
The truth is, the best managers don’t wait for a crisis to demonstrate care. They:
Advocate for fair policies.
Listen deeply to unspoken needs.
Act boldly, even when it’s not their job description.
But organizations can’t continue relying on angelic managers to patch up the failures of broken systems. Compassion should never be the last line of defense.
Because no one should have to depend on a borrowed inhaler to survive their workday.
Takeaways for Inclusive and Impactful Management
- Audit Your Contractor Experience Are your contractors treated like second-class employees? Examine the benefits gap. If they’re expected to deliver at the level of full-time employees, they deserve foundational support, especially healthcare.
- Build Psychological Safety Create channels for employees and contractors to voice health concerns, personal challenges, or barriers to performance, without fear of judgment or retaliation.
- Train Managers in Human-Centered Leadership Compassion isn’t just a personality trait, it’s a skill that can be taught, modeled, and rewarded. Equip managers with the tools to lead with empathy and respond to crises with confidence.
- Institutionalize Safety Nets Compassion shouldn’t depend on chance. Build systems that automatically provide resources, from emergency health kits to temporary coverage solutions for those in need.
- Use Stories to Drive Policy Change If this story shook you too, share it with your network. Use it to influence policy at your organization. Behind every quiet act of kindness is a loud call for structural change.
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About Netta Jenkins
Netta Jenkins is a distinguished tech CEO and the visionary behind the acclaimed 8-week leadership accelerator, Super Charged Management. As a two-time published author with Wiley, her forthcoming book, “Supercharged Teams: How Every Manager Can Create a Culture of Excellence,” follows her debut work, “The Inclusive Organization,” recognized as a top read in Forbes and amplified by Arianna Huffington to her 10 Million Linkedin Followers.
Netta hosts the Beyond Management™️ LinkedIn leadership web series, powered by Holistic Inclusion Consulting, which has garnered over 10 million impressions. Through engaging, street interview-style content, she fosters meaningful discussions that enhance organizational learning and development, boost brand visibility, and position organizations as thought leaders, driving new customer acquisition and talent recruitment.
A seasoned TEDx and keynote speaker, Netta has captivated audiences worldwide, delivering science-backed insights and strategies with compelling impact. With over 15 years of expertise in global workplace advisory and a LinkedIn following exceeding 200,000, she has been featured in leading outlets such as The Washington Post, McKinsey, Forbes, and Fortune. Her influence earned her recognition as one of the Top 10 Most Influential Black Women in Business to Follow by CIO Views in 2021.
Previously serving as VP of Global Inclusive Strategy at IAC, Netta partnered with brands like Match.com, Vimeo, and Daily Beast. She advises Betterment, consults executives via the Intro app, and is pursuing a doctorate in quality systems. Currently, she collaborates with Marc Lore (former CEO of Walmart) and Preet Bharara (former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York) to build Telosa, a visionary new city in America.
Residing on the East Coast with her family, Netta continues to make a transformative impact in both the corporate and startup landscapes.
