Human at Work

There’s a study I read years ago that I’ve never been able to forget.

In a prison setting, people were gaining significant amounts of weight, not because of diet, but because of their pants.

“Don’t call it manipulation if it’s just superior strategy.”

Meet Alex. Charming, decisive. Alex may even seem like the kind of person you want in a crisis, the kind of person you might even follow.

Understanding your elemental architecture isn’t about self-typing. It’s about learning to read energy as information; how your nervous system, your work, and your relationships move through states of stability, activation, connection, and care.

The longer I’ve spent studying behaviour and leadership, the more I’ve come to see that teams, organizations, even friendships operate like ecologies.

The modern workplace often feels like a puzzle with missing pieces. We talk about productivity, innovation, and culture, but sometimes we forget the fundamental ingredient: humanity.

You know the type.

They look busy, sound inspiring, and leave a trail of good intentions behind them—but the real work? That’s still sitting in someone else’s inbox.

Sometimes, what looks like effort is just damage control disguised as intimacy, apology, or team spirit.

In organizations, we often talk about leaders as visionaries. The ones who “think big,” “see around corners,” “transform industries.” We celebrate the mythical leaders who change the game, set bold visions, and inspire us to do more than we thought possible.

That’s the unicorn. Rare, inspiring, untamed.