What Lifts the Human Spirit

It is the start of the workweek, and I find myself pausing—not to plan, but to reflect. To remind myself to be a better version of who I was last week. Perhaps more simply, to use my words more carefully—so they uplift, rather than diminish.

There are moments when something shifts inside you—quietly, unexpectedly.

Watching Matty Juniosa perform on Britain's Got Talent Season 19th, singing a cover of Prince, was one of those moments. It was not just the voice but what the voice carried. There was a depth to it—a kind of emotional truth that made you pause. You could sense that this was not just performance. It was release. It was resilience made audible.

When the golden buzzer was pressed, it did more than recognize talent. It affirmed a person. We do not often speak this way in the workplace. We speak of outputs, targets, compliance, deliverables.

I have long believed that reforms and innovations are best driven by design and structural change. Systems, processes and architecture matter. But I have also witnessed something just as powerful—how deeply humans affect one another. A word, a tone and a moment of acknowledgment can shift energy in ways no policy ever could.

A former Civil Service Commission Chairperson whom I deeply admire once said: “There are no bad employees, only bad managers.” It is a provocative statement—but it points to something fundamental. People do not operate in isolation. They respond to the environments we create, the standards we set, and the way we speak to them. Often, what determines whether a person withdraws or rises is not policy—but leadership.

People carry invisible weight into work every day -- fatigue, self-doubt, uncertainty. As the Scripture reminds us, “anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” And sometimes, that is all it takes—a word, precise and sincere—for something to shift.

The quiet question: Does what I do matter? Then, sometimes, something small—but intentional—happens. A supervisor says: “The way you handled that case was careful and fair.” A colleague says: “I relied on your work—and it held.” A leader pauses and says: “I see the effort you put into this. Kaya naman pala!” These are not generic praise but specific, clear and earned. And then something shifts.

Genuine recognition restores what work often depletes: confidence, energy and meaning. It tells a person: What you did mattered. You matter. We underestimate this. We assume motivation comes from systems. But the human spirit responds to meaning.

Words, then, are a double-edged sword. They can lift—but they can also wound.

In environments where people are already stretched, that difference is not small. It is decisive.

We may not have golden buzzers in the workplace. But we have something just as powerful. We have the ability to see, to name what is real and to affirm what is worthy. When we do, something shifts—not just in performance, but in people.

People give their best not when they are managed well—but when something within them has been seen, named, and lifted.

- Director Noreen

Reference: Matty Juniosa's performance on Britain's Got Talent auditions can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMa8cDRSfnM.

Image Source: Illustration generated using AI (DALL·E), based on the author’s concept of how words can lift—or wound—in the workplace.